A while back, I was going through my old hunting photos and noticed they were mostly the same – a rotating cast of smiling characters posing next to a line of dead birds on a tailgate. It occurred to me that these photos only captured one small part of why I love quail hunting so much. Where were the photos of raw landscapes, solid points, explosive covey rises, plates of fried quail, and campfire conversation with close friends?
No doubt, tailgate photos have their place, but the more I hunt the more my days are measured by the number of memories I collect rather than the number of birds in my game bag.
The following pages contain – images from a group of photographers with the unique ability to capture images of quail hunting that go well beyond dead birds on a tailgate. They tell a complete story, not just a piece of one. There is not a single tailgate photo among them.
– Ryan Sparks, Quail Forever Journal Editor