Trad Hunting "Cold Turkey"

Congrats!

Bisch

[Dirtybird]

Gary is that another custom quiver as well and congrats on another fine bird.

[Fritz]

Congrats on the bird! Man, I love your pics!

[Herdbull]

You may not have gotten that buck , but sure are having a great season afield. Good for you!

[rooster77]

Way to go Gary...  I've been chasing the TN- LBL birds in the late season  but no luck so far.     Randy...

[rushlush]

Great pic and congrats!

[Altiman94]

Fall turkeys are tough!!  That's a nice Tom!

[Gary Logsdon]

I still have my buck tag Mike but am running out of time to use it. Season ends on the 16th.  Been seeing some BIG does though, HA!

[Pat B.]

Good shooting on pretty tom!

[Thumper Dunker]

       

[Steve O]

Very nice Gary.

When you are taking your trophy photos, do you set up a "burst mode" to take a series of pictures with each timer shot, or just one at a time?

[Gary Logsdon]

One at a time Steve. The sound of the shutter falling in rapid succession makes me nervous:^) Many times I simply come up short due to fleeting light, moving shadows, etc.  I basically "frame" the image with the viewfinder, leaving a space for me to crawl into the scene. A little trial and error plus some luck and I sometimes get what I want, capturing a moment just as I remember it happening a bit earlier. Composition is the easy part, The biggest challenge is being ready when the light is right.

One thing about photographing turkeys. I spend the time necessary to dry feathers of any moisture, be it water or blood, and stroke any unruly rows of feathers back to life.  Some people mistakenly feel that they need direct light to bring out the iridescent qualities of the feathers.  Not true, in fact it can cause a lot of exposure problems due to glare and harsh contrast.  An even light is much better, so I try to shoot in low light or within large shadows. I also experiment with various exposures.  When in doubt it's  better to underexpose a bit.

[Steve O]

Very good.  I just have a waterproof point and shoot Olympus. So can only do one at a time, but figured you are using a DSLR with a lot of features.  I have often thought a remote which would trigger the self timer so you could have a few seconds after you hit the button to drop it already being in the shot would be ideal.  

Good pictures really do add to the story    

[Gary Logsdon]

Steve, I carry a Canon DSLR in my Bisongear Elk Pack plus a compact Canon in a belt pocket that Angie custom built to hold a small camera.. If I feel lucky I sometimes place a Manfrotto tripod in the pack.  Otherwise I carry a Gorillapod to hold the cameras. My DSLR shoots multiples but I rarely use that feature, preferring to do them one at a time. I shoot in RAW format when using the bigger Canon.

[doubleo]

That is one of the neatest hunting photos i've seen. Nothing better than a nice gobbler to set it off. Congrates on a fine bird.

[rastaman]

Beautiful picture sir!      

[magnus]

Thank you for the photography tips! I hope to use them soon.

[Oliverstacy]

Originally posted by Whip:
Beautiful bird Gary, and fantastic photo!

+1  That photo is amazing!

Josh

[Gary Logsdon]

It just hit me.  I think this is the first fall Eastern longbeard I've taken.  Shot a hen one Oct. while deer hunting and have taken a lot of spring gobblers but he's the first I've arrowed this time of year. Odd thing, they were gobbling on the roost this week just like they thought it was early April!!

[Gary Logsdon]

You can't see it in the photo but the leaves are rooted up in a "Z" pattern just off frame where the bird did the death dance after the 300 grain VPA 2 blade hit him.  He did his final flop less than 20 yards from my reed blind but must have traveled 40 yards getting there!  He had a buddy with him, another good longbeard, that stood by putting as he streaked to his final resting spot.