5 Questions with Patrick Bly
We sat down with Patrick Bly of Patrick Bly Photography to learn more about his upcoming photo project in partnership with Adirondack Research. Pat is a professional landscape photographer, conservationist, and a member of the Adirondack Research field crew. Read on to learn about his inspirations and how he hopes his work will make an impact on invasive species management and prevention.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Patrick Bly. I’m a professional landscape photographer, and I’m also getting my foot in the door with conservation work and photography. I have experience with invasive species mitigation, management, identification, and mapping. I have a background in environmental science– I went to school at SUNY Plattsburgh and pursued a degree in ecology.
I’ve been looking for ways to really combine my passion for photography with my degree and my passion for the environment and conservation work. Looking at my experience with invasive species as well as photography, I figured what better place to start than by going about doing a photographic approach to documenting invasive species.
How did you get into photography and invasive species work?
I got into photography my Sophomore year of college at Plattsburgh. I had some friends that were pretty much role models of mine that were doing awesome things with photography and documenting really cool adventures and beautiful places they had been to. I think that was something I had always been interested in doing, I had just never picked up a camera. [Sophomore year] was when I got my first camera. I immediately fell in love with it.
As far as environmental and invasive species work, I was always incredibly passionate about the outdoors. As you spend more and more time outside, you want to do something that helps the outdoors or helps other people have better outdoor experiences. I wanted to find ways to do what I could to give back or help other people have the chance to get the same wilderness or outdoor experiences I’m lucky enough to get. Once I started doing environmental work I realized that was the approach I wanted to take, so I went to school for it.
Invasive species are a really important problem that our country and New York State are dealing with, so that was a good place to start. I figured it would be good to try and solve some of those problems or just learn more about the field.
What is the project you’re doing with Adirondack Research?
Like I said, I really wanted to combine my background on invasive species with my passion for photography. I figured a great place to start was a photographic approach to documenting invasive species.
Having gone to school in a STEM field, I know that lab reports and scientific reports can be very overwhelming. Sometimes it can be difficult to find takeaways and key points. I think my generation are becoming more visual learners, and I think a photo that can show the impact invasive species have on a place can go a really long way. I think it can resonate with people a bit more, especially the general public. Not every person out there has an environmental background, and I think [a photo] becomes a more personable way to show [impacts]. I could take a drone and fly it above a huge Phragmites infestation and show the scale of how crazy outbreaks can be.
There’s also the identification side of things. Once you see something once, especially a high-quality photo, I think that can go a long way for the general public. A lot of people have access to photos through social media and their community. I think a photo can really tell a lot more of the story than some of the scientific reports can. I figured that would be a really cool way to spread awareness about invasive species and just get the word out there, that it’s definitely a problem.
What is the goal of the project?
It’s important that people are aware about invasive species and how to identify them. Citizen science goes a long way since scientists aren’t always able to get on the ground. Someone seeing a photo of an invasive species somewhere, and then seeing it in an area it hasn’t been in before, and having the two click together for them, that’s huge. Especially early on in invasive species outbreaks.
I think the goal is to spread awareness about invasive species, the impacts they can have, and to show people what some of the more prominent invasive species look like. They can have some pretty drastic impacts so to share a little bit about them in a more personable, easy to interpret way would be the goal.
Where can people find your work?
You can start by following my work at www.patrickblyphoto.com. I also have an Instagram, @patbly, and a Facebook page, Patrick Bly Photography. For the most part I share a lot of landscape work because that’s my passion, but I’m gradually starting to shift towards more conservation work.
I’m doing the best that I can with the platforms I have, because as far as conservation goes, if I’m not doing anything with them it’s kind of a missed opportunity. Eventually you’ll start seeing more conservation work and environmental things I’ll be sharing to get that information out there.
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