For many anglers, including myself, having a great photo of our trophy catch is everything ! It allows us to (much more easily) go back and relive those precious moments, again and again, as long as we live. Also, photos make it possible to share those moments with others who were not lucky enough to be there. And maybe best of all, it allows us to "release the fish, and bring home our trophy too" !

What camera should you use ? Well, any camera is a lot better, than no camera at all. Also, the best pro series camera in the world, if left sitting at the house, is not as good as a disposable cheapie, which because it can be left in your tackle bag, will never be forgotten. That said, most general purpose cameras will work fine for fish photos. But personally, after having switched to digital cameras a few years ago, I can not ever imagine going back to film. More on digi-cams later....

"Yea, but your holding it way out !"..... Of course I am. Nothing ruins a fish photo faster, than for the fish to be too far away from the camera. This can be somewhat corrected by cropping the picture later, however the more cropping that is required, the more loss in picture quality will be suffered. Of course this can be overdone. With most cameras, 2 1/2 to 4 feet, is about the minimum distance required, to keep all objects in the frame, sharp and in focus. How far should you hold a fish from your body ?.....I have found that holding the fish straight towards the camera, with elbows slightly bent, and relaxed, seems to produce the best pictures. Also, holding the fish vertically, can make it look larger as well. A common mistake which people tend to make, is that they will lean the fishes back towards the camera, or towards themselves. Try to imagine what the angle of the fish appears, in the viewfinder, and keep it as flat to the camera as possible.

About 7 years ago, I caught and released the largest Smallmouth Bass of my life. It was an absolutely gorgeous 5 lb 2 oz fish. But horror of all horrors......I was by myself ! And when I pulled out my funky little polaroid (instamatic), and tried to take a picture at arms length, the darn thing jammed ! Of course, I could tell you that fish weighed 10 lbs !.......It wouldn't make any difference though, as without a good picture, it's just a hollow story anyway. Needless to say, I was really bummed out.

But that got me to thinking. I was determined that I would never let that kind of thing happen to me again. At that point, I assumed that all the cameras with a self timing feature, would be in the upper price range. I was pleasantly surprised to find out otherwise. In fact, most of the cheap cameras I looked at, did include this feature. Some didn't even mention it under the list of features. I guess it's not something which sells a lot of cameras. The first camera I used, with my self-photo setup, was a cheap 35 mm. Then for a stand......I thought about a tripod, but was concerned about it lining up correctly, each time I used it. Remember, you can't see what the camera is seeing. After much thought and a small amount of labor, I came up with a stand which literally costs only pennies, and lines up perfectly every time. All it is, is a 2" X 4", which is screwed to the front bench of my 12 ft. aluminum. On the top there is a 1/4" bolt which my camera screws onto. The stand swivels down in front of the front bench, when I'm hauling the boat, or when I have somebody with me.

At first I didn't have much confidence in the set up, but after a few pictures, and getting it lined up right, I have gotten to the point of which, I will take a couple pictures of a big bass, weigh her, and release her, with nobody around, and not even think twice. Of course, if it's a really big bass, say over 13 lbs, I will still try to find someone close by to take a few "back up shots" and also, so I can have a witness to the weighing. However, if I can't find someone quick, I won't drag the fish around the lake, just for my own prosperity. Besides, I now have all the confidence in the world, that my self taken photos will come out just fine. I think a setup like this is a must, for anyone who fishes by themselves, at any time.

Here is a picture I took, of a beautiful Lk. Berryessa Ca. bass, which was published in the August/September issue

In-Fisherman magazine.

It's not a "ten", but it is one of my best self photos. I like the special effect, which looks like I'm coming through a window ........I am going to have to learn how to do that.

One nice thing about a digital camera, is that I don't have to deal with developing anymore. So now I come home from a long day on the water..... maybe it's already late and the Wal-Mart 1 hour photo is closed. No problem. I pop out the memory chip from my camera, insert it into my printer, and upload it straight to my PC. From there I can add it to the site within minutes, or print out full quality photos.

Another great feature is that I can preview the photos I have just taken. So now I catch a trophy bass and put it in the livewell (a 70 qt icebox). I set up the camera on the stand (which I now keep put away), I get the scale out, and I adjust the boat angle for lighting. When everything is ready to go, I pull the fish out, take a few quick photos, and put it right back into the livewell. Now while the fish is catching its breath, I preview the photos. Oh, the tail is chopped..... Oops, too close..... Uh oh, holding the fish too low...... None of this is a problem anymore. I make the needed adjustments and try again. More often than not, the first photos are fine, but never again will I have to depend on that.

Most importantly is the photo quality. For a long time I was concerned that the file size of a mid-grade digital camera might not be large enough to produce sharp, high quality photographs. That worry proved to be unfounded, as the photos I am taking now are amazingly clearer than any that I ever took with a 35 mm.

In fairness, I should admit that a decent digital camera is still more expensive than a basic "point and shoot" 35 mm...... but you get what you pay for. A digital which produces small file sizes (perfect for the Internet, but not big enough for great, full color prints) will start out as low as $70. Of course, for pro-series types, the sky is the limit. I now have 3 digi-cams which range from $130 to $700.

One note of importance: Digi-cams eat up expensive alkaline batteries.... BUT WAIT ! There is a cheap alternative. NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) rechargeable batteries are an absolute miracle of technology ! Just make sure your new digi-cam uses AA's. You can buy a set of NiMH AA's and a "Smart charger" for less than $50, and they can be charged and drained as many as 1000 times, before needing to be replaced ! And when freshly charged, they will last as much as 5 X's longer than premium alkaline batteries..... No really ! 5 X's !


	This photo was taken of me, by me, with my HP 318 digital camera.

	Rather than sizing down the original, I just trimmed most of the pic away, plus I did not JPG crunch it. This will help to give you an idea of the awesome clarity that a middle of the line digital camera such as mine can accomplish.

I worked on this big girl all afternoon, but with the sun low, and time running out, I finally brought her in the boat for a photo session :-) No body around..... no problem. Took this shot by myself also, with the trusty old self-photo setup. BTW, this one went 14.6 lbs.

	Fish Photography
	by Fish Chris (updated on 2/1/06)