Making the Most of Your Pictures from the Field

Over the years I've grown to appreciate that one of the most enjoyable aspects of a successful day afield is being able to look back upon the pictures taken from that particular hunt. Maybe it's because we spend many hours in duck blinds watching empty blue bird skies when the forecast called for much duckier weather just yesterday. Or maybe it's because we've all shared the frustration of days spent on the stand where the deer seem to just tip toe on the outer limits of our range. So, when the moment finally does happen with the stars, moons, planets, and Hunting Gods all aligning simultaneously, our successes always taste oh so sweet. In those moments of success take a few extra seconds to soak it all in by pulling your camera out of your pack to capture some memories to share. Whether you're shooting pictures with your cell phone, a point and shoot, or a digital SLR camera, here are some basic thoughts to keep in mind when you're taking pictures in the field.

Photography (no matter what kind of camera you have) is all about light and how to use what is available. If you're using a point & shoot with auto settings the camera will do most of the thinking for you by adjusting ISO (a measure of the camera's sensitivity to light), Aperture (the size of the hole in the lens controlling the amount of light let in), and Shutter Speed (how long that hole is left open for the light) to the amount of light detected at the time you're focusing the camera in for the picture. Shooting with an SLR camera, and out of the auto settings can allow you to get a bit more creative with the particular settings, even though the camera can still do some of the thinking depending on the mode you're shooting in.

So what about light? How do we need to use it? Well fortunately for us, most of the time we're out hunting it's either dawn or dusk, which coincidentally is also referred to in photography as the "golden hour". By definition, the golden hour is the first hour after sunrise, or the last hour before sunset. You've probably had those evenings on stand in the fall when the colors of the leaves in the last hour of shooting light is just amazing. Especially in mid to late October with the sun setting against a bold blue backdrop makes the reds, oranges, and yellows of the leaves just pop out in contrast. That's why it's called the golden hour. The sun is low in the sky, so it's impact on light is much softer, and subtle than it is at high noon when the sun is directly overhead. The shadows are subdued and the amount of light is lessened, making the general view easy on the eyes. So if you kill that big buck at last light, and don't find him until well after dark, just wait until the next morning if at all possible to take your trophy pictures during the golden hour.

This also leads into some other points. If you're going to wait until the next morning to take the pictures, then take some extra time to clean up the appearance of the deer. Use a damp cloth to wipe away any blood from the mouth, nose, and hide of the deer while it's still wet and easy to remove. When you're posing the deer, if you're taking pictures after it's been field dressed, try to either position the open cavity away from the lens or place your bow over the opening to help disguise the area. Make sure the deer's tongue is tucked back in it's mouth too. It just makes for a better overall picture, especially if you plan on sharing the picture with those that fall into a non-hunting audience, or if you're going to have it set up as your screen saver at work.

If time is of the essence, and waiting for optimal lighting isn't an option because you have to work tomorrow morning, then take a look at the light around you. Is the brim of your hat going to cast a shadow over your face because the sun is high in the sky? Look for some shade to set up in for picture time to try and eliminate those harsh shadows. If there's no shade to work with then try changing the camera's flash settings so that the flash goes off to help lighten up those otherwise dark areas.

This picture was around high noon, taken where the buck fell. I should have either cleared out the foreground, and used fill flash to get rid of the shadows, or drug the deer 20 yards and into the woods for some shade. 

Clear away the area around the animal so that the distractions are minimized. Pull out the tall grasses or corn stalks that are laying in front of the pile birds you're taking a picture of. Pull your deer into an area free from saplings that your camera may want to auto focus on. Get the fallen branches out of the way so your camera has a clear view of the animal and the hunter.

Try to take your pictures in a natural setting. Not that tailgates are unnatural, believe me I have my fair share of tailgate pictures, and still take some like that every season, but mix it up a bit. Try to see what around you could work in replacement of the tailgate. A picture of a pile of geese draped over an old log laying alongside the riverbank with the water as a backdrop tells more of the story from the hunt.

We probably shot 20+ pictures of this setting to try and get the dogs looking, the birds stationary, and the sun not too harsh. There's still some things I'd like to have different, but just like in hunting, I'm always learning something more when it comes to field photography.

Did you ride that deer into submission, or shoot it with your shotgun? Again, this is a picture pose I've done before, as have millions of other hunters, but try your best to refrain from sitting on the back of that buck and pulling up on his antlers like the reigns on a horse.

I didn't ride him like a rodeo bull, but I wish I had pictures of this buck in the field when he was killed in mid October. The fall setting would've been much better than the truck bed in the fast food parking lot. 

Dig into the details. Take a few minutes and look around at the details of nature. Take pictures of the spiderwebs still dripping with dew as the morning sun is breaking into the horizon. Before you pull that blood covered arrow out of the dirt, take a couple close up pictures of the fletching, or the drops of blood still pooling up on the oak leaves. Look out on to the water where your shell casings are floating along side the feathers from the ducks you just dropped out of the sky. Take pictures of the details, the little things that just look cool!

Try taking pictures from a different perspective. Get down low, with your belly on the ground and shoot upward. Stand on the roof of your truck and shoot downward, giving an aerial perspective. Take a knee, shoot sideways, set the self timer to shoot in multi-shot mode so that a series of shots are taken, just try doing something different. That's the beauty of digital cameras as well! You get instant feedback to know if you were able to get "the shot" or if something needs to be changed or altered. You never know what might turn out to make for a memorable picture to look back on someday down the road, so shoot away and have fun.

3rd Camera check at the G farm

Checked the camera again recently, but the picture count was way down at the mineral lick on the outside corner. The western edge of the woods has corn planted in it, while the northern edge of the corner has beans. I'm guessing that the deer are starting to move off of the beans now that they're turning yellow and the acorns are dropping. There are no oaks along the outside corner, or within 60 yards of where this camera was hung. With only having a few hundred pictures compared to the other camera hung at the opposite end of the farm I decided to pull it off of the mineral site and relocate it on a trail coming into the woods from a fence row that contained some big rubs last fall. The trail runs from the west to the east, borders against some thick bedding area, and filters into the southern edge of a small stand of oaks. I hung the camera probably a little deeper into the woods than I normally do, but we'll see what happens. I won't be going back in to check it for a few weeks, and only when I've got a good rain in the forecast. Hopefully the picture count will be a little higher here on my next check, letting me know who is using the trail and coming in to feed.

A couple pics of Trent is all for bucks on my target list...

Some other pics just to throw in...

This yote needs to go. The fawns & polts seem to be going well around this farm and I want to keep it that way.

A couple turkey shots. They seem to be making a presence on the farm this summer. Hopefully they stick around for the fall season...

I think this might be my first pic of an owl...

Second Camera check 8/19/12

I was excited to get out this past weekend after letting the camera's have a good three week soak over the mineral sites. With the two cameras at the same farm, and placed at opposite corners of the property I was hoping to add to the inventory list for some of this season's target bucks. That's exactly what happened with the appearance of a very nice buck still to be named...

He easily makes the target list for this property, so hopefully he'll stay close and not wander onto some of the neighboring ground once season gets underway. The first pictures of him were at the back corner, which is like the toe of a boot, adjoining the neighboring bock of woods to the south east.

Next, a week later he was captured up on the outside corner near the other mineral site. He's got a distinguishable little kicker coming off of his right G2 that you can see in the picture below.

Then again, coming back to the site the next day. This picture really seems to make his legs look short & stubby compared to his body. As the rut approaches, and his neck starts to blow up, he's going to look like a bus. Hey, wait a second... let's call him Bettis.

Trent was also very photogenic when he was visiting the outside corner site. Just wish he would pick his head up and hold still for some better pictures of him. These are some of the better ones.

With Trent's front legs down in the mineral site, it really shows how much the deer have dug down.

Unfortunately, no pictures of Corso were taken this time around, but plenty of shots of Flat Top were captured. Flat Top looks to have added a bit more width and a little bit of tine length since his video footage in July was taken. Hopefully he makes it through the hunting season this year so I can see what he turns into next year. If he's able to add some tine length to the width he already has, he'll be a very nice deer. Hopefully Corso is also still out there roaming around, and is just a bit camera shy. I did notice that he seemed to be leery of the IR light front the camera, so perhaps he's just lurking off to the side.

First Camera check 7/29/12

First camera check of the year had a few good bucks on it, so at least I can start piecing together a little bit of a target list for the 2012 season. I put the SpyPoint IR-6 on video mode for the first few weeks just to see what I could see. After switching out the memory card, I flipped it back over to photo. I absolutely love watching the videos but, man, does it take forever to run through a two week period just to sort out the "keepers." You can learn quite a bit from the videos through, so in the end it's well worth the time and effort.

The first buck to make an appearance looked very familiar to one I had pics of last year. If it's not the same buck, it's at least a close relative. If it is the same buck, he didn't put much of anything on this year, which makes me wonder more about a recent article I read about this summer's drought and it's possible affects on antler development. While this buck is not on the list for 2012, he's got lots of video footage so I figured I would include him. Meet "Flat Top"

Last fall's picture:

This summer's video:

It's interesting to note how "Flat Top" gives the small sapling a sniff before trotting off into the woods. While watching all the clips, I noticed that several of the deer did this. With some of the younger bucks lightly rubbing their forehead on the tree. I'm guessing that this tree has turned into a social signpost for the area, with the deer checking in while they're stopping by the mineral site. There's one 1.5 year old buck that I started calling "Facebook" since he's one of the most social repeat visitors, checking in on the sapling with nearly every visit.

Next on the list was a nice buck that I was only able to get a few seconds of video at first. Then he later made another appearance a few days later, causing me to really look him over. He's on the target list so far, and I told myself that it would probably be a Game Day decision whether to shoot or not if I was presented with the opportunity. With Game Day being the theme sticking in my head while watching and re-watching the clips, the buck was then instantly dubbed "Corso."

Here's my man "Corso" with a few of the lovely ladies:

Lastly comes another really nice looking buck carrying a solid 9 point frame. I combed through last year's pictures and couldn't find anything that looked like this buck. I'm sure he was around, and could have been the bruiser laying down many of the rubs I found throughout the property last fall. I just didn't have any record of him until now. I struggled with a name for this guy... always coming back to the #9 for some reason. What resulted for this guy was the name "Trent." Now, where the heck does "Trent" come from? Well, Trent Reznor of course, from Nine Inch Nails. Maybe there's a music video in this buck's future? If so, I hope that I'm the producer.

Here's a look at "Trent":

Buffalo Turkey Samich

Here's a recipe so easy, and so tasty you won't believe it...

1 12 oz bottle of Frank's Red Hot Wings Sauce, Buffalo flavor
1 Dry Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 Turkey Breast (thawed or fresh)

Pour the bottle of Frank's & 1/2 of the Hidden Valley mix into a bowl & stir together

Place the turkey breast in a Crock Pot

Pour the Buffalo / Ranch mixture over the breast & cook on low for about 5 hours.

Check to make sure the turkey is cooked thoroughly, then take 2 forks and shred the breast up. Return the shredded meat to the crock pot and continue to cook on low for 30 minutes to let the sauce soak up.

Serve up on some toasted buns, top with crumbled blue cheese, open up a cold and refreshing beverage of your choice, and enjoy!!!

5/20/12 Last Day. First Bird. Putting the "chase" in "fair chase"

Before even getting into the details of the day, I need to first say "Thank You" to my buddy Mike for getting me out to hunt with him on the last day of the season. He'd already filled one tag on a giant turkey a few weeks back which weighed in at 21.5 lbs, measured an 11" beard, and sported a pair of unreal spurs that stretched the tape out to 2". In fact, Mike actually left another good buddy's annual spring bash to drive home, catch a few hours of sleep, and wake up to me anxiously sending text messages from his driveway at quarter till 5:00 in the morning. To say I'm thankful for the opportunity is an understatement. "I really appreciate it buddy, next time out I'm the designated driver and you even get to control the music!"

With the sky still trying to hold onto the darkness, the morning light was starting to win the battle on the horizon as we made our way along the familiar path, pausing on top of the greened up ridge to listen to the woods starting to come alive. Every hunter knows that feeling of experiencing the outdoors awaken, and those that haven't felt the sensation won't be able to truly understand. I simply live for being a part of that awakening, and actively stepping in to participate in nature's life cycle is a driving force that's difficult to explain. As we both stood in silence listening for the first Tom to break loose we heard a gobble way far off in the distance. We waited some more, hopefully to hear some closer calls from the roost, but after a few minutes and with light gaining traction above, the decision was made to slip down the hillside to set up along a two track that cuts across the block of woods.

As we eased downward, a bird decided to leave the roost. Maybe from us bumping it, maybe not. We quickly continued onto the path and set up the strutting Tom decoy along with a hen. As we were getting into position a Tom fired up directly in front of us, about 100 to 150 yard away. Moments later another gobble cut through the warm spring air as Mike & I nodded at each other, acknowledging the good sign of at least one bird close by. This went on for quite a while, with the Tom hearing Mike's calls and answering back, but not giving up any ground. We agreed to wait for his next gobble and if the bird was still holding his ground up ahead of us, then we would give up some of our ground and try to close in without being picked off. The Tom lit up again, still standing firm. We quickly and quietly moved into the new position ahead, leaving the decoys behind, but still completely visible along the path for a passing bird.

Mike gave a few soft yelps on his diaphragm call to let ole Tom know we've come a bit closer. What a difference a slight adjustment can make. By slipping in closer, and letting the birds know we were there, the response was almost instant. In what seemed like only seconds, there were turkey heads bobbing through the thick underbrush along the edge of the freshly cut hay field, weaving their way in to investigate the new party crasher. Closing the gap to head off the intruder were a pair of nosey hens that appeared suddenly at about 15 yards! As if on cue, your body knows not to move a muscle or twitch your nose, then because of this awareness for some reason your leg automatically starts to fall asleep, your forearm is cramping up from holding the gun, and of course your butt is sliding off your seat as you're fighting gravity sitting along the side of a hill.

Mike keeps whispering, "It's gonna happen man, it's gonna happen" as my heart rate starts to increase and the steam is escaping from my face mask. Suddenly two Toms, with glowing red heads, and prominent beards pop into view along the path at 40 yards. "We're gonna try and double" Mike says, "let the first one walk by and take the second." The plan's coming together as we sit like granite statues surrounded by birds.

Then, for some reason, the Toms' 6th sense knows that something just doesn't feel quite right about this situation. The birds are instantly nervous. You can see it in their body language. Scanning the woods constantly, on edge, they decide to take a turn and head out to the field behind them. Mike gives me the green light, "They're gonna leave man, take the shot if you've got it." I can't move though, they need to walk behind the cluster of tree trunks to their left in order to give me the split second needed to shift the 870's barrel into position for a shot. Then just mere moments later, they follow the script, allowing me to make a deliberate swing, click off the safety, and take aim. Everything goes silent except the heartbeat that sounded like its coming from my ears, the sun seemed to filter down through the glowing green canopy above like a stage light onto the bright, red, dome of one of the Toms while the bead on the end of my barrel matched up with him. A slow squeeze, followed up by a loud boom, and the woods erupted with birds running, flying, and getting the heck outta dodge!! My bird lays up ahead, flapping and flopping around. "You better run up and get him!" Mike says...

Double checking that the safety was back on, I was off on a slow jog, hopping over a logs and brush on my way over to claim my bird. As I got closer though the bird struggled to gather himself, flapping in a circle before somehow gaining his feet and looking wobbly standing there just inside the woods along the field's edge. The 870 met my shoulder, safety off again, bead on the bird at 15 yards, finger pressing the trigger, "click". Oh crap, I never pumped the forearm and ejected the spent shell!! Quickly racking the fore end up and back on gun, the hull flies out, and I assumed that the gun chambered another. That's what normally happens right? "Click" again. What the hell!? I push in the gun's action bar lock, and cycle the fore end again to cycle the third round into the chamber. That should do it now. "Click" Oh what the HELL now!?

Suddenly the Tom decides to impersonate a road runner. I swear I even heard a "meep-meep" as he headed out into the open field. "GET HIM!!!" Mike cheers from the spectator stands (or at least that's how my brain processed it) as I dashed out after him. Luckily my lightening quick reflexes had me over him in short order, like a hawk swooping in from the heavens. Only as my grasping hand reached down and swooped the bird up, he flapped free again, and into the open. There was no one else to beat as he broke for the end zone (or at least that's how my brain processed it again). Tossing the piece of junk single shot aside, my inner Troy Polamalu unexpectedly surfaced as my body was rocketing horizontally, almost Superman like, toward the touchdown Tom. As the cloud of dust, hay, camouflage, and feathers cleared I had secured the victory... and probably gave Mike a cramp from laughing so dang hard. Hey, he passed on a bird and gave me the shot, the least I could do was to try and make it entertaining for him right? And besides, I figured I didn't have the funds to pay for both a full body turkey mount and a new shotgun, so a nice DIY tail fan wingboard mount will have to suffice.

I can see a new spring time addiction has taken root.

11" beard

1 3/8" Spurs

Spring Turkey season through 5/19/12

Spring Turkey season has been something that I did in the past just to get back out in the woods. I'd hunted turkeys on and off over the years, mostly with limited success getting on birds and trying to call them in. A few times I had some close encounters with birds working, gobbling their heads off, and closing the distance to my calls only to have something go wrong in the end. Whether it be from a fox charging across the ridge top toward the gobbler sounding off, of from other hunters on public land trying to creep in on the bird I was working, something always goofed up the good chances I was about to have. Oh well, that's hunting right?

Well, after taking a lengthy break from chasing spring birds, I'd had enough and was really wanting to get back after it this year. The last hunt I was on 5 years ago, was just 2 days prior to the day my wife gave birth to our daughter. That wouldn't have been a big deal if I was close to home and had cell service, but that wasn't the case, and for some reason my wife saw issue with that. So, I decided to take a rest from the birds for a bit since spring time is always hectic around the house, and I'd rather spend my days in the autumn woods anyway.

First Hunt of Spring Season 2012:

Having trail camera pictures of turkeys, and seeing them in the fields during my spring time scouting ventures, I was fairly sure I'd be able to at least get out, and be close to the right spot. Whether it would be the right time was still undecided, but you can't kill 'em if you don't hunt 'em, so let's go...

As I was setting up my jake & hen decoys a gobbler sounded off from the roost in the still dark morning light. A smile came to my face since I was setting up close. He was fired up too, sounding off more and more as the sun started to light up the sky that morning. I called sparingly since most of the advice I've gotten from more experienced turkey hunters is that the #1 mistake people make is calling too much. It's hard to stop making those turkey noises though when a gobbler fires back at you every time you scratch out a call.

The Gobbler was sounding off looking directly beyond the decoys here.

After flying down, the birds hammered out a few more gobbles and I responded with some turkey talk back at him. Apparently either I didn't sound enticing enough to him, or he had some other hens within sight that took him away from me because the next series of gobbles were further away, then again further away, until finally I was hearing him across the property line and still moving away from my set up. I waited it out without hearing another sound before pulling up the stakes and heading off to my "to do" list for the day later that morning.

Second Hunt of Spring Season 2012:

Back at the same property, only this time setting up on the north end, and above the area where the birds had been roosted. I felt confident walking in that morning that I would hear birds again, and as I was starting to get set up, the first one sounded off. I stood still, listening, when the second bird joined in, clearly coming from the same direction, only located a few hundred yards to the north of the first bird. The only problem here was that they were across the road and on a neighboring property that I don't yet have permission for.

Time to move. I packed up and snuck southward through the woods along the creek bank. The birds are both still hammering away as the sun is gaining height. I got the decoys ready, crawled out into the open field, and stuck them in the ground about 15 yards out from the giant tree that would be my back rest for the morning. My only chance was to hope the birds saw my decoys, heard my calls, and didn't have any hens with them keeping company.

This time about I tried calling a bit more since there was a field, a road, and another field between my set up and where the birds were roosted. Probably a distance of 200 yards all together. The Toms were all responsive each time I laid into the box call. On one hand my fingers were crossed that something would happen, but understood the chances were slim on my other hand.

The opposite tree line in the back ground was where the Toms sounded off from this morning.

After flying down the birds gobbled a few times here, but as the sun warmed up the ground around me, the birds cooled off and grew quiet. A few random gobbles could be heard occasionally throughout the morning but they were so far off you would question yourself if that was a gobble at all. After waiting it out a few hours it was time to pick up and get back home for my son's soccer game. Apparently the other two hunters that slipped into the same woods I was set up in thought the same thing as I noticed them trying to discretely slip off of the property on the very far north end. I'll have to ask the land owner if he had granted anybody else permission. Something tells me that wasn't the case though....