Capturing a hunt on video ensures an easy way to relive a memory.
Photo: Pixabay
Lots of hunters these days are into filming hunts, and with good reason. It’s fun to do and a way to be able to relive those experiences later.
Unless…
If you want to know frustration and anger, take an expensive camera into the woods and return home with it ruined, having failed to work or simply full of lousy footage.
That’ll hurt.
It’s possible to avoid all those troubles by keeping three things in mind, though.
First, no hunter would go into the woods without preparing for the elements, be they rain, snow, wind or whatever. Your camera needs protection, too.
Give it some by investing in a camera shell cover. There are all kinds on the market. Some are spandex while others look like pouches and others still like zipper-style plastic bags.
All will keep your camera dry. Some allow you to access the controls while the camera stays enclosed.
Any are better than nothing.
Second, it doesn’t matter how good your camera is. It will only work when powered.
And nothing kills batteries like the cold of hunting season.
You can and should carry spares, of course.
But before dropping those extras in your pocket, wrap them in one or two of those disposable handwarmers and secure them with rubber bands, electrical tape or the like.
That will keep the batteries warm and functioning for longer periods of time.
Third and finally, if you’re going to film a hunt, stay focused. Literally.
Tom Petry, co-owner of Outdoor Media Group and a professional outdoor videographer, said that when’s he’s shooting video or still photographs, he often does so with his camera set to manual focus. That way he can be sure what the focal point will be.
If he’s trying to get video of a giant whitetail buck walking in, and he realizes when he gets back home to do editing that the color is wrong, he may be able to correct it. But if the camera focused on a tree limb between him and the deer rather than the deer itself, there is no solution. That video is worthless.
“If it’s out of focus, we can’t fix it. We can’t,” Pertry said. “If it’s out of focus, it’s out of focus and you’re done. That’s it.”
Keep your camera dry, functioning and on target, though, and you may wind up with a memory you can watch and share over and over.
