When I was a kid starting out in fishing, no one ever carried a camera. Don’t get me wrong, cameras had been invented. They just were not thought of as an essential piece of outdoor gear.
These days, things are quite different.
I know people who actually spend more time filming their outdoor activities than participating in them. And that’s fine. It’s not hurting anything and, if it makes you happy, go for it.
But it does make me wonder where we are going with this.
For instance, if someone snuck a camera out on one of our fishing trips when I was a kid, they would only use to take photos of truly memorable occasions, like the catching of a really big fish or someone accidentally setting their shoe on fire by standing too close to the campfire. In the case of the fish, they would take two photos at most because film wasn’t cheap. And, when that photographer got the film roll all used up a few months later, he’d show you a beautiful photo of his thumb blocking the lens or a blurry image in which it was hard to tell which one of the subjects was the fish. Or whose shoe was on fire.
Fast forward to today.
These days, that same fish – or any fish for that matter – would be documented with a series of impeccable cell phone photos and appearances in selfies. This would be followed by a video complete with interviews, subtitles, running commentary, fishing advice, shout outs to followers and sponsors, along with a back story giving the viewer a peek into the making of the video. All this would feature multiple camera angles, great lighting, drone footage, panoramic montages, a moving soundtrack, a title, photo credits and perhaps a touching, slow-motion underwater segment in which the fish is released. And that’s just from photography Unit One. Unit Two would create B-roll work that would make Cecille B. DeMille proud.
Editing and postproduction would ensure the documentation of the angling experience turns out an epic saga and perhaps the breakout role of an up till now unknown fish. There might even be a best supporting actor Oscar for the minnow that played the role of bait.
That’s great.
But you have to assume that in 40 years, the photo-crazy anglers of today are going to look back and consider these efforts primitive. For in the future, I assume anglers will utilize satellite imagery, holographic photography, x-rays, surround sound, body doubles for fish and anglers, stunt fish, and fish-to-human language translation devices as well as submarine photography units and a host of gifted screenplay writers. In fact, in the future, you probably won’t be given a fishing licence unless you went to film school.
At that point, today’s anglers might also note that the point of fishing has changed a bit. They might even think fishing has become secondary to getting a photo or good video to show on social media.
And that too would be nothing new either. Even back when I was a kid we questioned this. I clearly remember looking at the guy in our group who bought the camera and saying, “Are we here for the fishing or is it all about taking photos of my burning shoe?”
