A Picture Says a Thousand Words

Most of us, who have been fortunate enough to take a deer with a bow, have seized the opportunity to have our picture taken with our prize. Whether it’s that first doe or a trophy buck, most of us want the memories captured on film. Not only can we look at those photos years later and relive those moments but now we have something tangible to show our buddies who for some reason don’t believe half the lies we tell them.
But I discovered something you can do with your camera that involves archery and the whole family can participate. My father, who lives in northern Minnesota, told me on the phone the other day that he’d like some photos of the family in archery action shots since my whole family (both boys and the wife too) likes to shoot bow. So I grabbed our camera and my oldest son (McLane) and out to the back yard we went. I decided that I’d be the guinea pig for the initial photo shoot and McLane would be the photographer. Dressed in full hunting gear and armed with my bow, my son began taking pictures of me at different angles. At first, he didn’t want to be doing this because something better was on TV. But soon he was into it and was even directing me into different poses. He ended up getting some GREAT shots.
And then I thought what a great family thing this would be to do together. Let everyone get into whatever clothes they want, grab the bows and camera, and head outside. Let everyone get their pictures taken in whatever archery pose they want but the family members can participate in offering varying ideas. Take LOTS of pictures of everyone from different angles. Let the kids run the camera to get the photos of mom and dad in archery action shots. And change things up a bit…you could even pretend you’re in a treestand (McLane laid down on the ground and took some pics of me – looks just like I’m sitting up in a tree stand even though my feet are firmly on the ground). If you’re looking to take pictures that look like you’re actually hunting, be careful about your background. Watch out for your neighbor’s house in the background or power lines overhead. Have fun with it and give everyone a chance to be in front and behind the camera. My boys are NOT camera shy but they also love to take pictures. And who knows, you may find a new calling for one of your children or you may open yourself up to a whole new aspect of archery you never considered before.
After you’ve taken a lot of pictures, make some lemonade while you download the pictures from your camera to your PC. Then as a family, sip your lemonade and start going through the pictures. You can keep all of them or only the ones that you really want. You can then put them in a file, print a couple off, use them in a blog, or send a couple good ones to your parents.
Whatever you decide to do with them is up to you. Just get the family involved and have some fun.