Green is the colour to be nowadays. You can be green in your home, at work, outside, while traveling, while cooking and basically while doing anything else. Add to that list, that you can now also be a Green Photographer. It’s a very simple concept with 3 principles. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It’s that simple!

So when you apply these principles to photography what can you expect to be getting into. It’s actually not very difficult. While reading through you just might realize that you are quite “green”. These are some basic guidelines that you can build into your habit that will make you as green as a jealous leprechaun. Lets go head on the principles mentioned above.

Reduce

1. Go Digital: Avoid film cameras. They require you to keep purchasing film and also use a lot of environmentally unfriendly chemicals in the development process.
2. Do you really need to buy that extra battery?
3. Reduce your travel. Try to use your local areas for your regular photography that does not require any special locations.
4. Reduce your use of disposable products.
5. Buy products directly from stores and reduce buying items that need to be shipped to you and need a lot of packaging.
6. Print less.
7. Use power saving modes of all devices that you use.
8. Put your money where it can actually make a difference. The lenses. Think before you jump to buy that new DSLR/P&S body.

Reuse

1. Buy rechargeable batteries
2. Look for great deals on refurbished gear.
3. Refill ink cartridges.
4. Get to know places where you can dispose your used gear so that someone else can use them.

Recycle

1. Recycle all that you can. Most companies today have a dedicated number which you can call and find out how best to dispose your expired/exhausted items without harming the environment.
2. Even in India we have companies providing safe disposal of electronic items. (at least in the bigger cities)
3. Donate all items that you can.

There. That’s not very difficult is it? There is of course much more that you can do that doesn’t fall into the 3 above principles. Instead they fall in the broader and more difficult to find “Common Sense” principle. Like leaving the scene as you found it, or picking up after yourself, not disturbing the wildlife you are shooting by keeping your distance, not changing the scenery to suit your needs but rather finding something else.

If you really think about it we all do these things or atleast feel like doing these things. The only thing to really do is to not ignore the feeling of doing the right thing.