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Fish Porn: Good or Bad?

9K views 53 replies 49 participants last post by  Don Davis 
#1 ·
I was just looking through the gallery like I do every night when I get home from work and suddenly the luster faded. I all of a sudden had the thought that maybe sometimes when you catch a really nice fish it might just be between you and the fish and the river. There is something lost in the translation between drift, hook set, and landing and the snapshot. Kinda like telling a joke in the wrong context: it made sense the first time...

It's a bit like photographing every women you sleep with and posting the pictures on a website for anyone to see. Does that make the experience better or does it just create a false facade around the whole event?

Does anyone else get this feeling sometimes?

Maybe I've just had one too many beers.

What do you think?


-Luke
 
#31 ·
I think cameras have contributed to more over handling of native steel than anything else.

If people were more responsable with the fish and snapped a quickie with it in the water than I think that is great.

The 10 pic series involving natives makes me upset though. That is just proof for bragging rights.
 
#35 ·
I can see where your coming from but have to disagree a little. I take picture like others have said for me. I love to sit down with my photo album when the rivers are blown out and remember all the wonderful trips and fish that I have encountered. As I get older and the years pass it's nice to look back and remember

Tim
 
#38 ·
This thread reminds me of an experience I had a number of years ago. I was fishing on a boat in the Bering Sea and the Skipper called a crew meeting to inform every one of the do's and don'ts. On his don'ts list he informed everyone that there would no talking about each others girlfriends/wives. Said it let to hard feelings and often fights. Turns out it was'nt that he did'nt want us talking about each others girlfriends/wives, so much as he did'nt want us talking about his girlfriend, who was a dancer at a titty joint. Now I don't have any problems where one finds love but obviously he did.
Or maybe it's more like the liberals who think that because a minute segment of a society believes in nothing then the rest must curb thier expression of belief in something.
 
#39 ·
Funny, this thread reminds me of conservatives, who seem to think everyone should believe exactly as they do. ;)

Personally, I say post 'em if you snap 'em....smoke 'em if you got 'em. If you don't want to see them, just keep on scrollin'. :cool:
 
#41 ·
My grandfather spent a lot of time fishing and hunting (never took pictures) around the small Wyoming town that he and my grandmother lived, it was what he loved to do. He taught my brother and I to fish when we were very young. Several years ago, as his health was failing he could no longer get out and would tell my brother and I his fishing and hunting tales. One of his favorite stories surrounded catching a "2 and a half foot long brown trout" and excitedly hurrying over to the hardware store to show one of his friends. As he was walking across the lot the local newspaper man saw the fish and yelled at him to bring the fish over - apparently there was big fish contest in town that Saturday and he had unknowingly won. I was going through a box of books of his I had ended up with and found an old 5x7 black and white of him in the pages of one of his old Bibles (he was a pastor and looked to be about in his mid-30's, my age). He was dressed in his best suit with a grin from ear to ear holding a large brown trout (looks more like 22-23"). That picture is a treasure.
-JE
 
#42 ·
If a fish is handled responsibly, they I think its great to have a photo. The thing about this is that it takes a while to learn how to properly handle a fish, and even someone who has handled tons of fish can't act flawlessly all of the time.

Just keep the thing in the clean water(not muddy water) until the camera man is ready. Remember that the fish has been fighting for its life in its mind, in essence, it has given its all and is stressed to the max before the photo is even taken. A couple quick shots, know your camera thoroughly. Know your camera thoroughly. Know your camera thoroughly... You get my point. Before you even start, if others are going to be handling your camera, give them the tutorial, let them get familiar with how it works before the time comes.

Photo responsibly, cheers!

Rob
 
#46 ·
Just keep the thing in the clean water(not muddy water) until the camera man is ready. Remember that the fish has been fighting for its life in its mind, in essence, it has given its all and is stressed to the max before the photo is even taken. A couple quick shots, know your camera thoroughly. Know your camera thoroughly. Know your camera thoroughly... You get my point. Before you even start, if others are going to be handling your camera, give them the tutorial, let them get familiar with how it works before the time comes.

Photo responsibly, cheers!

Rob
I think we have a winner!!!!
 
#44 ·
I always carry a camera . . . have a small fortune tied-up in conventional SLR equipment & still use the stuff on occasion. I take a lot of memory shots . . . some fish, some game, some scenes, some folks, some critters, etc. I take them primarily for me, though at times I'll share. Too many wonderful "wish I had a camera" moments out there & small digitals are so relatively inexpensive, reasonably effective, & easy to carry that not carrying one in my mind is not an option. Can having a camera curse the success of an outing? Don't know . . . not superstitious (unless always donning my right sock first when playing sports years ago counts . . . and I still do it today. Habit by now, likely . . .).
 
#45 ·
: i wonder if catch and release would have progressed as far is has if the camera had never been invented? seriously only the most devout practicers of catch and release wouldnt blink if they couldn't take pics of their catch.:confused:

i'm not saying we all drag our cameras along every time we fish, or that the only reason we do it is for the fishing pics. but just imagine if cameras were taken out of the fishing scene... i think it would tweak perspectives quite a bit.
 
#48 ·
CovingtonFly, I have an issue with your photo...your charcoal briquets are not quite ready for cooking, some are still mostly black. Let 'em grey and ash up a bit then you are set to go.
 
#51 ·
I BBQ'd a bunch of burgers before that and my heat was gettin low so threw a couple fresh briquets on top. Good eye though.
I bought a propane weed burner at a garage sale for $5 that I use to start the coals with. It works slick as anything and it only takes 2-3 minutes.
 
#50 ·
pics are good, but not of every fish and certainly not posting pics of every fish. it's a little much and a beer sounds really good about now. the only negative thing i have to say about cameras is that it seems that a lot of times when i do have a good fish on, as soon as i think about fumbling with the camera to get it ready the fish throws the hook. nets to for that matter
 
#52 ·
I like looking at fish pictures , in moderation . I always bring a waterproof digital with me , but no longer feel the need to document every fish I catch . And I fish alone quite a bit , so the circumstances have to be just right to persuade me to dig out the camera and snap a pic .

What I absolutely despise are pictures of dead fish (unless they`re on the b.b.q:D) . If I wanted to see dead fish , I`d walk over to Safeway . I also hate the cliche' shots , like the ones with the guy with the rod stuffed in his yap , or even worse , the guy has the rod cradled over the back of his neck . The long-arm extension does`nt do much for me either .
 
#54 ·
I know what you are talking about. when you stake out a hole and target the fish, then manage to get him to strike, it is the experience to make that happen. The photo is your prize and only you know what you went through to make that happen. Most fishing photos are just pictures and mean little if anything to most people viewing them. There are some wonderful photos of some marvelous fish but alone they are empty. The ones that are posted with the story that went with the catch are much more interesting than the ones without especially if the story teller is good. Kinda of like watching a movie without the sound.
 
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