iPhone's Tilt Shift Generator

I have yet to upload any images from my recent trip to Chico Hot Springs and Yellowstone but I have a few images taken with the iPhone and edited with the Tilt Shift Generator application.  This app has quickly become my favorite photo app for the iPhone. In addition to digitally "shifting" an image, you can change: saturation, brightness, contrast and vignetting.  All in all, it's a great app.  More to come after I upload pics from my camera...

 NE entrance to Yellowstone at Gardiner:

    4 Winds Saloon.  Butte City, Idaho:

Chico Hot Springs, Montana

This is a 6 image pano taken with and stitched together on the iPhone.  Yellowstone River at Emigrant.

Coffee Cup

Here's an image taken with the iPhone of a 12 oz. coffee cup and natural light through a window.  Carrying the iPhone around is quite different than carrying a DSLR around as the iPhone is almost always in my pocket.  It certainly is fun to see what you can do with a camera phone.  All post processing was done on the phone as well.

I am off to Chico Hot Springs, Gardiner and Yellowstone starting tomorrow for about four days with my two sons.  All of us have been looking forward to this annual trek to the park when most of the roads are closed with very few people around.  The road from Gardiner (North Entrance) to Silver Gate (North East Entrance) stays open year round and is a beautiful drive.  I found what looks to be a fabulous cabin in Gardiner on the Yellowstone River where we will be staying for a few nights.  I'll report back if it is worthy of a repeat. 

Here are two images of Fall color taken yesterday on the Wood:

Bridge on the Big Wood River:

One last image taken with the iPhone.  Two lost teeth...

Tilt Shift iPhone Photography

OK, so I am a little obsessed with the tilt shift application for the iPhone. I checked out Silver Creek today and it was cold with a slight but raw east wind. I did not take a single image at the creek. I was hoping for a final shot at a few baetis images and did not see one. Browns are still spawning and nobody was around. I then checked out Cedar Bend Preserve on the Wood. I took three images there with the iPhone and edited them with the tilt shift generator application. That's it...  Keep in mind while the title of the application says, "tilt," the application is only capable of a shift effect.  Additionally, the app lets you control saturation (you can desaturate to black and white), contrast, brightness and vignette.

Missoula, MT

Here are two quick clicks I took today with the iPhone camera in and near Missoula. I used a tilt/shift application--which I think is pretty cool to mess around with. It's called, Tilt Shift Generator. It's worth checking out... Anyway, the Superman hood ornament is pretty emblematic of Missoula and the second image is of a favorite stream of mine; a tributary to the Blackfoot River.

Silver Creek In November

Spectacular weather here with highs in the sixties and sunny and slated to last through the week.  I fished Silver Creek today with nobody around and good baetis from about 1 to 4 PM.  Fish were rising prior to 1 PM just without any consistency.  Should be good stuff all week.  Enjoy it while it lasts...

Patriotic Cattle Guard

Here's an image of a cattle guard I crossed a month or so ago heading over to Yellowstone.  You don't see too many like this one.

Here's an image of a Dead End sign in Mackay.  It's in a field not too far off a road.  No kidding?

Fall Brown Trout

Silver Creek has been hit or miss lately with the weather all over the charts, but next week is looking very promising as the day time highs should be near 60 at Silver Cr. and some clouds.  Could be one of the last really productive weeks of the season.  We'll see... 

Baetis

Here's an image I have yet to post that I originally converted to black and white.  I have a couple more weeks of trying to improve my on-the-water mayfly shots before winter sets in for real and a baetis here and there is more of an anomaly than a clock-work fall hatch.  Supposed to be a bit warmer today.  Near fifty in Picabo.  I am heading back down to Silver Creek later this morning.

Here's an image of a baetis and midge drifting together. 

Fall Big Wood River Baetis

Here's an image of a five-legged baetis I took yesterday on the Wood.  There were a few around and the weather lately has been "baetis weather"; cool and cloudy.  This pattern could easily continue into early November.  November can be one of the more enjoyable times on the river.  Virtually nobody around and potential for great dry fly fishing and even streamer fishing for LARGE browns...

Fall Color

Here are a couple images of a maple tree and fall color and wind and rain for saturation and a longish exposure... 

Big Lost River

Here are a few new images and with the exception of the brown being released, were all taken on the Lost.  The weather just turned to rain/snow/cold/wet/yuck....  Looks like colder and wet weather through at least Wednesday. 

Fall Color

Brookies spawn in the Fall and have turned brilliant and vibrant colors.  Here's a pic of a small, yet incredibly colorful brook trout:

Still unseasonably warm weather here with a change slated for this weekend.  Rain and rain and rain and cooler weather by Sunday.  Hopefully the grey weather to come induces a little stronger baetis.  While the fishing has been good on the Lower Lost, it certainly has not been what it can be due to fewer than normal mid-day baetis.  We'll see...

Trout Fins

Still macro but no bugs...  Here are two images: one of a brown trout's adipose fin and the other of a brook trout's anal fin.  Backlit and shot with the Nikon 105 2.8 lens.  The Fall weather here is still spectacular.  Highs in the sixties and mainly sunny!  I fished Silver Creek today and had great baetis for two and a half hours starting around noon.  We hooked and caught one fish on a hopper.

Mahogany Duns...

I justed received and tried out new extension tubes on bugs at Silver Creek a couple days ago.  That essentially allows me to get much closer and as a result get a greater magnification.  Mayflies that I saw were: Baetis, Mahogany Duns, Tricos & Callibaetis.  Mahoganies and Baetis were the only mayflies I saw in great numbers.  October caddis are also fluttering around Silver Creek at the moment.

Female Trico

Female Mahogany Dun

Mahogany Dun

Mahogany Dun Tail

Callibaetis

October Caddis

Well, I have spent the last 3 days on Silver creek and other than seeing baetis every day, each of the last three days has been completely different.  Three days ago I saw MANY mahogany duns and the last two days I only saw a handful.  The fish still recognize them but not all of the risers are willing to eat them.  Today, as it was windy early, hoppers worked quite well and the two prior days they didn't seem to garner much attention.  Tomorrow the wind is supposed to BLOW.  Gusts to 28 mph.  We'll see...

Here are two October Caddis images from yesterday on Silver Creek:

October Trico

Here's an image of a female trico taken on Silver Creek two days ago.  While there are not many tricos left, there are certainly a few lingering.  I took the shot below not long after the trico emerged.  Silver Creek is a pretty cool place to be right now as Sandhill Cranes are there in abundance and sounding out their prehistoric garble.  A heard of elk is on the upper end of the preserve and some of the bulls can be heard bugling...  Moose, too, have been wandering around the preserve, albeit quietly.  Raptors in abundance--from bald eagles to the smallish and erratic flying harriers-- are seeking out their prey including overly abundant voles. 

Silver Creek Fall Baetis

Here's an image I took today on Silver Creek of a baetis.  This baetis was/is tiny!  A #22 or #24.  Mahogany duns are also getting smaller, already.  The mahoganies I saw today were around a #18.  There were tons of baetis mid-day and the fish were on them.  Hoppers are still around and are still working.

I used spot metering and metered the baetis and dialed down the exposure compensation 1 stop.  Shot taken with the Nikon 105  2.8 lens.

Silver Creek Dragon Fly

Here are a couple images of a dragon fly at Silver Creek.  I fished the Lost today and had a north wind until around 2 and then it became calm with a broken sky.  A few tricos are still lingering in the late AM and usually a strong baetis in the afternoon, but not today, or at least not where I was.  Still decent fishing if you are willing to nymph... 

Fly Fishing Photography...

Sometimes the tiny details are spectacular.  A small mahogany dun casting a perfect reflection on glassy water.  The electric blue of an adult damsel fly.  The sky on a particularly brooding day.  Here's an image taken of an unusually vibrant gill plate on a rainbow trout.  Photo taken on Silver Creek using a Nikon macro 105  2.8.