A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 9:41 am

Or is it? I personally think some are worth a lot more than a thousand words. I also think some are worth considerably less. I suppose the content of the photo tips it one way or another for me. There are some members here on the forum that take terrific photos. And there are some members like me that take some pretty bad pictures. But most here are somewhere in the middle if the truth be told.

A picture should be judged in two areas to my way of thinking. The first is content. The second is visual quality. Scoring high on both ends of that scale is difficult. But it happens with a great deal of frequency at this forum. Take the picture of the Amish buggy with the young man looking out the door that R.J. recently submitted. That is one spectacular photo. And it is the content that pushed it over the top.

Last year this forum made a big effort to improve the quality of the photos submitted here on the forum. I think by everyone's estimation the effort was pretty darn successful. There was advice given as to how to set up the photo showing animals "harvested" in a good light. Sticking the tongues of deer back in their mouths prior to pushing the shutter button was often mentioned. Proper settings were another topic of discussion and advice was given to take pictures on the ground and not in the back of pick-ups. (Please take note that I violated that suggestion with the gray face buck this year and had the Swede snap a shot as I held his rack in the back of the Tundra.)

I was on the fence on this issue last year. I had the opinion that hunting is what hunting is. I pretty much shared the opinion that 8up professes in his thread showing a buck being gutted on the tailgate of a pickup and his wife's face smeared in blood. Hunting is killing and I don't care how you dress it up and put earrings on it, the animal dies. I am a big believer in the reason I still have canine teeth in my mouth. I am a predator.

I also like to believe I am the smartest predator around. I am certainly at the top of the food chain. And I demand my right to exercise my canine teeth every once in a while. I find I am allowed to do that here in Ohio much like 8up is allowed to in Tennessee. But I also find I can only exercise those teeth as long as I follow rules set down by legislators here in my state. They tell me what I can kill and when I can do it. And these law makers work for the citizens in my state. And the vast majority of these citizens do not hunt. They do, however, vote. They do in Tennessee also.

When I saw the picture of the pig with his brains blown out in the thread started by Shoot Straight I thought "no tracking, no meat lost" right away. The picture of the boar didn't bother me a bit. I don't like pigs. I kill them every year in the same state this one was shot. There are even less hunters in Florida versus Ohio and Tennessee when state populations are taken into consideration. Those people in Florida also go to the polls.

I still think hunting is about killing. It is also about gutting and brains being blown out. Is there much difference between a hog with his skull laid open versus the deer in the recent youtube with the arrow through the head so widely condemned on this very forum? Gets pretty foggy doesn't it? Where do you draw the line?

We can proclaim "I don't care what anyone including the anti's have to say, here is my picture showing what really happens during the hunt," and it probably makes us feel good. No one likes to stick it to the anti's anymore then I do. Those people are generally ill informed and do not understand that we sportsman though our license fee's and conservation efforts are the only reason most of these animals are around in the numbers they are today. I really don't care what the anti's think.

But I still like to think of myself as one smart predator. And being that smart predator, I do care what all those non hunters think here in Ohio. They are the vast majority. They seem to always be on the fence regarding hunting like I was regarding picture submissions to this forum last year. And they still vote.

Being the smart predator that I am I always look at pictures now and think "how would the vast majority of those voting non-hunters sitting on that fence perceive this picture?" After all, the people that set down the rules regarding when and how I hunt work for those people.

Submitting pictures that show gutting and open skull cavities absolutely depicts what can and does happen in hunting. Is it your right to submit these pictures? Of course it is.

Is it the smart thing to do?

A smart predator would say no.

ninepointer · Post by **ninepointer** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:02 am

When it comes to taking photos of the animals I kill (I don't really care for the benign correctness of "harvest"), I do my best to clean things up, so to speak. As much as I do it for others who might view my photo, I mostly do it for myself and for the animal.

For me (the thinking predator) it is sort of like the "table manners" of hunting. As with table manners, I slip up a lot and I would be conspicuous when dining with royalty, but it is a good practice nevertheless.

one shot scott · Post by **one shot scott** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:03 pm

Its hard to get a feel for whats ok or not nowadays. Everwhere we step theres a landmine waiting to blow.
I am not easily offended by graphic, "ethical" shot game. But understand how someone else may be. Its hard to judge what not to do

Kenton · Post by **Kenton** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:53 pm

Sorry guys, but I don't believe there is much, if any, "gray area". Every picture posted either helps or harms the hunting community. You might think this is an extreme statement but I truely believe it. I don't neccesarily think it should be this way, but we aren't dealing with rational people. The anti-hunting community only see the killing, because for a long time, that was all we showed them. Pictures of blood and guts and death became ammo against the way of life that we know.

A budy of mine, who works for the state of Idaho, was volunteering on a controlled burn down on the Zaleski State Forest is southeastern Ohio while in college. A few weeks later his face landed on a pamphlet from some environmental group against forest management practice. My point is this, our opponents will do anything and everything they can to end hunting and any ammo we give them WILL be shot back at us.

diesel · Post by **diesel** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:58 pm

I saw the post and was looking for a picture and I got a 1000 words.

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:17 pm

diesel wrote:I saw the post and was looking for a picture and I got a 1000 words.

Eight hundred and seventy-seven to be precise.

One of my shorter efforts.

I usually do around eleven hundred to twelve hundred. That is the amount associated with a magazine column.

R.J. · Post by **R.J.** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:13 pm

It's a matter of preference to me ... beauty is in the eye of the beholder !

When I see something and my brain goes " that looks cool " , I take a picture .

That Mennonite wagon with the young kid looking out , just caught my eye ... and I pulled over quick to get a picture .

When that little dog was jumping up at LeonK my brain goes " that looks cool " , I take a picture .

Started 25 years ago when I would come home from hunting and tell my wife ... you should have seen this , you should have seen that etc. etc. .. It just lost something in the translation ...

When I started taking photo journal's of the hunts ... she thought it was pretty cool and started showing them to her girls friends and misc relatives when they were over saying " this was Rick's latest adventure ...

I noticed right away when non hunters viewed the photo's ( and we have many non hunters in our combined family ) they would cringe when they saw a brutal bloody shot , so I started weeding them out of my photo diaries ..

Let's face it ... blood and guts are a part of hunting ... I have never stated other wise .

But nature and hunting can be beautiful and it can be brutal ...

For example , You will see many wildlife artists portraying life and death struggles between wolves and deer , fox and small prey , grizzlies and Elk etc ....

It usually shows a magnificent specimen of a grizzly squaring off with beautifull bull elk !

Or a magestic polar bear waiting at a seal hole while the artic wind wails in the background ..

Or the classic Grizzly in midstream jaws open about to catch a salmon in mid jump !

Or the classic , archer in a stand ... frosty morning , drawing back on a beautifull mature whitetail monster buck .

Those are awsome images ( to name a few ) ...Those are also the images displayed in millions of outdoorsmans homes world wide , that make us stand back and say " wow " ! ... " That is a beautiful nature scene " ! . And it leaves something to the imagination !

Now look at it this way ... If the artist painted a moment after , when the arrow passed through on a misplaced shot far back because the buck moved and small gut ponch protrudes from the exit wound as blood sprays every where ... I guess we could say " That's reality "

But personally , I wouldn't buy that print and display it in my house !

If they painted the blood soaked face of a grizzly as it ripped the throat out of a downed elk with it's last breath fading into the air ... with it's guts hanging out of a gapping wound from a paw slash during the encounter .... I guess we could say " That's reality "

But I personally , wouldn't buy that print and display it in my house !

Or a pack of frenzied wolves ripping a whitetail to shreds , feeding on it's hind and middle quarters while it still tries to struggle away 1/2 alive ... I guess we could say " That's reality "

But I personally , wouldn't buy that print and display it in my house !

Instead of the classic grizzly catching a salmon ... they paint a dishelved old bear feeding on the 100's of bloated rotten salmon carcasses that litter the stream after spawning I guess we could say " That's reality "

But I personally , wouldn't buy that print and display it in my house !

I know oh too well how brutal and bloody hunting and nature can be ... I just don't like to display it !

It's my own preference ... beauty is in the eye of the beholder .

I took a beauty buck one year .. 270 cal 180 grain nosler partion bullet , the shot hit him in the nose , blew his bottom jaw away and a large exit wound out the back of his head ( not the shot I had planned when I pulled the trigger , but a devistating shot that dropped him in his tracks and no meat spolied ! ) ... I was young , and if I could have afforded to have him mounted I would not have wanted him mounted like that !

I would have prefered to have him mounted the way I remember him before the shot ... head up , wind scenting .

Come to think of it ... If tounges hanging out , nose dripping blood etc. is such a part of the hunt , then why dont you get the trophy mounted the same way !

If a picture of a deer gutted on the back of a truck with your wife smeared in blood is what apeals to you , and is the premium shot that helps you remember that hunt from years ago ... giddy up !

It's just not my cup tea ... I'm not forcing my opinion on anybody .
( although I have to admit , those pic's do show a couple enjoying the hunt and it's rewards ! )

I like to remember the breath taking images of the hunt ..

When I go to a friends or relatives funeral ... I want to see beautiful pictures of them , so I can lock in a " fond memory " ... I don't want to see the Cancer riddled , skin covered skeleton they were in their final days ... or the brutal ripped apart body from the accident ... know it's reality , but It's just not my cup tea !

On a lighter note , I have to admit though .... I see more and more pictures every year from more and more people ... field shots , camp shots , family shots , friends together a 3D shoots etc.

I still say " a picture is worth 1000 words " !

I think it's awsome ! .... Keep em coming guys and gals !

PS : How many people actaully read this whole rant ?

... You were probably thinking ! ... " where's the freaking pictures ' !

Real McCoy · Post by **Real McCoy** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:41 pm

R.J. wrote: ... You were probably thinking ! ... " where's the freaking pictures ' !

No - actually I was wondering where was the freaking tea.

munch · Post by **munch** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:51 pm

all i have to say mike is CHEESE.

ComfyBear · Post by **ComfyBear** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 6:33 pm

Like R.J. has stated above, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is why one man's trash is another man's treasure.

I'm sure that it's not the intention of any poster to post less than savory pics.

One might argue that pictures "speak" clearer than words. Perhaps that is true. However, just like words, they too have to be analyzed and interpreted. That being the case, as individuals, each one of us will interpret what we see through our own "mind's eye".

Unfortunately, similar to real eyes, not all "mind-eyes" are created equal.
Therefore, one cannot and should not expect pictures to be interpreted the same by one and all.

So I say, let's post what is exceptable to our mind's eye, and fear not what others might say or think.

Big John · Post by **Big John** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 6:48 pm

As long as we are Hunting and Harvesting it's all good!
Pictures are for memories. Take what you can when you can, all of them say something to the one who hunted. If you want to share them with someone, show them what you wish, keep the others away unless they ask, but take lots of pics and dont worry about everyone else at that time, just take them. You will be sorry if you dont take enough and later wanted them.

Sometimes a New hunter would like to see the ones that others dont, to learn more about the practice and gain first hand knowledge.

Petersen · Post by **Petersen** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:05 pm

Amen R.J. !!!!! I couldn't agree more.

After seeing some of your pictures, I was inspired to invest some of my hard earned money on a new camera myself. Since then, I have snapped away several thousand photos, and I even get a good one every now and again!

(see the cover of the OFAH calendar this year)....sorry I had to I am a little proud of that one!

I have to say...if the unimaginable ever happened, and I wasn't allowed to take my gun/bow in the woods anymore, I would certainly be packing a camera and heading out for a different type of hunt. As for what we choose to portray....I like how R.J. put it

I like to remember the breath taking images of the hunt ..

chris4570 · Post by **chris4570** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:07 pm

Well written Mike!!A picture is worth a thousand words, but your words are worth a thousand pictures.

RJ that has got to be your longest written post!!!!

Makes sense to me.

one shot scott · Post by **one shot scott** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:33 pm

evedently rj's words are every bit as good as his pics. Very well said!

DuckHunt · Post by **DuckHunt** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:51 pm

one shot scott wrote:evedently rj's words are every bit as good as his pics. Very well said!

x 2