Do you have photos from a hunting or trapping trip you would like to share? DEC has created a Hunting and Trapping Photo Gallery for junior hunters (ages 12-15), young trappers (under age 16), and hunters who have harvested their first big or small game animal.
If you are the parent or legal guardian of a junior hunter or young trapper, or if you are an adult who would like to share your first successful hunt, you can e-mail photos to us.
Whether you submit photos via e-mail or regular mail, please follow the guidelines outlined in the Contributor's Guide below. Thanks for sharing your hunting and trapping experiences!
View these photo galleries on DEC' Flickr page:
Contributor's Guide
All photos should be of game animals legally taken in New York State and should display the animals in a tasteful, presentable manner. In order for your photo to be displayed in this gallery, the animal must have been reported. Please only send sharp, clear, color photographs.
Photographs must be accompanied by the following information. If all information is not included, your photo may not be posted:
- Name and age of person in photo and name of the photographer
- Written consent -- from either the parent or legal guardian of the person in the photo (if under age 18), or from the person in the photo (if age 18 or older) for the photo to be published. This can be accomplished by including the sentence "I give permission for the DEC to publish this photo" in the body of the email.
- Date & Season (e.g., Fall 2014 deer season)
- County where hunt/harvest or trapping occurred
If submitting digital photos via e-mail:
- Try to keep the file size below 10 MB and send only 1-2 photos per e-mail (max 25MB of attachments per email).
- Photos should be a minimum of 400 pixels wide.
- Photos should be in JPG, TIF, PNG, GIF, or BMP formats.
You can also submit photos by mail. Photos can be 35 mm slides, regular prints, or digital photos on CD. If sending digital photos, please use the file types, size, and configuration listed above. Send to:
Hunting and Trapping Photo Gallery
NYSDEC
625 Broadway, 5th Fl.
Albany, NY 12233-4754
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation retains all rights to accepted submissions. DEC reserves the right to reproduce or reprint, with proper credit, photos in other publications, on television, web sites, and other media. If the person in the photograph is under age 18, the photo must be accompanied by written consent of the individual's parent or legal guardian granting DEC permission to use the image.
Because of limitations on staff time and backlog of submissions, we cannot guarantee when or if an accepted submission will be published in the photo gallery. All submissions will remain on file for an indefinite period unless the contributor requests return.
Photography Tips
- Try to take photos in the field before you field dress your animal. If the photos are taken after the animal is field dressed, please clean up as much as possible.
- Keep the light in the face of the subject and on the game (i.e., keep the sun at the photographer's back) and make sure hats or other clothing are not shadowing the subject's face.
- Check the position of your firearm before taking your photo. Photos with poor or improper firearm position will not be accepted.
- On all but the brightest days, use a flash to reduce shadows.
- Fill the viewfinder with your subject(s). Avoid having a lot of vacant space around the subject(s).
- Experiment with different compositions - position of the subject and game, background settings, camera angles, etc.
- Send only one or two images per e-mail. If you know how to reduce the size and resolution of your photos for e-mail, please do so, but it is not mandatory. Ideally, send photos 100 dpi resolution and about 700 pixels in width.
