James RickardPhotograph your trophy
January 3rd 2008 04:52
I've mentioned catch and release in passing before. What happens if you get that once in a life time catch and want to show it off? In the past, when you got that "trophy catch," you had to choose between throwing it back and keeping it. You could get a trophy but it was pretty well the end of the line for the fish. Now days, you can get your trophy and the fish gets to live to be caught again.
All you need to do is take a series of photographs of your catch and a life like replica suitable for mounting can be made. Todays reproductions are far superior to what was available just a few years ago. In fact, the technology available today can create trophies that are so life like that they rival anything in nature and certainly look better than anything found in fishing lodges when you were a kid.
A taxidermist can work from only one photograph but the result may be something below the standards of your memory. For that reason, I would suggest taking as many photographs as possible to give him plenty to work with and several reference points. However, there are six shots that should cover all bases.
BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, LET ME IMPLORE UPON YOU TO GET THE FISH BACK IN THE WATER ASAP!!!!!!! This is a good time to pass on a little trick I read a long time ago that makes a lot of sense. As soon as you take the fish from the water, take a deep breath and hold it. When you need to breathe again, so does the fish. Get it back in the water!
Gently lay the fish on a soft cushion and take one photograph with a reference point in it to get a good idea of the fish's size. This can be a ruler. Failing at that--perhaps something more mundane. Your shoe or even a dollar bill will work if the ruler is unavailable.
After that, make sure the fish is in good, natural light and get five more shots--both sides, from above and below, and one straight on. If the fish has any type of unusual markings, get another shot, focusing in that peculiarity. You may notice that I haven't said anything about the tail. If the taxidermist knows anything at all about fish, he OUGHT to be able to make a pretty good representation from the other pictures. If in doubt, add another photograph to the total.
For best results, keep the use of photo editing software to a minimum. If you must, a free photo editor is available here.
Until next time--watch yourself and watch your line!
All you need to do is take a series of photographs of your catch and a life like replica suitable for mounting can be made. Todays reproductions are far superior to what was available just a few years ago. In fact, the technology available today can create trophies that are so life like that they rival anything in nature and certainly look better than anything found in fishing lodges when you were a kid.
A taxidermist can work from only one photograph but the result may be something below the standards of your memory. For that reason, I would suggest taking as many photographs as possible to give him plenty to work with and several reference points. However, there are six shots that should cover all bases.
BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, LET ME IMPLORE UPON YOU TO GET THE FISH BACK IN THE WATER ASAP!!!!!!! This is a good time to pass on a little trick I read a long time ago that makes a lot of sense. As soon as you take the fish from the water, take a deep breath and hold it. When you need to breathe again, so does the fish. Get it back in the water!
Gently lay the fish on a soft cushion and take one photograph with a reference point in it to get a good idea of the fish's size. This can be a ruler. Failing at that--perhaps something more mundane. Your shoe or even a dollar bill will work if the ruler is unavailable.
After that, make sure the fish is in good, natural light and get five more shots--both sides, from above and below, and one straight on. If the fish has any type of unusual markings, get another shot, focusing in that peculiarity. You may notice that I haven't said anything about the tail. If the taxidermist knows anything at all about fish, he OUGHT to be able to make a pretty good representation from the other pictures. If in doubt, add another photograph to the total.
For best results, keep the use of photo editing software to a minimum. If you must, a free photo editor is available here.
Until next time--watch yourself and watch your line!
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