What Do You Consider Disrespectful Trophy Pictures?

[Gregf]

Wow Jerome, this is a tough subject and one that I’m certainly sensitive to. Personally speaking I don’t like any photo of a hunter sitting or standing atop of the harvested animal. It just doesn’t feel “right” to me. We as hunters are and must be bound to capturing images that are tasteful to both hunter and non-hunter alike. We are the stewards of our passion, love and respect of the outdoor life-style and animals that we pursue. Great attention should be given to memorialize the adventure, the hunting spirit and at time’s defeat in the pursuit of game and snapping bloody or mounted pictures is not appealing to many.
Several years ago I was fortunate to have hunted and kill a beautiful lioness and we took great pains to clean the Queen of all the blood and built a small earth shelf to gracefully elevate the head for picture taking. After numerous pictures and position changes the PH asked me to “mount” her in a disgusting manner and smile. Frankly, I refused and a significant argument ensued that to this day still upsets me at the thought…
It’s our duty to promote the ethical pursuit, harvest, treatment and consumption of the game we seek and while it often ends in the killing of an animal the picture that ends up “telling the tale” and living on forever. By all means smile and be proud of the adventure and the success, but don’t glorify taking the life of a creature by failing to capture the moment in a tasteful way – you never know who may be looking or lurking from the shadows! As the saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”.
Please be mindful of that and Safe Adventuring!

 

[James.Grage]

Hunting has changed over the years.

With Cameras that are now digital. We have films that are cut and pasted.

So who is to say what is real and if we really are viewing something or a photo that is photo shopped.

Some of the photos that we have placed on here would not be allowed in a magazine or books.

Other clubs i belong to have strict rules on photos that they will accept. if it shows blood it is a no no...

Arrows still in the animal is a no no...

some on this forum are artist at posing the animals to make them look there best for the animal and client...

so what does that mean i do not know...

However we all need to do a better job of taking pictures of our trophy animals...

If it takes a hanky to wipe off some blood so be it. some water to wash them up... put their tong back in the mouth and close it...spread dry dirt around your animal to cover the blood stained ground...the little things...when you leave the spot you will never regain the spot-lite with your trophy...

it is the little things that make a difference....

 

[sestoppelman]

Gregf,

It sounds like the rest of the hunt may have been a little uncomfortable. I hope not too much. Surprised any PH would suggest doing what you said. Would have angered me as well.

 

[Gregf]

Sestoppelman,

There was certainly some tension that evening, however the PH later explained that this was a "normal" picture that he had taken many times before. We had a very open discussion on the issue and we continued the hunt without further problems. Honestly, I just had to let go of it so as not to spoil the remainder of the hunt. Needless to say, while a may of let go of it at the time, it certainly has stuck with me in thought. I've been on a number of Safari's since then, but not with that PH...
Safe Adventuring!
Gregf

 

[MarcelV]

I might be coming at a wrong angle here, but i have a question, has hunting really changed, i am not referring to the ease and comfort of modern hunts but more the inner hunter and hunting..

We are natural predators, hunting is something mankind does... though we do not need to hunt every week for food we still need the hunt, eating meat we support hunting somewhere down the line.
We have supplemented the physical hunt with other forms of hunting like business success ext...

So in my opinion the hunter has changed, the frustrating thing is that the hunter in us changed from the brave warrior fearless and accomplished to these little guys afraid of showing of their trophy, or posting their photos and in some cases even reluctant to talk about it in certain circles.

And in my opinion that is what makes the Anti hunting groups stronger, the fact that we are getting weaker.
here in South Africa we are experiencing the reality of this types of changes in the sense of gun control,
the anti firearm groups are in the news has websites forums anti firearm campaigns ext, we as firearm owners are bellow the radar trying to keep our guns and stay out of trouble... the defensive reaction causes one hell of a gap for the anti everything to gain on the offensive. and some day it appears we are losing the battle..

When i hunt a Elephant the biggest animal one can hunt in the world, i will feel like a hero, and i will want to take a photo of my conquest... showing me as the victor.. why should i be ashamed of that achievement because disney named it Bamby and the gatherers of the world does not have what it takes to become a hunter.

The reality is if we want to talk about respect and all these human emotions when it comes to hunting, we are slowly becoming anti hunters....
From a human perspective i will not kill a fellow human because i have respect for HUMAN life...
But it is so easy to carry these human emotions to animals, then we can just as well name them and feel guilty after each hunt..

Please don't understand me wrong, we also need to have respect for our fellow humans, but a certain fraternity does not have the least respect for us, but we try to do everything in a respectful manner towards them.

But we can do things tasteful from within the modern hunters perspective...

This is my opinion, not sure if anyone will agree with me..

 

[Blaserman]

I am not touching the Human Part. I agree with to each his own, but I like a no blood and Tongue and a True picture. Not one where the Hunter is far back to make a animal look Bigger.

 

[TERMINATOR]

I consider it disrespectful to dry-hump an animal after shooting it in front of the camera.

Beyond that...snap away! I am proud that I hunt. I believe in what the Motor City Madman says...

Ted says "Don't be ashamed to wear your camo in public...wear your camo and then hold the door for a little old lady or help someone in need while wearing it!!! Show that world that HUNTERS are some of the most respectful people on earth!!!"

 

[HadrianScaup]

I like what you said Terminator. Never really thought about painting a new picture of hunters to the non or anti hunter community in that way. As a predominant deer hunter, I never wear my camo out in public for the obvious reason - scent control. I like your spin on going out of your way while dressed in camo however. May have to give that a try. I also like your quote about hunters having the capacity of being some of most respectful people on earth.

I find that a serious, ethical, legal and life long hunter is usually extremely respectful, and that respect extends into his daily life and deportment. Unfortunately it only take one negative experience with the sloppy, disrespectful hunters to turn a non hunter into an anti hunter, and at that point we all pay that price. Likewise, a the respectful hunter is the steward of the land and a conservationist at heart. No one else worries and pains for wildlife like hunters do when populations are declining or when expansive wildlife habitat is being destroyed. We take action, we raise funds and made a difference on the ground! We put our money where our mouths are! Just look at Ducks Unlimited. It is those dedicated, respectful hunters who protect wildlife in every way they can. Where as anti hunters just talk about it - we actually get things done.

Sorry to have taken my thread so far away from the topic of disrespectful trophy photos, but some of the comments just got me rolling. I LOVE hunting pictures. Absolutely love them, but am also very critical of them as well. I definitely am not a fan of modern photos with the heroic triumph poses, and am against seeing a hunter with his foot on a downed animal, sitting or standing on it. Elephants, due to their size...perhaps you can get away with leaning. Blood and tongues hanging out..well to me that's less of a respect thing and more of a "do you want a crappy photo to remember this hunt with" kinda thing. I also love photos from the field which tell the story, and am not a fan of tailgate or "hanging in the garage" photos. I'm not opposed to a firearm being in a photo however.
I was pleased to see our PH make such an effort to capture amazing and respectful photos of the animals we took on safari. I realize each photo is almost an advertisement for him, but with all the little-things considered, the animals looked beautiful, getting all the respect they could be afforded through the lens of a camera.

Lots of interesting discussion here, and Jerome, thanks for spawning such an interesting topic. Clearly lots of room for creativity and individualism here, and you wont catch me making a big deal out anyone's pictures if I'm not in love with them. Yet I do appreciate seeing a quality hunting photo! I hope no one has taken offence to anything I have said.

Great topic

 

[TERMINATOR]

Well, I might not wear all my best hunting cloths, but the point is that most people walk around thinking we need to be ASHAMED that we hunt and try not to ruffle any politicallly incorrect feathers.

I say BULLS$#T

If I am wearing a hat in public it is one that makes it obvious I hunt. I have plenty of old hunting jackets and they get used in the spring and fall when I am out and about. THEN I GO OUT AND ACT LIKE A GOOD CITIZEN which puts me as a hunting representative way ahead of most jerks walking around the streets.

If I volunteer to do something I wear cloths that scream "THIS GUY IS A HUNTER" while helping the community.

Point is, show people that you hunt AND THEN act like a good citizen and do something to improve the image of hunters....don't just hide the fact that you hunt in order to not upset some liberal bunny hugger running rampant on our streets you might pass.

 

[enysse]

A forum is made for people to state, "What is on your mind?" What information are you seeking? What story are you telling?....What do you want to talk about? And Jerome has done a excellent job, in letting people get off the topic as long as they are polite. Which I think is very good.

I think it's great for people to wear camo in public. Why should I hide that I'm a hunter and believer in wildlife conservation? I don't care how many people know I hunt and kill game animals. I am proud of the fact! I eat what I kill. I back up, what I talk about...and don't hide the facts.

Yes there are slob hunters out there! But there are also a lot of guys and gals that would do anything for another human being in need too. And they love animals, more than any animal rights person will ever know.

My two cents for the day!

 

[Stuart70]

I found this to be the norm with all the animals that were harvested on our hunt. Our trackers and skinners took the time not only to pose our animals but clean the area around them and wash them off, to some it may seem like it was sanitizing the area but to me, it was giving the animal his dignity in death.

 

[oddsix]

I'll admit when I was 16 and had just shot my first big game animal (a moose) I sat on it with my gun in hand and my father beside me. We were both smiling as I had just harvested an animal and he saw his son turn into a man. Wouldn't change that picture for the world showed the love of a hunt with the bond that a father and son can only have.
That was over 25 years ago. Now when taking photos with a harvested animal I try to do the best pose I can and clean up all the blood and arrange the lighting trim the bushes and so on. Times are a changing and if photos of the past offend you you have the option of not looking
When I look at that picture of the past I remember the good times i had with a great man who was a friend and a great father

 

[bluey]

l love looking at trophy photos of all hunted animals as long as the people in them are showing the animal respectfully and with dignity and that includes vermin animals .
it definitely looks better and more respectfull to the animals when all the blood is cleaned up around the wound and the brush and grass is clered away from the animal , but you don't always have that priveledge and personally myself im not offended with blood in trophy photos .
l don't like it when 3 people are standing on the carcass
or the hunter is holding up his knife with a wild look in his eye and blood up to his armpits .
or trophy photos with the gutbag beside the animal .
like you say entsee im proud to be a hunter /gatherer and I too wear camo in public if im on my way out for a stalk and need to stop and get something .
this time of the year when the boats in for the odd night l turn up at the boat the next morning in see me no more , as l ve usually just come out of the bush.
and when im out l socially l usually have to defend what l do to at least somebody ,to which l generally give them more respect than they give me .
its hard when you are a professional fisherman and a hunter gatherer, you generally have to choose your words carefully ,atleast until these so called greenies/antis have been feed enough rope to hang them selves with jibber of which they cant back up with facts. bvy that time they have made enough niose to attract more ears then more often than not l can calmly make them look silly enough to listen to reason and every now and then remove the blinkers of one or two members of blind public .....

 

[BnC 04]

IMO sitting, standing on animals or having pics with tongues hanging out are "out of bounds" for me.

 

[bluey]

IMO sitting, standing on animals or having pics with tongues hanging out are "out of bounds" for me.

yeah mate I like to have the tongue tucked back in where it belong but its very easy to neglect this specially when trying to do the photo and hold the animal by your self.
when a younger hunter takes a trophy l have no issue with them sitting on the animals back purely because they arnt strong enough to lift and smile at the same time
disrespect shows in any photo.even unintensional

 

[ikeda]

The lady "riding" the elephant looks a little silly, but all the others are fine with me.

 

[BnC 04]

yeah mate I like to have the tongue tucked back in where it belong but its very easy to neglect this specially when trying to do the photo and hold the animal by your self.
when a younger hunter takes a trophy l have no issue with them sitting on the animals back purely because they arnt strong enough to lift and smile at the same time
disrespect shows in any photo.even unintensional

Agree with you Bluey on the youth hunters and how they can or can't physically hold game for pics.

 

[hed43]

While I would not personally pose in the manner depicted in some of the photos, I'm not offended by any of them nor do I find them disrespectful.

Someone made the very good point that we should consider what a "non-hunter" will think of any particular trophy photo. It's true, an anti-hunter will always find fault with the photo for no other reason than that there is a dead animal in it. However, a non-hunter who is truly neutral in their opinion on hunting should be treated differently. I personally think that every effort should be made to give the animal as much dignity as possible in the picture to include cleaning it up and putting the tongue back in the animal's mouth. If we are sensitive to what most people who have not been exposed to hunting think, we might turn fewer people into vehement anti-hunters and maybe even bring a few people over to our side.

 

[firehuntfish]

While I would not personally pose in the manner depicted in some of the photos, I'm not offended by any of them nor do I find them disrespectful.

Someone made the very good point that we should consider what a "non-hunter" will think of any particular trophy photo. It's true, an anti-hunter will always find fault with the photo for no other reason than that there is a dead animal in it. However, a non-hunter who is truly neutral in their opinion on hunting should be treated differently. I personally think that every effort should be made to give the animal as much dignity as possible in the picture to include cleaning it up and putting the tongue back in the animal's mouth. If we are sensitive to what most people who have not been exposed to hunting think, we might turn fewer people into vehement anti-hunters and maybe even bring a few people over to our side.

BGHunter,
I agree with much of what you and others are saying here in regards to making an attempt to dignify the animal in event a neutral "non-hunter' views the photos...My issue, I guess, is that I'm not really convinced that any attempt to dignify a kill is going to make a difference to a non-hunter, neutral or otherwise....I believe any measures we take to dignify the animal should be done for ourselves because we are ethical, evolved creatures capable of intelligent thought.

That being said, I'm afraid that what is viewed as ethical and dignified will greatly vary from individual to individual, hunter or not... Personally, I'm big on hunting and wildlife photos. I love capturing the image of both the live and harvested animal. In my own photos, I always try and remove the tongue simply because I think it makes for a better photo. I really don't do it to preserve the animals' dignity per se... I also like some of my kill photos to have the fresh blood on the wound that killed the animal. To me, as a bowhunter primarily, there is something very primal and real about that....I have hundreds of sportfishing photos of trophy fish from over the years that I have collected. I don't think I have a single one that does not have blood on the fish or the deck or myself....Never once did I think it was disrespectiful to the fish...I don't find it offensive, and I really don't care if others do...I think even some of us hunters get caught up in our ridiculously, overly-politically correct society on occasion. For me, it's all perspective.

I recall a short time ago, Donald Trumps sons took a bunch of heat from the PC media for their African safari pictures and videos that got posted. The "non-hunting" populace lost their collective minds over a photos of one of the boys posing with a severed elephant's tail. Those who were offended obviously knew nothing of the old tradition of severing the elephant's tail to to demonstrate possession of the kill to others who may happen by and find the animal down. It had nothing to do with pointless mutilation as was alledged..They also were outraged of a leopard photo where one of the sons is holding the cat in a "bear hug"...Those poses make me envious, but not offended...

 

[hed43]

BGHunter,
I agree with much of what you and others are saying here in regards to making an attempt to dignify the animal in event a neutral "non-hunter' views the photos...My issue, I guess, is that I'm not really convinced that any attempt to dignify a kill is going to make a difference to a non-hunter, neutral or otherwise....I believe any measures we take to dignify the animal should be done for ourselves because we are ethical, evolved creatures capable of intelligent thought.

That being said, I'm afraid that what is viewed as ethical and dignified will greatly vary from individual to individual, hunter or not... Personally, I'm big on hunting and wildlife photos. I love capturing the image of both the live and harvested animal. In my own photos, I always try and remove the tongue simply because I think it makes for a better photo. I really don't do it to preserve the animals' dignity per se... I also like some of my kill photos to have the fresh blood on the wound that killed the animal. To me, as a bowhunter primarily, there is something very primal and real about that....I have hundreds of sportfishing photos of trophy fish from over the years that I have collected. I don't think I have a single one that does not have blood on the fish or the deck or myself....Never once did I think it was disrespectiful to the fish...I don't find it offensive, and I really don't care if others do...I think even some of us hunters get caught up in our ridiculously, overly-politically correct society on occasion. For me, it's all perspective.

I recall a short time ago, Donald Trumps sons took a bunch of heat from the PC media for their African safari pictures and videos that got posted. The "non-hunting" populace lost their collective minds over a photos of one of the boys posing with a severed elephant's tail. Those who were offended obviously knew nothing of the old tradtion of severing the elephant's tail to to demonstrate possession of the kill to others who may happen by and find the animal down. It had nothing to do with pointless mutilation as was alledged..They also were outraged of a leopard photo where one of the sons is holding the cat in a "bear hug"...Offensive?? Not to me....

Your point is well taken and I certainly see where you are coming from. It is definitely true that one could very well draw the wrong conclusions about a trophy photo that is taken out of context, like what happened with the Trumps.