Gun Dog Magazine

Duck Hunting Photography

Zach Benson - Duck Decoy Carver

Seems like personal projects are a constant topic here, but it doesn’t matter because it’s something I’m very passionate about and want people to hear. For photographers, there is nothing more valuable than the personal project. Nothing. I love shooting for certain commercial clients, but put just as much if not more time into personal projects. What you see here is a piece I’m honored to post because it involves time spent with people I care about. I’ve known Zach Benson since elementary school where we were close friends. He’s an extremely skilled hunter and an even better artist. Nick Yetto is my cousin, but also happens to be a brilliant writer. The three of us grew up in the same town and went to the same schools. Then life, as it tends to do, sent us all in different directions. Fast forward to last year around this time, I was fortunate to spend 4 amazing days with Zach documenting his hunts, the creation of his beautiful decoys, ate lots of good food, had lots of laughs, and drank plenty of booze. Then I teamed up with Nick to write a piece that would tell Zach’s story along with my images. To be clear, my intention first and foremost, was to hang out with Zach while also having fun with the camera. Being in these situations I find it impossible not to document what’s happening. I also appreciate his lifestyle and enormous talent as an artist. A person that others with shared interests should know about. And I feel a responsibility as a photographer to help others learn about him.

Back to the personal project. It’s important as photographers that we don’t feel as though we need permission to do what we love. We don’t need to sit around waiting or begging for a dream client to hire us. That’s nonsense. Photographers should go out on their own and create exactly what it is they feel drawn to. Worry about everything else later. Just go out and have fun with the camera. Then, if it turns out the way it’s supposed to, the work will find a home. But you can’t worry about the home in the beginning. Just shoot for yourself and you’ll find that the images will turn out better. I’m really honored toothat the good times had with Zach and Nick wound up in Gun Dog Magazine because his story will be read by those that appreciate him the most. It also feels good to do these things with people I care about in our own way and on our own terms. Nobody hired me to do this or told me how to do it. This collaboration is something that continues between Nick and I. Something I’m also grateful for because it brings me closer to my cousin, who I’ve been apart from for so long. We currently have another piece (unrelated to duck hunting) due to come out at the beginning of 2021, and he also wrote the intro for my soon to be released Hoops book.

You can follow Zach on Instagram @benson_decoys

Click here to check out Nick Yetto’s novel Sommelier of Deformity

A duck hunter and his dog in a canoe at sunset in upstate New York.

A duck hunter pulls his dog and canoe through deep marshland.

A dog jumping from a hunting blind.

A duck hunter sitting in a marsh takes aim at his target.

The inside of a hunting blind is illuminated in the early morning on a marsh in upstate New York.

A duck hunter and his dog sitting in their canoe in an upstate New York marsh.

Decoy artist Zach Benson in his workshop creating a custom wood decoy.