Photographs on the bank

alex_molloy · Jun 12, 2013

Hello everyone,
Whilst on the bank alone how do you go about taking photos of your catch ? I have found an adapter which attaches the camera to a bank stick but how do you take the photo whilst holding the fish ? I thought about setting a timer but I rather have some sort of remote that takes the picture when your ready so your not rushing against the timer, is there such a thing ?
Thanks, Alex

barbelboi · Jun 12, 2013

Alone or not, most times that I do take pictures it's usually on the mat with the rod/reel or scales to register size. After all it's about the fish...............isn't it?
Jerry

nicepix · Jun 12, 2013

barbelboi said:
Alone or not, most times that I do take pictures it's usually on the mat with the rod/reel or scales to register size. After all it's about the fish...............isn't it?
Jerry

Same here.

richiekelly · Jun 12, 2013

yes you can get remotes for cameras, I don't photograph fish much nowadays sooner get them back into the water quickly.

garethdwatkins · Jun 13, 2013

Self takes do need a bit of preparation, equipment and practice. But once you've done it a few times its a piece of cake and the results are very good. I have a small light and compact Manfrotto tripod so I can set the camera up properly and adjust it how I wish.
The camera I use is an EOS 30D but the system works with most cameras. I then use a bracket system made by SRB Griturn.

Self take kit|shutter release kit

It comes with a long air release which I use under my foot. Once you've used it a few times setting up is easy. I set the tripod at 2m from the mat, and the zoom on 50mm to70mm depending on the size of the fish.
The air release means the autofocus works on each shot.
All the shots in my blog in the signature below were done this way.
cheers
Gareth

jacksharp · Jun 13, 2013

I used to take pics of myself with fish on the Ribble. Dead simple, just screw camera on bankstick with cheap screw adapter place twig on ground as your mark to kneel on and hold small electronic remote in hand that is at the tail-end of the fish. Have the camera set to 3 second delay and drop remote onto grass after pressing.

Peter Jacobs · Jun 13, 2013

There was a very good article in the Wintle's World of Angling series here on FM about "Self Take Photography" but for some reason I simply cannot find it in the Search engine.

Could ADMIN take a look to see if we can restore it as it really was virtually the definitive piece on this topic . . . . . . . .

garethdwatkins · Jun 13, 2013

I wrote this one a few weeks ago and included a video I did with Shaun Harrison a couple of years ago.

Self Take Photography | French Fishing Blog

cheers
Gareth

terry m · Jun 13, 2013

Interesting thread, I too have used the bank stick adaptor with decent if not brilliant results.

I generally elect to fish alone, and when it is a decent - as opposed to superb/PB - fish I am happy using the unhooking mat and reel/scales to picture the fish on.

But for PBs I am looking to improve.

Regarding the air release mechanisms, do they jolt or move the camera when activated, does the camera need to be strongly fixed to avoid vibrationor shake?

garethdwatkins · Jun 13, 2013

terry m said:
Regarding the air release mechanisms, do they jolt or move the camera when activated, does the camera need to be strongly fixed to avoid vibration or shake?

Hi there Terry,
Absolutely not, the little metal pin comes out quite slowly, yet firmly, when you press the air release. I would say it is certainly smoother than pressing the shutter release with your finger.
As your camera is on a tripod, even if it did move the camera body slightly the shutter speed & inherent stability of the camera, should see a sharp picture. I can't see this being an issue.
It is a very neat system... if you look at the shots on my blog, they are all sharp and well framed. It would have been very hard to get such good pix with a self timer.
Cheers
Gareth

sam vimes · Jun 13, 2013

I have a camera with a smile recognition self take feature. Point it in the right direction and grin at it and it goes click. I also have a remote that allows for a preprogrammed number of shots to be taken at a set interval. Push the button on the remote, pick the fish up and let it click away.

garethdwatkins · Jun 13, 2013

sam vimes said:
I have a camera with a smile recognition self take feature. Point it in the right direction and grin at it and it goes click. I also have a remote that allows for a preprogrammed number of shots to be taken at a set interval. Push the button on the remote, pick the fish up and let it click away.

Blimey Sam that sounds very technical.. makes my air release sound archaic... perhaps I should be loading Tri-X in my camera... LOL!!!
Gareth

Chris Hammond ( RSPB ACA PAC} · Jun 13, 2013

Infra red remote and five second self-timer mode. I clip the remote onto the back of my trousers on its lanyard, hold the fish gently on the mat to stop it jumping off with my left hand, fire the shutter, let the remote swing back behind me out of sight then pick the fish up. Two or three quick snaps usually produces at least one reasonable snap.

I wouldn't dream of letting a memorable fish go without a picture. It's a big part of angling for me.

Philip · Jun 13, 2013

I got myself one of these...

Pentax Optio 750Z Review | Digital Camera Resource Page

Its got an infra-red remote control AND a swivel screen that can be rotated round to face yourself...so you can see & frame yourself as you take the snap. The remote also allows you a certain amount of zoom (3 settings).

It was one of the few cameras I could find that had both the remote and the rotating screen. The picture quality seems good enough to me.

jacksharp · Jun 13, 2013

Philip said:
I got myself one of these...

Pentax Optio 750Z Review | Digital Camera Resource Page

Its got an infra-red remote control AND a swivel screen that can be rotated round to face yourself...so you can see & frame yourself as you take the snap. The remote also allows you a certain amount of zoom (3 settings).

It was one of the few cameras I could find that had both the remote and the rotating screen. The picture quality seems good enough to me.

I use my remote with an old Pentax Optio S only 3.2mp but good enough for fishing photos.

terry m · Jun 14, 2013

garethdwatkins said:
Hi there Terry,
Absolutely not, the little metal pin comes out quite slowly, yet firmly, when you press the air release. I would say it is certainly smoother than pressing the shutter release with your finger.
As your camera is on a tripod, even if it did move the camera body slightly the shutter speed & inherent stability of the camera, should see a sharp picture. I can't see this being an issue.
It is a very neat system... if you look at the shots on my blog, they are all sharp and well framed. It would have been very hard to get such good pix with a self timer.
Cheers
Gareth

Gareth thanks - that really is useful, the price is reasonable too.

laguna · Jun 14, 2013

Peter Jacobs said:
There was a very good article in the Wintle's World of Angling series here on FM about "Self Take Photography" but for some reason I simply cannot find it in the Search engine.

Could ADMIN take a look to see if we can restore it as it really was virtually the definitive piece on this topic . . . . . . . .

I seem to remember that too Peter, there was also a discussion on camera remotes started by Jeff Woodhouse last year...

alex_molloy · Jun 14, 2013

Thank you for of your replys. I have found another alternative, I have ordered a tripod and a stand for my iPhone off the Internet, looks like it will do the job fine and I am looking at remotes now. I can also use the camera on the front of the phone so I can see the screen before pushing the button, thanks Alex

Eric Edwards · Jun 14, 2013

Photographs of fish on the mat are fairly pointless imho, it's impossible to tell what sort of size the fish is and after you've seen one you've seen them all. I don't subscribe to the theory that it's all about the fish, angling is about anglers AND fish but it's mostly about having fun. Never seen a fish having fun lying on a mat.

I use Lumix G3 with flip round screen and a radio remote. The flip round screen is a great piece of kit - the reason I bought the camera in fact.

Here's a recent self-take with the setup

Photographs on the bank

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