Bird Camp Diaries: November 2009

Bird Camp Diaries are nothing more than whimsical monthly musings. We hope you find them entertaining, and sometimes thought provoking.

Quit Ruining Your Pheasant Photo Album

For all its beauty, the ring-necked pheasant usually receives an improper and unnecessary send-off. Take a look through your own photo collection and you'll see what I mean. If it isn't a bird being choked like a chicken, it's a rooster that looks like he was shot with a 10 gauge, dropped into a volcano and retrieved by a pack of wolves.

I'm as guilty as anyone. My first decade of trophy shots was taken in my parents' entry way with a washer/dryer backdrop. Nothing against two great home appliances, but I'd prefer to remember more about the hunt and less about the spin cycle. Thankfully, I'm evolving, and you can too.

Handle With Care. For the best shots, treat the birds almost as if you were going to take them to the taxidermist. Avoid ringing or grabbing by the neck, and place carefully into game vest. If you can, avoid that completely and just get to your vehicle and lay 'em down.
Mark Your Calendar. If you take one minute to take photos after the hunt, the pictures will likely resemble the fact that you took one minute to photograph after the hunt. Pencil in 10-15 minutes, take your time, and do it right.
Make Out Session. They say "fill the frame" in the biz, as many good pictures have been ruined by "extras." Pretend your subject is your prom date, and move in for the kill.
Take a Knee. Denny Green would've been a great photographer. Get at eye level or lower.
Keep it Clean. Beer bottles, Pringles cans and your Big Johnson t-shirt would be perfect for Poison's website, but not for these post-hunt shots. Stay in your orange or camo garb, and keep the props to your firearms, four-legged buds and a box of shells.
Snap, Snap Away. Unless your name is Ansel Adams, chances are you're using a digital camera. Take tens to hundreds of pictures. I've found that out of 100 photos, only a few will end up being noteworthy. That's okay, and it's only a click to delete the rest.
Candid Camera. Not every photo needs to be a grip and grin. Take some landscape shots, and if you're hunting with friends or family, take shots of people in their element just being themselves. You will be surprised by what you come up with.
The Setting. Time-worn wooden fence posts with barbed wire and rusty old farm machinery are probably part of the landscape you hunt, so use them to stage your shots. If you can hang or set your birds here, it will prevent you from going Boston Strangler on your hard-earned harvest.

Anthony Hauck is Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever's Public Relations Specialist Return to On the Wing: November 2009

"On The Wing" Archive

Bird Camp Diaries: November 2009

Quit Ruining Your Pheasant Photo Album

"On The Wing" Archive

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