Some interesting points here. My dad would never allow his picture taken over a kill, said he felt it was one upping and disrespecting the animal. In fact, after thirty some years fishing salmon commercially, I helped him catch his first king on a pole-he couldn't stop smiling until I pulled the camera out. I enjoy pictures and have started taking a lot more of them (dead animals included). I won't claim I don't get excited at bringing an animal down, but there is some bittersweet to it as well. I think people can and do take the antics too far to both extremes; trying to look badass, or high fiving and jumping around like idiots. It's a very subjective personal thing, ask five people you'll have five different answers.
QUOTE=charvey9;202271]I don't read hunting mags or watch it on TV so I'm not exactly sure of the pictures you are refferring to, but there are a couple ways to look at this.
I love hunting, and enjoy every moment when I'm out there. However, if you followed me around for a hunt I doulbt I'd smile much, and I certainly wouldn't have a shit eating grin on my face posing with a dead animal. I won't quote Fred Bear, but for me it really is a bittersweet moment when a hunt ends successfully. For one, your hunting is over. Its like the day after the superbowl when you realize football is over for the year. Second, and more importantly, you just took a life and should show some respect for it. I understand that things need to die in order for me to live, and as a hunter I'm proud that I am able to provide for myslef whenever possible. Its a natural thing, but I don't find entainment value in the killing.
Hunting photos in general are an interesting phenomenon. In any other walk of life, a person posing over something they killed (animal or otherwise) with a smile on their face would be considered sadistic. It is also something that has changed over time. Go back and look at old hunting photos, from a time when hunting was a way of life and not an entertainment industry. How many of those guys do you see smiling, fist pumping, and running around like idiots. Hunting was what it was, a means to provide food and connect with the outdoors. Here is a cool group to look at old hunting photos.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-hunting-photos/309912715786694
You can never actually tell what someone is thinking in a photo, so my only real problem with photos is fake emotion. I've got no problem if someone is happy about their success and skills as a hunter or if they are on the opposite end of the spectrum and are a bit stoic about the act of killing, as long as the emotion in the photo/video is true. If someone is trying to look like a bad ass or hopping around like an idiot because that is what they saw on TV, thats just lame. Better photos and memories will result if you are just true to yourself.[/QUOTE]