Pennsylvania Game News - September 2017 - 37

a ﬂash. If they turn out better, you'll
be glad you did.
A ﬂash also should be used in at least
some photos taken in low-light situations. While you might be able to get a
good photo in low light without a ﬂash,
if there's not enough light, a hand-held
camera will have a tough time holding
focus and the photos will appear blurry.
A ﬂash provides light and stops the
movement.
A ﬂash also can help resolve issues
caused by sun glare on the lens.

BEARS & TURKEYS
Using a ﬂash often is important in
bear harvest photos.
In most cases the bear is nearly
entirely black, and that plays havoc
with the camera's light meter because
there's such a contrast in color between
the bear and hunter. If the meter
adjusts to the darkness of bear, the
hunter's face is likely to be washed
away in the photo and all details shown
too lightly. If the meter adjusts to the
hunter, the bear is likely to look like
little more than a black blob.
A ﬂash can even out this contrast.
Bear-harvest photos present other
challenges, as well.
When lying on the ground, its head
held by a hunter, a bear is not nearly
as tall as a deer, so there's a lot more
empty space between the hunter's and
trophy's eyes. You'll want to close that
distance.
While bears, especially big ones,
aren't easy to move, you can often get
a better photo by using a log to elevate
the bear off the ground. You can position the bear with the log underneath
its shoulders, and you might want to
use its legs to further prop it up. What
SEPTEMBER 2017

you're trying to do is raise the chest
high.
A log also can help to display the
bear's paws and claws, which a lot of
hunters like to show in photos.
Turkeys, with their mostly dark
color and smaller size present some
of the same challenges.
Most will want to show not only the
background, hunter and turkey, but - in
the case of a gobbler - the turkey's fan,
head, beard and spurs. Using a log to
raise the turkey higher toward to the
hunter can help to better bring all of
these elements together. Like with deer
and bear photos, avoid lining up the
hunter's and turkey's heads, and take
the photo from a low angle.

PRESERVING MEMORIES
Memories of a special hunt don't
fade fast, but a good harvest photo can
go a long way in keeping them fresh
for a lifetime. And a photo sometimes
is the best way to share those memories with others.
While you don't have to make
taking harvest photos part of your
hunt, you'll no doubt ﬁnd the process
enjoyable.
Spending that time to capture that
moment, especially on those hunts
alongside friends and family, adds to
your experience. And you come away
with an image you can share with
others, and fondly look back upon
years later.
The memories we make are part
of why we hunt. And the photos we
take provide all of the details of those
memories.
If you don't take a photo, or don't
take the right photo, it's just a missed
opportunity.
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Pennsylvania Game News - September 2017

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