Taking pictures of Wildlife in Montana

Camera helps capture the memories
By Hookemharry

Posted: November 18, 2009

Hunting and fishing in Montana! There is no better feeling than to have bagged an elk or caught a nice big fish.

Outdoor sportsmen and women have always carried a camera to help preserve that special moment with a picture. It’s a memory you can enjoy for a lifetime.

I used to carry one those disposal cameras in the glove box of my boat and pickup. It usually stayed there until it had no pictures left to shoot. Then I would get the film developed and normally had two copies made of each photo – one for the person that was with me on the trip and one copy for me.

Then I bought a digital camera equipped with a card that would hold a lot more pictures. The digital camera was more convenient in a couple of ways. I could download the images to my computer then print out only the ones that I wished to print. I also could e-mail any of those pictures for my family and friends to enjoy the next day.

Now with the help of my son Harry, I have stepped up my outdoor photo opportunities another notch. A couple of months ago Harry talked me into buying a digital camera that would also take digital movies.

On select trips, we take the Canon digital camcorder and record bits and pieces of the trip and then we download the footage into the computer and Harry edits our trip into a three-to-five-minute movie.

He then downloads it to YouTube.com for the whole world to see. We also have created a video library on our web site www.montanaoutdoor.com. So far, we have produced videos on our trips to Flathead Lake when we trout fished, Fort Peck Reservoir walleye and northern pike fishing, goose hunting, antelope hunting, deer bowhunting, and pheasant hunting at Wolf Point.

The good news is just about anybody can do these things. The even better news is the cost is relatively low.

One of my sponsors and a long-time Missoulian advertiser, Vann’s, for example, is selling a Flip ULTRA HD Digital Camcorder that will record 120 minutes for only $199. That’s affordable when you figure out how many memories you can preserve.

Most home computers come with editing software that will enable you to produce your own movie after you download it from your camera. The trick is to find someone while you are hunting to sacrifice shooting a shotgun, rifle or bow to shooting footage for your very own “Outdoor Adventure Movie.”

Taking digital pictures and movies is easy and has become very popular. Magazines, newspapers and web sites continually run photo contests throughout the year and award folks with neat prizes like cameras, binoculars, and GPS units. So you could even be rewarded for your photo efforts.

You might want to check out the photo contest we are running right now on www.montanaoutdoor.com in conjunction with Vanns.com One word of advice: when you shop for your camera, make sure you choose the one that fits your lifestyle, budget and the memories you seek.

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