Duck Hunting Photography

Waterfowl Hunting - Photography

It’s strange the way timing works in the world. We were working on the Carved in the Chapel documentary with my buddy Zach Benson for a few years and when it was finally set to be released on December 22nd, we happened to be together for a hunt on one of the Finger Lakes near Geneva, New York. Grateful for that.

It has to be about more than the hunt. Same goes for everything I do, but this is a hunting post, so we’ll stick to that. If your only reason for hunting is to kill an animal, then you don’t deserve to be out there. Sure that’s part of it, but there’s so much more than that. You have to like the journey and the effort. The Suffer Fest. I personally love all the other aspects surrounding a hunt just as much as the hunt itself. The anticipation. Getting there. Waking up early and not knowing if you’ll even be lucky enough to see a duck, let alone get one close enough where you have the opportunity to shoot it. If the kill were guaranteed, all the fun would be gone. There are a million things I could add to this list, like camaraderie, but we’ll leave it there for now.

Good times that day. Looking forward to the next one.

Benelli - Carved in the Chapel

Duck Hunting Documentary - Benelli

Waterfowl Culture - Photography

It’s a real honor to end 2021/begin 2022 with the introduction of this project that’s been a long time coming. Story telling is something I’ve become very passionate about but it becomes even more fun when you are able to tell the story of someone that’s just as passionate about what they do. And then the cherry on top comes when that person and all the people you’re working with are your friends. I’m very grateful for everything about this project and to be able to tell Zach Benson’s story. He’s a wildly talented guy that’s overflowing with enthusiasm for waterfowl hunting as well as the one of a kind duck decoys that he creates from scratch.

This was one of the first times that I chose to step away from the camera for the most part. Instead taking on the producer role and had a lot of fun with working with a team to create something we are all proud of. All of the beautiful visuals you see were shot by Jordan Valente. We really had a blast making this thing. Loved every second of it. The early mornings. Late nights. Days standing nipple deep in 50 degree water. Laughs. Good food. Whisky. Laughs. All of it.

Please enjoy this 14 minute documentary and feel free to share it with anyone you know that might appreciate Zach’s story. And you can follow along with him on Instagram @benson_decoys or on his website www.zach-benson.com

You can also view more of Jordan Valente’s work at www.amilewest.com Another part of the team was Stephen Werk who did a lot of the editing along with Jordan. He’s got a beautiful documentary of his own out called Sons of Mezcal.

Benelli - Carved in the Chapel