Its not an easy transition from taking pictures of hunting and fishing to taking portraits for a senior in high school. After all there is a lot of pressure when a photo is this important. I am trying to work the kinks out.

This morning was no different than any other weekend morning around the house. Wake up at 5 am, let Rio outside, start coffee maker, and jump in the shower. Once the coffee was done I walked outside to see if Rio had dragged up anything he had found on his morning walkabout. That’s the moment I felt that slight chill of the upcoming fall and then that push to take a walkabout of my own.

I contend that the push I feel every fall is my fathers spirit making sure I don’t forget where I came from. I didn’t come from a big game hunting family. I mean we deer hunted when I was a kid but, it was always archery hunts with the latest and greatest Fred Bear recurve bows. We might hunt once or twice for deer. However from the day small game season opened until the last day of season we chased small game and upland birds.

Opening day of small game season is just a special day in my heart. I feel a sadness when I open magazines or read the interweb because it’s all about the antlers. Sometimes I wonder with deer hunting being what it is, and all the technology at the hands of today’s deer hunters, if basic woodsmanship has been forgotten

We ventured out to take a sneak peak before archery season today. Looks as if the Duck river bottoms have a solid mast crop for this year. The CRP fields are in beans this season and the deer are keying in the beans currently. Based on the mast crop that should not last long for when those acorns start falling the deer will shift their feeding pattern into the woods. The closer to the river you get the bigger and heavier the mast crop is.

Took the new Nikon D3400 and Zoom lens out today and it appears I have a lot to study on over the next few days as far as shooting distance shots!