Internet deer gallery shows off more than trophies

Josey1

Sunday, January 13, 2002 OUTDOORSInternet deer gallery shows off more than trophies By MARK TAYLOR THE ROANOKE TIMES Dead deer. You've got to love them. OK. Not everybody does, but if you're a hunter, you do. That's why we crowd around the beds of pickup trucks at game-checking stations, why we check out the snapshots on the bulletin boards at country stores, why most national magazines include photo galleries featuring everyday hunters and their deer. The fact that some guy named Joe from Des Moines killed a nice eight-pointer on Nov.25 will have no bearing on our lives. Still, we can't get enough. If you're looking for pictures of big bucks in the pages of this newspaper, you probably think you don't get enough. We run a few, which is more than most good-sized newspapers. We do it because the folks who run the show here understand that hunting is a big part of the lives of many in Southwest Virginia. We don't overdo the dead deer pictures, though. For one thing, we've got only so much space. For another, we understand that there are plenty of folks who'd rather not look at dead deer every morning while eating their Trix. It's a compromise, and it's one I can live with. Still, I'd like to be able to do something with the shots hunters often send me. Now I am. With the help of the Internet gurus here, we're launching an online whitetail deer gallery. Internet users will be able to reach the gallery by surfing to roanoke.com and clicking into the outdoors section. We've already got a few pictures in there, and we'll expand the gallery as more photos roll in. Notice I'm not calling it a trophy gallery. Sure, a buck like Steve Ellis' mind-boggling 15-pointer - one of the shots already in the gallery - is going to get a lot of attention. However, I don't think the site should be limited only to big bucks, because I think deer hunting is about more than big bucks. Other galleries focus on big deer because they have space limitations. The only small deer that make the cut are those killed by women or kids. That's a fair nod to creating some needed diversity, but we've got the room so we don't need to worry about it. Come one, come all. I'd also like to publish pictures of live deer. Why not? There are some folks who prefer to shoot deer only with cameras. One could argue that getting a good shot of a live deer with a camera is harder than shooting a deer with a gun. The initial gallery will feature only deer taken during the most recent season. We may eventually expand on that. I'd love to put together a historical gallery of, say, pictures of deer killed back in the bad old days, when there weren't many deer. If this thing goes reasonably well, I wouldn't be surprised to see a gobbler gallery or a sportfishing gallery in the future. We'd prefer to receive digital pictures via e-mail. With so many folks now shooting digital cameras or with access to picture scanners, that shouldn't be a problem for many. Send them to me, as jpeg files, at markta@roanoke.com. We'll also accept regular prints. Mail them to me at The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va., 24010-2491. If you want the picture back, include a self-addressed envelope. We'll stamp it. With each picture, we'll need the hunter's name, hometown, age, plus date and county of kill. Other important, but not mandatory, information includes such things as the weapon used, deer weight, and rack points and dimension. Those who wish to include the story of their hunt are welcome to do so, and we'll publish the tales when possible. Photographers who submit pictures of live deer should include the area where the shot was taken, as well as photo exposure information. Because not even modern computer magic can salvage really bad pictures, we can't promise that every submission will make the gallery. Most will. That should make for some interesting viewing. http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story124286.html