In a case that had the photography community up in arms earlier this year, one videographer has been sentenced for five years probation and ordered to pay an US$8,000 fine. In addition, he will be banned for life from entering federal land.
Hamish McNab Campbell Cross, a Canadian, was part of filmmaking group called ‘High On Life’ that travelled to the park in May. The group uploaded a video shot in Yellowstone that clearly shows shows them trespassing in a restricted area and treading on the iconic Grand Prismatic Spring, known to contain sensitive crusts and organisms adapted to the superheated ecosystem. The hot spring is one of the most-photographed spots in the park, but is also extremely hazardous, having been the cause of injuries and deaths to park visitors in the past.
Another video from the 'High on Life' group
After an intense backlash on social media, the group hastily deleted the video and vowed to donate US$5,000 to Yellowstone National Park. That didn’t appease the authorities, however, who issued a warrant for their arrest.
They filmmakers did eventually turn themselves in, and are now facing trial individually. McNab Campbell Cross plead guilty to the charges against him and although he escaped jail time, a former attorney on the case, Thomas Fleener, has stated that jail time is a real possibility for the remaining three, who have plead not guilty.
Speaking to the Jackson Hole News & Guide, Yellowstone park superintendent Dan Wenk said that the filmmakers stunts not only endangered the lives of the men conducting the shoot, but also the lives of the rangers that could have been forced to rescue them.
“Hamish Cross’s egregious actions damaged a world-class hot spring and risked his own life coupled with the lives of responding rangers,” he said. “We look forward to the outcome of the case regarding the three remaining defendants. ”
. digitalrev.com2016-11-9 03:00