Underwater Photography: Between Passion, Ethics, and Hypocrisy

I sent a portfolio to a magazine Plongez and received the response: "You have beautiful photos, but a portfolio should have been taken at several different locations." Meaning: you need to travel.

The same magazine, through its editorial, praises our beautiful planet that must be preserved, but in reality, participates in mass tourism by selling advertising space to travel agencies specializing in trips to the other side of the world...
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This leads me to a broader reflection. I see some photographers traveling across the globe in search of the "unique" shot, exploring Antarctica, the whales of Tonga, or the manta rays of Roca Partida. Ultimately, an "easy" photo, given how daily these places are touched by humans. But is this still true wildlife photography? These places are so crowded that nature has lost its raw character. By being immortalized so often, these locations have almost become movie sets, stages where wildlife has become accustomed to posing for humans.

And photography contests only fuel this mindset: winning awards in Raja Ampat, the Philippines, etc., to validate a portfolio that must absolutely be exotic... I admit, I’ve played that game myself. But in the end, I made a different choice: to stay on an island, limit my travels, and fully appreciate the lagoon, its dolphins, turtles, and corals… rather than chasing miles.
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What’s the point of being offered a three-day trip to Raja Ampat when I can swim with dolphins, turtles, whales, and mantas right where I live? Why do these photographers, instead of valuing or denouncing the state of nature near them, end up playing along with this strange game orchestrated by a few magazines that need to sell advertising space?

Is our role as photographers to showcase the beauty of the world, or to sell travel to distant lands that, in the end, would do without this mass tourism?
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Well, I wanted to voice this complaint. Too bad for the magazine that rejected my photos because they come from the same location. And good for me, I can now save money on a magazine that’s gone from 4 to 12 euros in ten years... and stay true to my values.