Fish Pictures

[mvdaog]

I know I'm just stirring up shh but I didnt sleep that well last night and I feel like ranting this morning.

 

A nice fish is a nice fish is a nice fish. I remember when I was new to the sport and I thought that every nice fish I caught I had to get a picture of, to show off and help bolster the idea that I was truly a special fisherman. But I soon realized that for people who don't fish, they dont give a flying f about your fish pictures... then I realized that people on the internet like seeing fish pictures and posted them for a while, more so to try and prove that at 21 years old I was doing as well or better than the best of the old timers. But pretty soon I realized that the bow is actually a really easy place to catch fish, and even fishing the trico hatches for trophys doesn't take more than pretty basic skill, and now that I look back on it, I wish I never posted fish pictures just to show off. And its pretty clear to me that the guys here who are really catching most the fish on the river never post fish pictures, and a lot of those guys quit even using the message board.

 

That being said, I'm all for seeing pictures of fish and sometimes feel like posting fish pictures with a report. There's some great photographers in our community and fish are beautiful. But, and this is why I started this rant, why do most of us have to stick our arms out straight to the camera to make the fish seem bigger!?!?!! I know I did it, and so I know the answer. But looking back, how embarrassing, at least for me. I mean, any fisherman knows when you have a nice fish... just take a picture of your trophy, it will show your manhood and your skills without the straight arm effect. It's just cheesy and shows the real reason behind posting the pictures... much better to me is a nice picture of the fish half in and half out of the water, close-ups with nice pictures of the colors, things like that.

 

Let's start a campaign -- ban straight arm fish pictures!!!

[fisher26]

A well written and interesting post. At least a portion of the reason we fish is to glorify the "great I", but I see that more as a facet of human nature, and although it's not pretty I think it's an intrinsic part of fishing. To be honest, I have dozens of pictures of large trout that I haven't shown to people, but they're kind of like medals or trophies, something that I can look back upon and admire at a later date. I know that sounds a bit self-congradulatory, but honestly 90% of the reason I fish doesn't have to do with the fish. As long as we aren't increasing the mortality of the fish merely to satisfy our compulsion for photographic evidence, I see no problem in the matter whatsoever.

 

[trailhead]

It's good that you are expressing your opinion, and I agree with it. I think you hit the nail on the head when you touched on the fact that you used to post a lot of pictures and I think it's a phase most people go through. I used to post fish porn too. But now I just admire the fish for a moment and let it go. Mind you if I catch something unusual I will take a shot and post it, kind of a novelty thing I guess. As far as the extending the arms, I always forget to do that, unless the picture taker says to do it. But I pretty much fish by myself or with people who don't take a camera along, they think it jinxes the outing. But I do like to admire the pics so I guess I'm being a bit hypcritical.

[Hawgstoppah]

I cant even remember the last time I posted on here. Getting flamed for every picture or every day where a lot of fish were caught made me think, why bother? I rarely post reports anymore.

 

having said that, I do take pictures of fish. Colourful pretty ones. Not so much big ones anymore, I like color, or nasty looking jaws on browns, or scenery... just the other week I was on the crow in a blizzard and shot some awesome pics!

 

I'd post them here but someone would probably say we shoulnd't be fishing in the snow for them..... :$*%&:

[Buck]

I guess I see taking pictures as different point of view. I lug around more camera gear than the average fishermen (DSLR body, 2 lenses, filters, tripod, etc), I carry that gear not JUST for taking pictures of fish - more for taking photos of landscapes & wildlife that I encounter on the way. As for the reason of taking photos of fish, it is simply so that I have something to look back on when I'm an old man to remind me of my younger years. Something that I can share with my family or friends. A properly taken photo can put me back in that moment of time, it allows me to remember what exactly was going on that day (the weather, where I was, how the fishing was, etc) - so I see absolutely nothing wrong with taking pictures of fish...if done the right way (not laying the fish down in the rocks & mud, having them out of the water for extended periods of time, etc). As for posting the pictures, I generally like to do one photo post at the end of the year highlighting all of the special moments for that year. To me it doesn't seem like an ego boost, it is more of sharing those experiences with others who weren't there. It's a shame that people have been trashed on the boards for sharing photos, to the point where they don't post anymore.

 

As for the whole extending the arms while holding the fish - well I don't know if I agree with the original post either. If you have a decent camera that allows you to control the aperature (how wide of an opening for light to come onto the sensor) , then extending your arms helps seperate the fish from the background (the fishermen, the bank, etc.) and in turn creates a bokeh effect (blurry background with an in focus foreground). It also helps make the fish the focal point of the photo, instead of the fishermen cuddling the fish like it is a baby. You get that much more detail of the fish - which is kind of the whole point of taking a picture of a fish sometimes. That's not to say that extending the arms makes the fish look bigger, I'm not denying that. But I think anyone who has looked at enough fish porn can tell how big the fish is regardless of how it was held.

 

My 2 cents.

[birchy]

I guess I see taking pictures as different point of view. I lug around more camera gear than the average fishermen (DSLR body, 2 lenses, filters, tripod, etc), I carry that gear not JUST for taking pictures of fish - more for taking photos of landscapes & wildlife that I encounter on the way. As for the reason of taking photos of fish, it is simply so that I have something to look back on when I'm an old man to remind me of my younger years. Something that I can share with my family or friends. A properly taken photo can put me back in that moment of time, it allows me to remember what exactly was going on that day (the weather, where I was, how the fishing was, etc) - so I see absolutely nothing wrong with taking pictures of fish...if done the right way (not laying the fish down in the rocks & mud, having them out of the water for extended periods of time, etc). As for posting the pictures, I generally like to do one photo post at the end of the year highlighting all of the special moments for that year. To me it doesn't seem like an ego boost, it is more of sharing those experiences with others who weren't there. It's a shame that people have been trashed on the boards for sharing photos, to the point where they don't post anymore.

 

As for the whole extending the arms while holding the fish - well I don't know if I agree with the original post either. If you have a decent camera that allows you to control the aperature (how wide of an opening for light to come onto the sensor) , then extending your arms helps seperate the fish from the background (the fishermen, the bank, etc.) and in turn creates a bokeh effect (blurry background with an in focus foreground). It also helps make the fish the focal point of the photo, instead of the fishermen cuddling the fish like it is a baby. You get that much more detail of the fish - which is kind of the whole point of taking a picture of a fish sometimes. That's not to say that extending the arms makes the fish look bigger, I'm not denying that. But I think anyone who has looked at enough fish porn can tell how big the fish is regardless of how it was held.

 

My 2 cents.

 

Excellent post! Thanks for that.

[SilverDoctor]

Very good post mvdaog thanks for writing that. Well said.

[reevesr1]

I don't really mind the old extended arm shot, with a couple of reservations. I must say that on truly large fish, they are unfortunate since nobody can tell how big they are. But I guess really it does not matter very much. In the end, it's really just a memory for the fisherman. But when I break the 28" mark on the Bow, that sucker will be held close to the vest so to speak.

 

As an aside, extended arm shots are pretty much outlawed on the saltwater sites I used to frequent.