Silver Creek Preserve

Nature Conservancy & Storm

Nikon D3S & Nikon 24 pc-e lens

I took the above 3 image pano last night.  I tilted the lens down about 1.5 degrees to have the look of unlimited depth of field and shifted the lens left and right for the pano.  We have been in the afternoon thunderstorm cycle for about a week or so.  Highs in Ketchum have even crept over 80 degrees which has started our runoff on local rivers much earlier than normal.  Below is a graph of the flow of the Salmon River.  Note the average flow and how much the river went up yesterday alone.  Also, note that the previous record flow for today was 3110 cfs set in 1974.  All in all, this is a super early runoff and while the high water will certainly last some time, I suspect our rivers should be in great shape in early June.  That means we are likely to have fishable water on the Big Wood River for our green drake hatch...

 

Here's a graph showing the flow on the Big Wood River:

Might as well include the flow on the Big Lost as well--which is open year round:

Macro & Form

Spring Bulb

I am in the middle of reading Karl Blossfeldt's, The Complete Published Work.  A German photographer (1865-1932) who used a home-made large format wooden camera to catalogue plants primarily to serve as a teaching aid for drawing classes.  He was a professor of art at The Berlin College of Art.  His photographic work was discovered later in his life.  His work has certainly inspired me to shoot tiny plant details and remove color to leave behind a simple composition of a plant's form.

Nikon D3S & Nikon Micro 105 with extension tubes

iPhone Photography

Palm Trees & Storm.  Hawaii

Here's an image from just over a year ago I took with the iPhone camera.  Sometimes the simplicity of a camera phone is perfect.

Camera: iPhone 4

Salmon River Steelhead

salmon river fly fishermanCasting like a guide on his day off, guide Matt Sherman lets one loose on the Salmon River.

fly fishing photography

 

salmon river fly fishermanMasochists' weather...  And steelhead weather too.  Steel grey and light rain.

 

steelheadThe Payoff.  Salmon River Steelhead

Nikon D3S & Nikon 24 pce lens

Also, I have a few images in the new issue of The Flyfish Journal.  If you have never picked up a copy, The Flyfish Journal is based on the Surfers Journal model of being reader supported with very few adds with an artistic edge.  Here's a link to an image of mine in the recent The Flyfish Journal.  It is a hard publication to find on the newstand so check it out and subscribe! 

Big Wood River Midges

midgesBig Wood River Midge Shucks

midge close-upMidge.  Big Wood River

Warm temps and lots of bugs on the Big Wood at the moment.  By Saturday and Sunday we could see daytime highs around 60!  Now is the time to be on the river...

 

Nikon D200 & Nikon Micro 105 lens with extension tubes

Fly Fishing Photography

A photography niche of mine is certainly fly fishing.  I am on the river quite a bit and I usually or almost always have a camera with me...  In any event, I am still inspired by many other photographers or genres regardless of their respective niche.  Surfing photography would be a genre I am inspired by and despite the fact I do not surf I still look forward to my quarterly delivery of The Surfers Journal.

On that note, I have been devouring any current info I can get on large format photography--mainly 4 X 5.  Eventually I would love to shoot with a 4 X 5 view camera for many reasons including the range of movements and the finest quality available when it comes to the final print.  In my quest to learn more I have come across a wonderful podcast that covers many types of photography and many of the great photographers too.  The podcast and web site is: The Art Of Photography  It is ceratinly worth checking out and hopefully learning a bit about either a great photographer or a type of photography.

Big Lost River

big lost riverBig Lost River.  March

fly fishing photographyLost River & Storm.  Pano

The above images represent two recent days on the Lost.  Spring weather for sure.  Colder than it has been but highs are looking like they could hit 60 in Mackay on Saturday.

Nikon D3S & Nikon f2 35 lens

Salmon River

salmon river black & whiteLate Winter.  Salmon River, Idaho

salmon river fly fishingMatt Sherman getting the most out of a switch rod.  Salmon River

fly fishingLate Winter & Brown Hills.  Salmon River Near Challis, Idaho

fly fishingFully Engaged...

Spent the day on the Salmon River yesterday.  Warm weather and steel grey.  The high temp in Challis was near 60 and the river slowly crept up all day.  This is only a good thing as far as getting a few steelhead to get moving.  Only the higher elevations saw snow yesterday and last night.  Rains at lower elevations are stripping the snowpack.  It actually is starting to smell earthy and Spring-like as rotten Fall leaves are now exposed and decaying and once frozen dirt is softening and illiciting subtle hints of a cottowood stench that I can only associate with Spring near a river.

 

Nikon D3S and Nikon 24 pc-e lens

March Midge Madness. Big Wood River, Idaho

big wood river

 

big wood riverA Rainbow slices through the foam and midges on the Big Wood River.  There are many, many midges on the water during the heat of the day now and the Big Wood River is giving up some of the best technical dry fly fishing of the year.

 

Nikon D3S & Nikon f2.8 afs 80-200 lens