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Dove Season in West Texas

Chris.J
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Dove Season in West Texas

I went on a sandhill crane hunt with an outfitter in Texas last year and as I typically do, I brought my camera with me and shot more pictures than I did my shotgun. Shortly afterwards, the owner asked if I'd be willing to come do some work for them the following hunting season (fall 2023). I racked up just over 700 miles and just under 10 hours sleep over 2.5 days but it was well worth it. I had the opportunity to meet a number of interesting people along the way and able to develop some additional work as well.

Canon EOS R3 RF85mm F1.2 L USM DS lens 85mm f/1.2 1/30s 3200 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS R3 RF85mm F1.2 L USM DS lens 85mm f/1.2 1/100s 3200 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS R3 RF85mm F1.2 L USM DS lens 85mm f/1.2 1/30s 3200 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS R3 RF85mm F1.2 L USM DS lens 85mm f/1.2 1/40s 8000 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 200mm f/2.8 1/60s 3200 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 200mm f/2.8 1/16000s 3200 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 142mm f/2.8 1/64000s 800 ISO 0.0 EV

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 200mm f/2.8 1/64000s 3200 ISO 0.0 EV

#10

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 70mm f/2.8 1/2000s 4000 ISO 0.0 EV

#11

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 70mm f/2.8 1/400s 3200 ISO 0.0 EV

#12

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 70mm f/2.8 1/2000s 4000 ISO 0.0 EV

Sep 09, 2023 at 11:09 PM

kaplah
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Dove Season in West Texas

#8 evokes the entire thing, like it.
#12 for just a great shot. I do a lot of for-fun target shooting photography, and that type of image is a) difficult to get and b) well-liked by participants.

Sep 10, 2023 at 06:52 AM

RustyBug
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Dove Season in West Texas

Nice set, it tells a story ... but, I don't see any doves that were bagged (or dogs retrieving).

Guess those folks in Texas aren' that good of a shot.

FYI, dove and quail were my Gpa's fave's.

Seriously, nice work. I'm sure the experience was one you'll remember well, too.

Sep 10, 2023 at 08:05 AM

douter
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Dove Season in West Texas

Really nice work in this set, Chris, some are rather artsy!
Douglas

Sep 10, 2023 at 09:14 AM

Danpbphoto
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Dove Season in West Texas

Nice images, 7-9!
Dan

Sep 10, 2023 at 09:45 AM

Chris.J
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Dove Season in West Texas

kaplah wrote:
#8 evokes the entire thing, like it.
#12 for just a great shot. I do a lot of for-fun target shooting photography, and that type of image is a) difficult to get and b) well-liked by participants.

Thank you! The guy in #8 actually bought a print. I'm thinking about printing it as well. I agree, it captures the essence of dove hunting in Texas. #12 I was actually focused on another hunter but the guy in the image called out birds on his side and I spun into an awkward body position and end up in a "spray and pray" situation and nailed the shot.

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RustyBug wrote:
Nice set, it tells a story ... but, I don't see any doves that were bagged (or dogs retrieving).
Guess those folks in Texas aren' that good of a shot.

FYI, dove and quail were my Gpa's fave's.

Seriously, nice work. I'm sure the experience was one you'll remember well, too.

Thanks Rusty. You know, there were some folks that were very good. There were others who could have shot their limit however, they ran out of shells (some had even brought 4 boxes)

If you look at #10, there is a crumpled dove falling through the air.

It was hands down the best dove opener I've been apart of. To be able to look back on the images makes it all the better.

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douter wrote:
Really nice work in this set, Chris, some are rather artsy!
Douglas

Thank you, Douglas!

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Danpbphoto wrote:
Nice images, 7-9!
Dan

Thank you, Dan!

#13

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 200mm f/2.8 1/10000s 4000 ISO 0.0 EV

#14

Canon EOS R3 RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens 124mm f/2.8 1/32000s 2000 ISO 0.0 EV

Sep 11, 2023 at 10:34 PM

Danpbphoto
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Dove Season in West Texas

Chris, reminds me of my early youth pheasant hunting with my dad in the corn fields of Iowa.
Well done!
Dan

Sep 12, 2023 at 08:31 AM

Chris.J
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Dove Season in West Texas

Danpbphoto wrote:
Chris, reminds me of my early youth pheasant hunting with my dad in the corn fields of Iowa.
Well done!
Dan

Thank you, Dan.

I used to hunt Kansas every year for pheasant with my dad, I miss those days. There is something about hunting as a kid with your dad/parent, I swear the memories made get engrained deeper than others.

Sep 12, 2023 at 09:26 AM

amacal1
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Dove Season in West Texas

Absolutely awesome set. A nice balance of "action" with lifestyle/details.

Oct 05, 2023 at 09:03 AM

gmccroskery
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Dove Season in West Texas

These are superb images -- you really capture the flavor of a Texas Dove hunt. I love #'s 6, 9 & 12.
This reminds me of a funny 'Far Side' cartoon I saw once -- it showed two ducks flying side by side and below in some reeds was a hunter with his shotgun point at them. One duck was saying to the other, "Hey Fred, you know it's that time of year when some guys just randomly explode!"

Greg

Oct 12, 2023 at 08:09 PM

Pitter
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Dove Season in West Texas

People shoot Sandhill Cranes? Do they eat them

Nov 03, 2023 at 04:09 PM

csdog08
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Dove Season in West Texas

We can't dove hunt here in Michigan but your morning shots help me relive many a duck hunt. Love the lighting on those. Just like being there. The intensity in the dog's face in #11 is awesome. My dog would stare like that into an "empty sky". Minutes later we we would see the ducks. She knew what was coming and lived for those retrieves. Thanks for stirring up great memories.

Nov 03, 2023 at 04:30 PM

DanielScott
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Dove Season in West Texas

Pitter wrote:
People shoot Sandhill Cranes? Do they eat them

Supposedly hunters consider it the "ribeye of the sky" according to google.

Nov 04, 2023 at 03:58 PM

Chris.J
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Dove Season in West Texas

amacal1 wrote:
Absolutely awesome set. A nice balance of "action" with lifestyle/details.

Thank you!

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gmccroskery wrote:
These are superb images -- you really capture the flavor of a Texas Dove hunt. I love #'s 6, 9 & 12.
This reminds me of a funny 'Far Side' cartoon I saw once -- it showed two ducks flying side by side and below in some reeds was a hunter with his shotgun point at them. One duck was saying to the other, "Hey Fred, you know it's that time of year when some guys just randomly explode!"

Greg

Thank you, Greg! I know the exact cartoon you're talking about

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Pitter wrote:
People shoot Sandhill Cranes? Do they eat them

We sure do, and they make amazing table fare. Cook them med. rare and you've got a great meal on your hands.

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csdog08 wrote:
We can't dove hunt here in Michigan but your morning shots help me relive many a duck hunt. Love the lighting on those. Just like being there. The intensity in the dog's face in #11 is awesome. My dog would stare like that into an "empty sky". Minutes later we we would see the ducks. She knew what was coming and lived for those retrieves. Thanks for stirring up great memories.

Thank you for sharing that. This is what you always hope to hear, that your images have made someone feel something, I'm glad these images were able to bring those memories back and you were able to reminisce, if for just a few moments.
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DanielScott wrote:
Supposedly hunters consider it the "ribeye of the sky" according to google.

Yes sir. It's a large chunk of meat and is very good, "ribeye in the sky" is accurate.

Nov 06, 2023 at 07:29 AM

Al Trujillo
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Dove Season in West Texas

From an 'old hunter' I have to remark that these are tastefully done. I cringed when I saw your title as many 'trophy' pictures are not worth sharing. Thank you for portraying this for what it is without any gore in your images.

-Al

Nov 13, 2023 at 08:00 AM

Chris.J
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Dove Season in West Texas

Al Trujillo wrote:
From an 'old hunter' I have to remark that these are tastefully done. I cringed when I saw your title as many 'trophy' pictures are not worth sharing. Thank you for portraying this for what it is without any gore in your images.

-Al

Thank you. Al.

I agree. One has to be cognizant of the audience when sharing photos, especially on an issue like hunting which tends to be a bit more polarizing.

Thank you again!

Nov 13, 2023 at 10:36 AM


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