ANOTHER ADDICTION

Another Addiction Ever since the introduction of the digital cameras the ability to immediately review the photo you just took to see if it's composed and exposed properly has increased the ability for a photographer of all calibers a higher success ratio in obtaining the magic they are looking for, like macro, telephoto, wide angle, black and white, color effects, cropping, photo enhancing. There are so many added features now in today's digital cameras including video. The wife spoiled me with the Olympus Tough TG-610. It is waterproof, shockproof, freeze proof, rapid fires, videos, macro shots, so much more. One of the most important features is the ability to take under water photos and it comes with a neoprene case. I have twice tossed it out of the jacket a good five and 10 feet by accident when pulling my fishing jacket out of the vehicle with no harm to the camera. I did panic when it went on a 10-foot toss. It landed on rocks but after viewing it there wasn't even a scratch .The features have no boundaries anymore including 100 pages of a full instruction book. As a sports fisherman these features have opened new opportunities to expand the other sport I love, fishing. Often we take our trophy shots holding a fish out of the water to brag. It is stressful for the fish and with catch and release often mandatory in most systems we have to be very careful how we handle the fish. I am very guilty of this type of photo, as we all want to preserve the glory of our achievement. All efforts are taken in handling the fish gently but we also know we can put a strain on the mortality rate. I wanted something more challenging that would benefit both the fish and the fisherman. That has become my goal, THE UNDER WATER TROPHY SHOT. I find my self often fighting a fish with one hand while the other is under water trying to line up a photo. Often the shots are off alignment, partial or out of focus. You're not viewing through the lens but trying to line up the angle and guessing. All of my photos are fresh water so I have to believe from reading the manual that I can do the same in salt water. The most important element is to wash and clean the camera immediately when you get home. The next challenge was trying to photograph half in and half out of the water with the subject in focus and also the shoreline in focus. It's difficult, as you have to judge the depth of the lens and then the angle of the fish. I named it 50/50 ” trying to obtain two extreme depths of field; with a subject that is not happy having a hook in its mouth and will not keep still. This technique took about a month trying and over and over. The photo of the summer run steelhead sporting its beautiful colours was resting after I landed her. I quickly dropped to my knees and started firing the camera. Another challenge is the cold and the snow. It was minus two when I decided to try, my hand was in submerged in the very cold water and the pain was tremendous. Lucky I got a good photo after six tries. I then spent the next 20 minutes warming up my hand. What you see in a photo is my fishing rod caked with snow. You can barely see my float in the distance. The snowstorm lasted over 30 minutes. The eyes of the rod were icing up regularly and I was worried about the camera … needlessly. They did name it tough. So for those looking for a new fix, a new addiction, or new way to love fishing, this is a must.