Documenting the Hunt with Photos
Photo opportunities are all around you
Photo opportunities are all around you
By Bill Konway
Just as every hunt is an adventure, so is every moment spent hunting a small treasure, brimming with opportunities for amazing photography. If you have the camera, why not put it to use?
Even though the most popular photo taken of "the hunt" is the hero shot at the end of the day, with your harvest in hand, there are still so many other moments from the time you wake up until them time you arrive back home, that scream out for a shot. You've made the effort to bring the camera along. Let's put it to use throughout the hunt now.
I'm going to assume that everyone has a DSLR with some sort of flash and most likely a wide to mild telephoto lens. That's great, that's all you need. Remember that there are a lot of places between full wide and full telephoto that you can and should be using.
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Moving on I'm just going to throw out possible ideas for photos and you can decide which ones you like. When the hunt begins, this might be different for each of us, but my hunt begins when I get that first cup of morning coffee. It could begin sooner I guess, but I am absolutely worthless before that first cup.
Let's start with that morning coffee. A wide or tight shot of your buddy sipping his coffee with the steam rolling off from the chill in the air is great first shot. The possibility of the boat or truck in the background is always there as well.
And by all means, don't forget to take a shot of the entire crew with their harvest for the day. Don't forget to get the dog in there as well. Most digital and DSLRs have a self timer feature and using a tailgate to rest the camera on so you can get yourself in the shot too.
These are just a handful of ideas. If you take a moment to think about it, the possibilities are endless. Put a little thought into it and one idea will lead to another, and then another. Keep shooting and have extra memory cards available.
Once you get the motivation, and the accolades of your hunting buddies, this picture taking thing can become addictive.