To Grip and Grin or not to Grip and Grin

[Zach]

I happily and unashamedly take grip and grin pics. My pictures are for my memories and to be shared with friends. When we as hunters become ashamed of documenting the outcome of pulling the trigger or releasing an arrow for fear of offending others we play right into the anti-hunters hands.

Bingo!

To be honest though, even when I smile in family pictures I don't show teeth....well, except this one time...

 

[Gerald Martin]

Thoughts like this miss the mark. It's not about being ashamed or playing into the hands of anti hunters, it's about preserving the sport we love. Like I said in my original post, I think of this topic as a form of evolution. I think it's wise to try to grow as a hunter and from time to time evaluate how we do things. If a hunter can look at how he or she does things and in response to that encourage others to participate in hunting or at least increase their impression of it then it will always be a good thing. I cherish the opportunity to have a fellow hunter share their photos, grip and grin or not, and tell me about the amazing experiences that go along with it. How one approaches the hunt means more than the celebration in most cases. I just wanted to personally think about unique ways we can take photos and share memories and maybe inspire others along the way.

I'm all for finding new and unique ways to take photos and share memories and inspire other along the way. Documenting the whole hunt from start to finish adds to the overall experience and memories. However, I do not anticipate eliminating the pictures that show the final outcome of a bullet or an arrow from my documentation in order to not offend anyone. I'm all for taking time to present the animal in the best way possible and not show an undue amount of blood or gore but this is what we do as hunters. I have no intention of being "in-your face" with my pictures, but neither am I ashamed of the outcome of what we as hunters do. Thirty years from now when my son shows this picture to his sons do you think an artsy picture of something other than him and his first squirrel would evoke the same memories?

As I look back over the pictures of my friend Sanford and his first elk, days from his 60th birthday, after over ten days of hunting these pictures stand out as the climax of drama, effort and hard work from our hunt. I make no apologies to anyone who does not understand why a grown man would want a picture beside a dead animal with his fist in the air. Would I choose that as the first and only picture I would show to a non-hunter? Probably not, but neither would I delete it from an album that I would be proud to hand to anyone.

I'm not intending to come off here as contentious to your original post. I do applaud your effort to raise awareness of how we present ourselves to the non hunting public.

 

[twodot]

Every once in a while, we capture a family classic with the camera. This is one of my boys favorite pictures from Ol' Mommy back in the day. They were at a highly impressionable age, and vividly remember all the blood, and protruding arrow from this kill more than many other larger bucks and bulls that they helped us get out of the woods. We weren't trying to get it published in a ladies journal, it was for us, and those friends who know us well.

 

[bmack]

To be honest it is one of the best parts of any hunt. I'm OCD about taking photos and making them look artistic. I'll take 100 photos to capture those 5-10 that standout as framers.

I take my time cleaning the animal, positioning them in a presentable fashion and getting good shots of the hunter. Keeping in mind lighting, angles and everything else.

I've used a number of field photos to create canvas art pieces which are life long memories for myself or the hunter to cherish.

 

[twodot]

bmack, I agree about the photos being one of the best parts of the hunt. We will spend much time and effort to showcase the animal and get the hunter and their gear into the picture. Wipe down blood, cut tongues, etc. but also are always sure to get some "just the way it was shots".

 

[fwagner]

I'm all for finding new and unique ways to take photos and share memories and inspire other along the way. Documenting the whole hunt from start to finish adds to the overall experience and memories. However, I do not anticipate eliminating the pictures that show the final outcome of a bullet or an arrow from my documentation in order to not offend anyone. I'm all for taking time to present the animal in the best way possible and not show an undue amount of blood or gore but this is what we do as hunters. I have no intention of being "in-your face" with my pictures, but neither am I ashamed of the outcome of what we as hunters do. Thirty years from now when my son shows this picture to his sons do you think an artsy picture of something other than him and his first squirrel would evoke the same memories?

As I look back over the pictures of my friend Sanford and his first elk, days from his 60th birthday, after over ten days of hunting these pictures stand out as the climax of drama, effort and hard work from our hunt. I make no apologies to anyone who does not understand why a grown man would want a picture beside a dead animal with his fist in the air. Would I choose that as the first and only picture I would show to a non-hunter? Probably not, but neither would I delete it from an album that I would be proud to hand to anyone.

I'm not intending to come off here as contentious to your original post. I do applaud your effort to raise awareness of how we present ourselves to the non hunting public.

Those are great photos! Love the squirrel hunting picture!! I'm going to steal your idea on those elk pics, some of the best I have seen. "Applause"!!

 

[fwagner]

Some great points all around

 

[The Hedgehog]

Awesome photos Gerald. Great thread. I've a mountain of grip and grin shots and other hunting photos at home. I try to take nicer photos these days but love the terrible tacky terrible photos I took in the past. My kids and grand kids will be thankfull I took the time. It's always fun to take photos after a successful day in the field... At least it is for me.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

Greeny, I have seen your Grip and Grins, top notch, worthy of most magazines. But every time I think about your greatest it has to be that Little Bitty Hairless Elk! LOL John

 

[grizzly_]

I typically spend nearly an hour taking photos after a successful hunt. Unless the animal is mounted, these pics will often be the only tangible memory I have of the hunt, who I was with, what the terrain looked like, and will be treasured for years.

Like many hunters, I get that strange paradoxical sensation of regret and remorse immediately after taking the life of a magnificent creature but I know the animal will be used fully, the memory treasured, and hopefully the mount honored for many years to come. I fully believe in what hunters do for conservation, but on the same hand I don't want to hunt with anybody that doesn't get that small tinge of guilt after taking a life as it shouldn't be taken lightly.

I have never gotten this perception from Hatfield's photos, but I will say that many non-smilers come across to me as trying to look like a bad@ss showing their supremacy over an animal... I kind of get a "small pen!s syndrome" feel from some of the guys with their squinty scowl at the camera. This is not to say that some don't show a reverence instead of a smile, which I respect, but some seem tasteless to me.

Also, I will second that I don't like hunters sitting on the animal, it is perceived to me as disrespectful, as though they conquered the animal... this is a mindset I could do without.

Here's the first deer I ever shot without my dad there to help me. It won't grace any record books, but that picture always takes me back to one of my proudest hunting moments. I couldn't have hid that smile if I tried.

 

[fwagner]

^^^^what he said

 

[Zach]

<snip>Like many hunters, I get that strange paradoxical sensation of regret and remorse immediately after taking the life of a magnificent creature but I know the animal will be used fully, the memory treasured, and hopefully the mount honored for many years to come. I fully believe in what hunters do for conservation, but on the same hand I don't want to hunt with anybody that doesn't get that small tinge of guilt after taking a life as it shouldn't be taken lightly.

Not sure if I've ever felt regret or remorse, those imply(to me) I've done something wrong.

I have never gotten this perception from Hatfield's photos, but I will say that many non-smilers come across to me as trying to look like a bad@ss showing their supremacy over an animal... I kind of get a "small pen!s syndrome" feel from some of the guys with their squinty scowl at the camera. This is not to say that some don't show a reverence instead of a smile, which I respect, but some seem tasteless to me.

Also, I will second that I don't like hunters sitting on the animal, it is perceived to me as disrespectful, as though they conquered the animal... this is a mindset I could do without.<snip>

So, does my photo from the 1st page apply?

 

[noharleyyet]

So, does my photo from the 1st page apply?

Where's the cigarette?

 

[Ben Lamb]

To each their own, but I like Boone & Crockett's take on this.

 

[grizzly_]

Zach, since you asked, I'll answer. I love the grin on the picture you posted, but for my tastes I still prefer the hunter to not be sitting on the animal for the pictures... you and I just disagree on this and that is okay, we're just different.

Ben Lamb, great picture and the word they used, "solemnness", may be a better way to describe that feeling than "that strange paradoxical sensation of regret and remorse" that I used in my post, as I'm clearly not a writer and am weak in my ability to relay emotion with words.

Taking the life an animal that I love and respect is a strange contradiction that I think I'm not alone in feeling. I think the main thing to remember is that each of us experiences the taking of an animal very differently, some with sheer jubilation and some with an almost spiritual reverence, and often a little bit of both. And I believe that is okay. There isn't a right or a wrong in how one reacts at taking a life, I just hope they do right by the animal in the end.

I personally hope with every fiber of my body that a few weeks from now I am kneeling next to my first archery bull elk, but I am quite certain that if I am blessed enough to have that experience there will be a little bit of sadness in my heart that the animal in front of me fell at my hand and his bugles will no longer echo through the canyons.

Ultimately, I hope none of us would ever stand Captain Morgan-style with one foot on an animal we have taken, but others may shed open tears of remorse. I suspect most of us are somewhere in-between... beyond that is between the hunter and the hunted.

There is a quote that somebody said that goes something like this, "One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills to have hunted..."

 

[Zach]

Zach, since you asked, I'll answer. I love the grin on the picture you posted, but for my tastes I still prefer the hunter to not be sitting on the animal for the pictures... you and I just disagree on this and that is okay, we're just different.

Best statement yet. I don't feel like I've disrespected the buck in any way, shape or form. But that's my opinion. I hunted that buck for 3 years before finally coming out ahead. I'll take my straddle over a buck any day before a "team" photo.






On the B&C photo, the thing that stands out to me, it was an actual wildlife commissioner that killed the bear. How often does that happen these days?

Oh, I found this on the B&C website too...

http://www.boone-crockett.org/bgRecords/records_youthessay_results.asp?area=bgRecords

 

[Zach]

Where's the cigarette?

It's a doobie now...

 

[noharleyyet]

It's a doobie now...

When in Rome....

 

[Ben Lamb]

Zach
I would wager, at least in the west (Excluding CA) that most commissioners either hunt or fish or have held a license in the past.

Grizz,
I'm 110% with you. Well said.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I'd much rather ride a dead elk in a photo than stand next to 10 guides.