Red Rabbit

The photo essay is a story being told through pictures. There should be a sequence of good, varied photos that support a well-told story of the Coues hunt. No winner has been chosen yet, but your vote will help select the top photo essays for the contest. The results of this poll will be just one of the factors the judges will use determing the winner(s). Links to Stories below: The Wife and I Go on a Date http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...st&p=126267 The Lucky Bean http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...c=11172&hl= My Unit 27 Oct Hunt http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...c=11127&hl= CW.Comers Invade Sonora http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...st&p=137493 Back to Mexico http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...st&p=137834 Stand on yer Hind Legs and Shoot http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...st&p=126093 2008 Father/Son Success http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...st&p=125152 08 AZ Coues http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...st&p=133163 2x4 Down! http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...st&p=128115

What are the dementions (spelling ) and I will measure it for you? 4"L x 4.75"H x 1.5"W Dementia- ya, I seem to suffer at times from that also

Thanks Clay. Do you think a Leica LRF 1200 rangefinder would fit in the front pocket?

Photo Essay Comments and Criticisms A photo essay should be a well-written story fully supported by a variety of good photographs that support the story and help tell the tale. Below are some comments made to help improve our photo essays. The following comments should have a positive effect, long-term, in making better photo essays. Most will seem negative, however, because strong points need less work. Some comments about the photographs: 1) Blurry pictures do not help a story, ever. Objects and animals that become dots on distant hillsides are every bit as useless. Crop a photo to eliminate excess background around the object of interest to make it a more dominant object in the photograph. 2) Photographs that show the local flavor and terrain are good. 3) The same picture from six angles is still the same picture. Showing horn details is one thing, but posing with the same animal several times does not add to the story. Pick the best shot and go with it. 4) Photos of deer in the back of a pickup are ghastly. 5) Have more well-chosen photos to tie in a little more of the story. The photos should support the written word, and vice versa. Avoid photos that stand alone and are not part of the tale. 6) Place the photograph next to the paragraph to which it corresponds. 7) The photo should be more than a snapshot. A hiker stopped and posing for the camera would be better if he was shown walking from the side. Don’t center a moving person or animal, but place him to one side so there is space in the photo for him to move into. The same with people shown glassing; have space ahead of them in the photo that they are glassing into. Comments about the written stories: 1) The “well-written” story should be clear and concise, and not contrived. It makes the subject come alive with a minimum of words without drawing attention to itself, and contains no errors in spelling, grammar or punctuation. 2) Be sure the writing is cohesive as an essay, and builds the story to a climax. Don’t ramble. Don’t give up the end of the story in the first few sentences. 3) Paragraphs! When the topic changes slightly, start a fresh paragraph with a space between the paragraphs. Lazy readers lose track easily in long, tedious paragraphs over 100 words. Short paragraphs make it easier for them to maintain themselves in the story. 4) People are funny about the words I, me and mine. Eliminate “I” every possible time. "I awoke to a cold rain" is more comfortable to most folks when it reads "A cold rain was falling when the alarm rang." Do it for the entire story and folks will like it better. 5) If a handle creates a confusing set of words, use either the proper name or put the handle in quotation marks or italicize... something to reduce readers' errors. Readers are lazy and seldom give you very many chances to keep them hooked.

Field Photograph Critique The quality of the field photos has generally improved over the past few years. More effort has been made to pose the deer and highlight it in the photograph in a pleasing and respectful manner. Tongues and blood have diminished. Thanks. A few things can be considered to make the photos POP and grab attention. We waited months or years to draw, and spent days scouting and hunting. Take just a few minutes to set up the photo and take dozens of photos to capture that “one” photograph of your trophy worth framing. The major thing that kept some well-composed photos from being top photos this year was EXPOSURE. Many of these were taken in harsh daylight with the sun behind the deer and hunter, which created strong backlighting, and the hunter and deer became dark shadows. If possible, turn the deer around so the sun is angled from the front (not directly ahead). Even in daylight, take several photos using different levels of fill-flash and some without flash to help eliminate shadows. Many cameras will allow you to bracket the photo with +/- IE. Take some photos with some underexposed and some overexposed a stop. The second error most commonly observed was having grass sticking up in front of the deer or hunter’s face. With the camera on the tripod, bend down and look for those obstructions in front of the lens. While you are down there, see if the antlers will be highlighted by sky or a bare surface like a rock, and not blend into any trees and brush behind. Tuck the deer’s legs underneath him. Don’t have them splayed out in all directions. Make sure your foot and boot is not splayed out in front of the deer either. Get the camera down at eye level with the deer and hunter rather than looking down from above. Hold the deer’s head up by the back of the neck, so your hand is not visible on the antlers or neck. and SMILE!

We are getting really close. Just was told of another nice prize donation. Now quit fighting with your brother in the back seat, ya hear, or we won't stop at Mickey D's and get ya Happy Meals!

I was wondering if the sliders slip while wearing and hence get out of adjustment. This was one complaint I had with the Crooked Horn Bino system. Guess the weight of the 10x50s binos caused the straps to slip though the slides.

Clay, Since the alaskaguidecreations.com website has not been updated, can you take some closeup photos front, back, side inside showing the pouch? Do the straps adjustment sliders slip? With a load in the pouch, how do the straps feel across the shoulder in terms of width and biting in?

What kind of padding do the cases have to protect the binoculars?

For those of you into high tech gear, Bass-Pro has the Browning Quest softshell/Gore-tex parka on clearance. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...5002000_475-2-2

http://www.azgfd.gov/artman/publish/article_1122.shtml Biologists and veterinarians expect lab tests to provide more medical clues on collared Arizona jaguar News Media Mar 4, 2009 Biologists and veterinarians expect to learn more about the medical conditions that led to the demise of a collared jaguar that was euthanized this week due to kidney failure. Veterinarians from the Phoenix Zoo conducted a necropsy immediately following the death of the cat on Monday, but did not find anything unexpected for an older jaguar. Veterinarians Dr. Dean Rice and Dr. Julie Swenson from the zoo performed the necropsy. Multiple tissue and organ samples, including from the kidneys, liver, adrenal glands and heart, were submitted for histopathology study to an outside laboratory. Histopathology is the study of microscopic anatomical changes in diseased tissue. “During the necropsy, we didn’t find anything out of the ordinary for a cat of Macho B’s advanced age,” said Dr. Rice, a veterinarian and executive vice president at the Phoenix Zoo. “But, given the extremely small size of his bladder despite aggressive intravenous fluid therapy, it was apparent that his kidneys were shutting down. I expect the histopathology reports to show that this animal had been experiencing kidney failure for awhile. Kidney failure is more a matter of weeks or months, not days.” The histopathology report may also reveal if the jaguar had any other medical conditions that were not evident during the physical necropsy. Results are expected in several weeks. Veterinarians indicated that Macho B showed no physical signs of illness that could have been detected by the biologists that originally collared him after he was unintentionally captured during a mountain lion and bear study. Diagnosis of kidney failure depends on running blood tests to analyze the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels, which are the two most important indicators of kidney function. Blood tests run Monday upon arrival at the zoo showed Macho B’s BUN was greater than 180, but an exact level could not be determined because the maximum reading on the diagnostic equipment was 180. The upper limit of a normal BUN level is 30. The cat’s creatinine level was 15.2 with the normal range being .3 to 2.1. Kidney failure is a common ailment in older cats. Arizona Game and Fish Department biologists had hoped to learn more from blood samples taken at the original capture, but the samples were deemed to be inadequate for testing. The blood samples were collected for use in DNA analysis in accordance with the capture protocol developed by leading jaguar experts. They were not intended to determine the health or condition of the animal at the time of the collaring, which would have required a different blood handling process. The decision to euthanize the jaguar was made based on the results of the zoo's blood work. The decision was made jointly between Game and Fish, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Phoenix Zoo. The jaguar was recaptured on Monday after data monitoring revealed a decreased level of activity over the weekend. The cat was brought immediately to the Phoenix Zoo for further medical assessment. Macho B was believed to be the oldest known jaguar in the wild at 15-16 years old, but biologists hope to better determine the animal’s age from studying one of his teeth using cementum annuli tooth aging, a common technique used to assess an animal’s age. The jaguar’s initial capture was guided by protocols developed in case a jaguar was inadvertently captured in the course of other wildlife management activities. The plan, which was created in consultation with leading jaguar experts, includes a protocol for capture, sedation and handling.

Lance, Is this Fri&Sat, Sat&Sun, or Fri-Sun?

$19,000,000 for one year. I think it is ludicrous. A teacher may earn just 1 million over the course of their entire lifelong career, and I would value his of her benefit on the community and individuals over that of an athlete who plays a game to entertain people.

Bill, Have you ever canoed down the Chama? I applied for permits a few years, but was never drawn. Doug

resigned or re-signed? The title caught me off-guard.

Just a bump, as this project is next weekend, Mar 13-15

Any feedback about the input meetings on Tuesday from those that went?

Is that Abiquiu ?

My cohort says hopefully tomorrow. Amanda is putting together a winners' page with pictures for the home webpage. CnS-As a child, did you always ask "Are we there yet?" or start counting the days till Christmas starting in July?

Geoff, That would be a nice wall to look at daily. Do you have a story and some pics about your nice rifle Coues? Doug~RR

Justice is certainly filled with glee by having the tail honors. What are the regulations on the tusks these days?

Evidently, the cat suffered kidney failure and had to be euthanized. http://www.azgfd.gov/artman/publish/article_1118.shtml

Basser, Guess we could email our questions, comments and suggestions to the unit WM. But since I have not seen any harvest data from last season, might be hard to make any educated questions/suggestions. I am wondering how having more coues hunts with fewer hunters in each affected the success.

Reminder, These meetings are tomorrow, Tuesday night (except Flagstaff, which is on Thursday) With the leftover tags being available for the early coues hunts, those of you attending the meetings might suggest a return of some tags to the Dec hunts, if you prefer the quality to quantity/opportunity hunts.

Amanda, What was the response and feedback about the Bino Pack at the ISE show? RR