An End To A Good Season

Filming hunting and fishing expeditions can be quite challenging when you factor in all the odds.  In 11 years I have seen quite a few trips when things just don’t work in our favor: the weather didn’t cooperate (story of my life), the talent either misses a shot or blows an opportunity, cameras have been known to not work but the number one reason is the quarry simply doesn’t cooperate.  If I had a nickel for when a guide or outfitter said ‘shoulda been here last week, everything was perfect’, I would be a rich man.  For example, elk hunts are one of my favorite expeditions to go on.  They are tough to get close to, live in challenging terrain but are one of the most rewarding to capture with a camera when they are bugling in the fall.  Well, after all of the hard work and training this year, none of my elk hunts panned out and we were hunting some of the best places New Mexico and Utah has to offer.  It happens.

Luckily this year had a happy ending.  Shooting in my home state of Virginia for Bass Pro Shops and their 100% Real Hunting series that airs on NBC Sports, I knew it was going to be a fun shoot but also a challenging one that already had some history.  For most of the outdoor shows, if you don’t have a kill recorded on camera , you don’t have a show and this was host Rob Keck’s third try this season on this particular farm in southern Virginia.  But third time a charm, Rob bagged this 140 class buck with enough time to shoot additional b-roll to fill out the show.  Double bonus, I got to drive home and didn’t have to fly with an arsenal of pelican cases, cameras and grip gear!