Going Green
It is my personal view that in a world with depleting resources, we have an individual and collective responsibility to minimise our impact on the planet. I feel obliged to look for ways that as a business and individual, I can reduce my footprint on the environment I love.
Some factors may be obvious to identify whereas others require deeper consideration for how a photography business can be sensitive to the environment. Crucially, this must be done whilst maintaining the high quality service and product delivery for which our clients value us.
It is important that my suppliers share this approach and it transpires that many of my clients do also. It's a positive sign that people are aware and conscious of how what we do affects others now and in the future. Here's a bit more about some of the things we are doing.
Travel
I need to get to venues and need to get there on time. On a wedding day, I might need to be at three or four separate venues with some distances between them. Public transport isn't an option and as much as I love cycling, that's not an option. So, for now at least, I need to use a car whilst minimising the impact of that.
- share lifts whenever possible or practical
- use of modern, fuel efficient vehicles
- offset carbon emmissions
- use of electronic communications to minimise meetings, eg. Skype
Albums, Printing and Framing
UK sourced albums have always been part of my product line but the most popular - and best quality - have come from a long distance away.
Last year, a UK company launched an innovative and high-quality item which I have pushed to rapidly become my most popular wedding album. The Folio is considered one of the most eco-friendly books available and the company's green credentials are exceptional.
Perhaps unique amongst UK wedding photographers, we can provide a full in-house framing service creating individual, bespoke frames using sustainable woods and resources. Coupled with our own print facilities, this significantly reduces the delivery miles and material wastage associated with third party suppliers.
- UK sourced albums and materials
- Papers from FSC certified and managed forests
- In-house framing and print services
Equipment
This is the hardest area to identify eco-friendly alternatives. Photography always carries some environmental impact whether using chemicals for processing, or the use of polluting materials in manufacturing electronic equipment. Some may claim that a lack of chemical usage with digital imaging is a benefit, but it can be argued that the rapid depreciation of digital equipment is equally if not more damaging. Whichever side of the argument you favour, we need the tools to do the job.
Film cameras could last for years or decades before needing replacement. In the last 10 years digital imaging has grown exponentially and cameras have been replaced much more frequently as new model revisions are released with greater resolution or speed. What happens to the older digital cameras? More often than not they go to waste. The manufacture of electronic equipment has huge impact to the environment with the usage and release of toxic chemicals and rare elements to produce the latest and greatest equipment. That applies equally for computers as well.
The cameras we use are a proven high quality 3-year old design that is still produced today. This is one of the most enduring product lifespans of any digital camera made. The speed, handling and resolution of these cameras is exceptional. Coupled with professional fast prime lenses, the image files have a sharpness and print quality equal to - and in many ways better than - 35mm film. They get a lot of use and are serviced regularly to keep functioning well. There is simply no need to upgrade them just for the sake of it.
Film rocks. Film has a colour, grain, 'look' that is difficult or impossible to replicate and in my opinion, it can't be beaten. The romantic in me thinks there is something very special about actual light on your actual wedding being captured forever on actual physical film. I work digitally but if it's the right light on the right day, out comes the film.
- High quality, well-maintained cameras and lenses
- Power-efficient Apple computers with top environmental ratings
- Use of renewable energy suppliers