Self shot Q's for Steve Foss

[leech~~]

Steve

When you are out Laker fishing by your self. What are the steps you use to setup a shot when you get a fish? Do you setup your camera head of time and pose where you will want to take the shot to check for focus? Do you leave your camera setup out on the ice or put it on a holder right when you catch one? Or am I just assuming all this and you only take pictures when someone else is there to take them of you?

[TruthWalleyes]

I know you asked for steve, and i am just using a cheap cannon, but i have my camera set for 10 shots and on auto focus. Once fish is reeled in, turn on camera, set it down, snaps a quick 10, release fish. Look at camera.

I try to figure out a place for the camera to sit before a fish is caught. In the boat, it's on the outboard. In the ice house, it's between the hub and cloth. On the ice, it's on a bucket, or top of car.

[leech~~]

Thanks for the feed back TruthWalleyes, sounds kind of like what I have done as well. I found that if I setup my camera on me sled seat and use the edge of my porty as a focus point I can have the shot setup and ready. I just don't like leaving it out in the cold in case the battery dies!

I know some of the Pro's don't like giving out their photo secrets, because then everyone would be a Pro!

[leech~~]

Setting up and getting a focus point like the side of my house with the camera on a little tripod sitting on my sled seat worked pretty good but I just worry about battery life if I leave it setup outside to long on a cold day. Here's one from last year that didn't turn out to bad but I had a lot of time since I kept that eater size Laker.

[TruthWalleyes]

I keep mine in my coat pocket until i need it, or where ever is handy. I'll often keep a fish in the net or in the hole with the fish grip (ice scooper through loop of fish grip to keep it from going down hole) and when camera is counting down i grab the fish... Makes for a successful release.

[Steve Foss]

Leech, you basically did what I do.

I set up camera on a tripod, set it to timer, AF on where I want to be, then switch the lens to manual focus, then kick a line in the snow so I know where to stand. Takes a little trial and error to get the right focal length on a zoom, and the right distance from the lens. Once you have it dialed in, you're good to go. I take a test shot or two to verify things are smack on.

With lakers, ti's much the best to get things dialed in right off the bat. You don't want to lay the fish on the ice at any point if you can avoid it. They thrash and bang hard against the ice/packed snow, and they bleed easily out of the gills. Once the gills start bleeding, they are dead trout. With the camera/tripod all set in advance, my trout never hit the snow/ice between when I pull them up out of the hole and send them back down.

Tip to keep the camera/battery warm is to put a black fleece/windproof hat over the camera. Extremely cold days are almost always sunny, so the black soaks up the sun, and the windproof part keeps any breeze from robbing the warmth. The last time I shot a total lunar eclipse a few years ago, I took the hat thing a bit further and taped a bunch of dry chemical hand warmers inside the cap. That REALLY did the trick.

[leech~~]

Thanks Steve. The black cap sounds like a good idea, my main fear is no battery after you finally pull one in.

I've tried the keep it in the jacket thing only to end up with a foggy lens. Also as you could tell by my Bash pic taking them inside a porty doesn't leave you much room to extend the size I mean arm out to get the whole fish in the shot! Sometimes it's the little hints that help the most! Thanks again.