Yes Virginia...I do hunt. (picture HEAVY)

[Elkman]

I know I shouldn't let this type of stuff get to me, but it does.
When I found this site on another forum I thought, Cool, local guy's of like minds!
Then I was even more surprised when I logged on and saw the Photography was the 2nd thread in the list of things to talk about on the site. So in my excitement I through up a picture I took while headed over for late season archery as my way to say HI and introduce myself.

I don't have alot of time to get online being a stay at home dad with a Disabled step daughter and my 5 yr old son with Leukemia and that where into the 3yrd year of treatment, and now he has walking pneumonia and strep on his bottom that is worse pain then anything I thing I could handle.

Yes I have time this moment to post as I sit here in his hospital room and he sleeps.

I tried to answer what I could when I could, but I guess I didn't do anything to validate my hunting prowess.

The other reasons I have not posted more "hunting" Pictures is....

1. When I am hunting I have about 20 total days a year to hunt early season and late combined, so when I'm hunting, I'm hunting.
Not shooting pics of animals I am after.

2. If I do shoot pics during hunting season, it's usually around camp or something I see while going in or coming out.

3. My animals are nothing to look at as I don't and never have hunted for horn. I am a meat hunter and hunt for Elk in a Spike or Cow unit only. Plus I have to do self portraits as I am usually alone tell I am done gutting and skinning, then get help if I can.

4. All but this season have been shot on film or a small digital point and shoot. So I have still to send in about 2000 slides out of my collection of 80,000 images to get scanned and processed to a degree that will justify having it done for great prints in the future.

5. What I do have are on removable hard drives and not something I keep on my laptops small 50g hard drive so I have to go find them.

Another point I would like to make is I am in no way what I would call a Professional.
In the 25 years that I have been shooting first film then digital I think I have made a total of $500.00.
If I am a professional, them I am in the wrong profession.

I just got the smugmug account for my video clients to show them pics I would take on the side with my Point and shoot and now my Nikon D200 which by the way I just bought in August of this last year.
Plus my family said I should TRY to sell some and get some return on investment.
It's just a photo hosting site like all the others, I just made it look good. Hell, you can click "buy this picture" on most all of them.
Since I got the Smugmug account I have sold a grand total of $16.00 worth of pictures to some lady's I took pictures of at a motorcycle track day my wife was doing.
I'm raking it in aren't I?

I hope to Discuss more on photography and Hunting here in the future.

Last night after the family was asleep, 11pm-2am, I worked on finding what I could from hunting, fishing and scouting pics then re-sized them all to 800x600. Some of the might look like crap because I scanned them into my computer back in the late 90's with a crappy slide scanner.

OH, and why I chose the Rainier picture I did, Rules- The photo must pertain to hunting or fishing or the outdoors in some fashion.

So In no particulary order, Enjoy.

[Ray]

You used to hunt with Brian Bosworth? 

Mullets are so cool 

[Elkman]

ahh, hate to say it, that was me in '91 hunting pig on Maui. 

[wastickslinger]

wow!! some great pictures. Thaks for sharing.

[actionshooter]

ahh, hate to say it, that was me in '91 hunting pig on Maui. 

Thats OK in 91 I still had one too.
 Nice pics!

[M_ray]

Elkman, I hope it wasn't me you were offend by, my comment's that " It looks like I am up against professinals" over on Photo of the year, was made assuming you were because your pictures are so good! I appreciate your talent and didn't mean anything by it other than I was being a smart   Sorry.

[wrangler]

holy crap! awesome!

[Antlershed]

I don't know which is cooler, the mullets or the hunting tights. 

Awesome pictures as always.

[Elkman]

I don't know which is cooler, the mullets or the hunting tights. 

Awesome pictures as always.

Ya know....I ran into a couple of guy's up there that said the same thing.
There not tights per say, there fleece sweats that aren't baggy 

[M_ray]

Elkman, just so you aren't taking all the punishment for a bad hair era ... you know people it was in style then here's proof! a couple of mullets holding the Major Indoor Soccer League championship trophy in 1991!


Ya OK that's me on the right so what of it! Sorry I know it's not a soccer site but I didn't hunt then so I don't have any hunting pics of me then!

[Elkman]

Sweet!
Did you get to keep the trophy? 

[M_ray]

No I got something better, what every player plays for ... a ring!  The Chicago Power kept that trophy!

[LongTatLaw]

Great pics bro!

I love the clouds over snow and the pine/fur limb close up!

Great work bro!

[popeshawnpaul]

While you take professional quality photos, I don't think you qualify as a professional in any sense of the imagination.  I read in a photo magazine one time that they say you must make somewhere between 25-50% of your income at least to be considered such...  There were other factors, but the point is clear.  

This isn't what your post is about, but I do feel if someone asks me to vote for the best photo or photo of the year, yours has to win hands down.  I have had a hard time with the photo of the month for a few months now because I don't know what they are looking for so I haven't entered it in a while.  I really enjoyed when we had the month where it was hunting/fishing success photos.  That gave me direction and it was easy to vote because of that.  I would suggest to the powers that be more monthly themes...sunset month, water shots month, bird hunting shots, mammal month, fishing month, etc.  Or, if we are a hunting site only then hunting shots only.

I understand the meat hunting thing.  I shot the first legal elk I saw this year.  It happened to be a 3 point bull, but if it was a 200 lb calf...I'd have been eating calf meat tonight.  I got out of trophy hunting for a long long time and have shot more does than bucks I think if I add them all up...  Anywho, I enjoy the pictures you take and advise you help give.  And even if you are a Nikon guy, I hope you stick around here as much as possible.  I have yet to win a photo of the month, so consider yourself a step ahead of me...lol.

[Elkman]

While you take professional quality photos, I don't think you qualify as a professional in any sense of the imagination.  I read in a photo magazine one time that they say you must make somewhere between 25-50% of your income at least to be considered such...  There were other factors, but the point is clear.  

Exactly.

I have had a hard time with the photo of the month for a few months now because I don't know what they are looking for so I haven't entered it in a while.  I really enjoyed when we had the month where it was hunting/fishing success photos.  That gave me direction and it was easy to vote because of that.  I would suggest to the powers that be more monthly themes...sunset month, water shots month, bird hunting shots, mammal month, fishing month, etc.  Or, if we are a hunting site only then hunting shots only.

Great Idea!

Honestly, I personnaly didn't enter to win, I get more pleasure out of someone saying "Nice picture" then anything else.

I LOVE shooting with a camera more then anything I do, But I do make a living as a videographer, and that's a whole different ball of wax.