Sam Rose Phillips

OPEN LETTER to coastal wolf guides & photographers from a west coast documentary filmmaker

I wrote this open letter to coastal wolf photographers & guides as I’ve been concerned about behaviours in the wildlife photography community for a long time, and the pressure on wolves seems to only be building.

I know folks don’t mean to harm wolves. So here is an invitation to help them. ❤️🐺❤️

We were over the moon on the way home the other night to find this furry friend wrapped in the kelp forest, arms and feet above the water, thermoregulating.

Grateful for this off-grid life with Dane, Hokis, and all the beings always teaching us how abundant and worthy of protecting this coast is.

My most recent woodburning is complete! Hand-burned with so much love on the most beautiful Birds Eye Maple canvas. 🥹❤️

“Naʔaataḥ “ (Listen Up!) doesn’t mean listen with your ears, it is “Observe with your whole being”. Not one eye or even 2, but with your heart, guts AND intuition.
ʔiisaak is a law, meaning ‘Observe, appreciate and act accordingly’. Indigenous observing is not limited to using our eyes.

It’s nuanced, but prolonged time spent in proximity with certain species can completely change their behaviour. Often putting that wild being and humans at risk of human-wildlife conflict & harm. Many of these wild beings pay the price with their life. Our photos are here to help, not harm. 2/2

Habituation is a too often overlooked ethical consideration. When wildlife photographers say they had to “earn the trust” of a wild being in order to “get the story”, this often means they altered that being’s natural wariness of humans. I’m dedicated to setting new standards for our ‘industry’. 1/2

Grateful to have been invited to speak about ethical storytelling on opening night of Royal BC Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year. It was a special night with an impressive turnout! Heartwarming to hear from attendees about how it opened their mind to new ethical considerations. ❤️🎥🐺

Precious!! ❤️❤️❤️

I was prepared to love #thewildrobot, I was not prepared to be sobbing with my partner watching it all night as my heart flew out of my chest. 20/10 would recommend to anyone who needs a good hope-cry. ❤️😭

Ahhh gorgeous!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ With a housing? Or water-tight phone?

Government failure to recommend emergency order to protect endangered killer whales prompts legal challenge from conservation groups | Raincoast The longer the Southern Residents wait for bold action, the greater the risk of extinction.

Media Release: "We have reached the 11th hour to turn this situation around. Cabinet must recognize the urgent need to issue an Emergency Order with meaningful measures that can facilitate Southern Resident killer whale recovery” - Misty MacDuffee. #endangeredSRKW
www.raincoast.org/press/govern...

Oh no!! Hope you get the support you need and the time to recover ❤️❤️

there are no words for what it means to walk where they walk ❤️

Family forest frolics to do good by Ukee’s winter weekend sunshine ❤️❤️❤️

🥹❤️❤️ gotta look after our family 🐾

love you!! 😘 ❤️❤️

So excited!! ❤️🎥🐺

A photo I took of our precious Kelp Forest Cove, from a vantage point that makes my heart swell with belonging and responsibility. Wholehearted living on t̓uk̓ʷaaʔatḥ and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ ḥaḥuułi.

Looking forward to opening the Royal BC Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit with my talk about ethical documentary filmmaking.

www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/events...

"You don't want to hear the story
of my life, and anyway
I don't want to tell it, I want to listen

to the enormous waterfalls of the sun.

And anyway it's the same old story

a few people just trying
one way or another,
to survive

Mostly, I want to be kind"

Test test test…is this thing on? 🤭

I’m Sam, I’m a big fan of doing all that I can to create a kinder world. I’m just a lil ol’ sap, whose favourite feeling is to feel very small while feeling immense awe. Like I felt in this photo from my first short film project in 2015 in Gitga’at territory.