KEEP IT HANDY

If you think shooting a ruffed grouse on the wing with a shotgun is tough, try shooting one in flight with a still camera.

- RICHARD P. SMITH

The brush, branches and leaves that intercept shotgun pellets in grouse cover also interfere with cameras.

I know because I've tried.

I have been successful in capturing ruffed grouse in flight and in focus on a number of occasions. The shot I'm most proud of came one fall when I was big game hunting in Canada. I was on my way to a remote location when I spotted a grouse on the ground along the trail and moved in with my telephoto-mounted single-lens reflex (SLR) 35 mm film camera in the hopes of capturing an image of it in flight.

Part of the reason I'm most proud of that picture is the camera and lens I was using at the time had almost all manual settings, including focus. I selected a shutter speed I knew would stop the action (1/500-second). In that case, the bird flew across an opening after flushing, making it much easier to get on it, focus and press the shutter at the right moment to successfully collect its image.

The only automated control on that camera was the film advance, so I tripped the shutter as many times as I could while following the grouse through the viewfinder. Only one of the several exposures was on the money. The others were out of focus, and I discarded them.

Compared to the old days, taking quality images in the field today is a breeze.

Modern cameras are capable of automatically selecting the major settings important to good photography: shutter speed, light reading and focus. They make it easy on photographers, from the beginner to the experienced pro. All you have to do is to choose the "Automatic" or "Program" function, and you're good to go. Just set it and forget it. Literally "point and shoot." The cameras in most modern cell phones can create images as good as most of the best cameras on the market, without your having to set anything.