MIDCURRENT #4

WWW.MIDCURRENT.COM is one of the best sites around in terms of keeping things fresh. Each week there are various additions to the content - whether it's news, tutorials, gear reviews, conservation information, or useful articles.

They also have one of the most comprehensive collections of fishing art and imagery anywhere on the web. It's an honor to have been selected again as a featured photographer, especially among the kind of talent in Midcurrent's gallery.

Click on the image to view the full-page spotlight, and make sure you've got Midcurrent bookmarked - there's always new content coming down the pike.

Midcurrent³

MidCurrent is a healthy part of a fly fisherman's balanced diet. I have been dropping in regularly for a long time due to the well-written articles, knot tying tutorials, podcasts, industry news, and other information that is always readily available.

I have really enjoyed the addition of dedicated sections for featured fly fishing artists and photographers. If you haven't dropped in for a while, definitely check out:

THE ARTIST GALLERY

THE PHOTOGRAPHER GALLERY

I'm honored to have been featured for the 3rd time this week for some of my recent images dealing with summer fly fishing. Clicking on the image below will take you to the updated feature page.

MIDCURRENT²

I am appreciative of being featured for the second time on MidCurrent for my fly fishing work. The Photography section showcases images from all over the globe and is a must-see. Thanks to Tim Romano for his assistance with round 2.

Click on this image to see the page:

Images added:

Run Silent, Run Deep

SOFTWATER....AT LAST.

Hitting stillwater after the long winter is as close to Nirvana as I can imagine. With a new season, I decided to experiment with a few new techniques. This image was captured by wetting the front element of my housing.

A deep breath after seeing the light of day...

Mass = Having weight & taking up space...

Another rainbow is homeward bound:

The leopard submarine:

When Shaggy isn't on the set of Scooby Doo, it is a little-known fact that he puts fly to water with reckless abandon. Cody applied hook to lip so many times on the trip that we had to begin using exponential notation.

JayMorr captured a healthy dose of images from the trip as well, so make sure to pay his blog a visit and continue the story at FlyFishermanForum.com.

iCarry 2 Much

Last weekend I traversed a river carrying what onlookers initially thought to be an adolescent pachyderm on my back. In actual fact, it was my photo pack carrying 2 camera bodies, 3 lenses, 1 strobe, spare batteries, various filters, and a full size tripod.

While staving off compression fractures of the L1-L5 vertebrae, it occurred to me that I should lighten up. Literally.

As an exercise in enjoyment, once in a while this season I am going to shoot on my iPhone. Using a measure of creativity and a layer of abstraction to overcome the technical limitations of the camera, smart phones can be powerful tools. Even better, many offer applications which can perform basic post processing, also eliminating the need to download and re-work images later.

Float like a butterfly, and sting with 3G.

Defrost

Winter really steams my olives. The seemingly interminable combination of short days and vast expanses of hard water get me feeling more bound up than a wheel-of-cheese diet. This morning dawned crisply enough to freeze my rod guides solid, but the sun was out and I was itching to flex the new Sage VT2 that I’ve had in hibernation the last 2 months.

Kind of a fun image - this was captured and post processed entirely on the iPhone. I will be posting some product photography and more thoughts on the VT2 down the road.

It was more of an exploratory venture today, checking out a piece of water that was entirely new to me. Fishing was slow but I enjoyed unfurling some casts with the new stick and putting fly to water for the first time this year.

Thanks to JayMorr for showing me some new stomping grounds. Check his blog over the next few days to see more imagery. This shot is courtesy of Jay, which I “cartoonified” in Photoshop.

National Tarpon-Graphic

I've again enjoyed the honor of having one of my images selected as a Daily Dozen winner by National Geographic. There is always tremendous variety of both subject matter and technique in these selections. If you don't have YOUR SHOT bookmarked, I recommend it for the mix of humanitarian, nature, and out-of-the-ordinary photography.

American Angler Magazine

The March/April 2010 issue of American Angler Magazine is now available. Philip Monahan's article about brook trout features a few of my images.

AA is among my favorite magazines for both content and photography, and it was an honor to be a part of this issue.

FlytoWater.NET

A new Flash-based photo site I've been working on is live today. If anyone has suggestions or comments I would love to hear from you!

The Improv

Things that fly often give you the bird. It's really that simple. Over the years I've come to the realization that photography is primarily about recognizing opportunities. Many times I leave the house with a certain vision or objective in mind, only to discover that the conditions or subject matter simply do not lend themselves to success.

It is during these times that it's critical to see what IS there, and take what the defense gives you.

This year it has been extremely difficult locating eagles. The birds have been unpredictable, moving significant distances from day to day. With the onset of some excellent evening light, we decided to chase northern harriers. Getting to within 25 yards of a wild harrier (about the maximum distance which will yield a detailed image) usually involves enough waiting to make Rip van Winkle appear slapdash by comparison.

JayMorr captured a spectacular image of an elusive male this week, well worth checking out on his blog. He also sniped a shot of me on the boomstick (Nikon 400mm f/2.8 VRII).

I got a few images of a female, who made a single 3-second flyby within range.

Sleeping in the Dirt Magazine

If you haven't already seen the premier issue of Aaron Otto's online magazine Sleeping in the Dirt, make sure to pay a visit. No advertisements, just eye candy. Pages 12-14 feature a few images of my tarpon trip to Mexico. Thanks for the spread AO!

Click on the image to view the magazine.

Talon Scout

Birds are a photographer's night sweat-inducing nemesis. All species delight in flitting about at extreme distances, later appearing in pictures as black specs nearly concealed by the curvature of the Earth. The mere mention of the word "birds" also tends to cause the onset of an inscrutable smile for those retailing or manufacturing camera lenses the size of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Eagles are somewhat of a rarity in the Salt Lake area. Like most places out West the occasional sighting is not entirely uncommon. Ordinarily, however, the chances of actually photographing them are on par with locating a Blue Footed Booby.

All this changes for a short 2-3 week period in the dead of winter, when large numbers of migratory bald eagles use the wetlands of the Wasatch Front as a layover. Apparently there are much more raptor-friendly locations farther to the North, offering something called "heavy beer" as an attractant.

I haven't seen the heaviest buildup yet, but a few birds have started to arrive. Here are a couple images from this weekend's scouting trip:

I also have a fondness for the kestrel, although their tiny size often makes them a photographer's bane. On Saturday this one was cooperative for a short period:

Keep your lap dogs inside the ride at all times folks, baldies love a nice Maltese chaser after a fish dinner.

Midcurrent Featured Photographer

Many thanks to Marshall Cutchin and Tim Romano for featuring my photography on MidCurrent, which is one of the world's largest providers of fishing news, media, and techniques. It's an honor considering the guys who have been featured previously are some of the best in the biz.

Click on the photo to view the page.

There are plenty of exceptional images in the photography section, drop in and check 'em out.

Be Very...Very...Quiet

Everyone needs to check out JayMorr's shots from yesterday at FlyFishermanForum because they turned out wicked. He sniped a shot of me on the boomstick too.