Silver Creek Callibaetis

I pulled off of Silver Creek a couple of nights ago around 10 pm and there were a ton of Tricos and Callibaetis in the grass and when I stopped near the Creek they were attracted to my car headlights. The two images below were taken well after dark of callibaetis on or near my headlights. 

A headlight Callibaetis. Silver creek, Idaho. 

Callibaetis. silver Creek, Idaho. 

Female Trico at 10 pm. Silver Creek, Idaho. 

Camera: Nikon D3s

Lens: Nikon Micro ƒ2.8 105 mm

Wildflower

Here are a few macro shots of dried wildflowers...

Dried Wildflower I

Dried Wildflower II

Camera: Nikon D3s

Lens: Nikon Micro ƒ2.8 105mm

Picabo Quinceanera

I was hanging out at Picabo Angler, in Picabo, Idaho a few days ago and there was a Quinceanera happening behind the store and on part of the airstrip. A Quinceanera is a Latin American celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday. It generally marks the point between girlhood and womanhood. The birthday girl and a few of her friends walked into the store and I raced out to my car and grabbed my camera and got a few quick images of her and a few of the others...

A fifteen year old celebrates her birthday. Picabo, Idaho.

Camera: Nikon D3s

Lens: Nikon ƒ2 35mm

Short-Eared Owl

Below are a couple images of a Short-Eared Owl taken near Silver Creek today. There were actually 3 owls which constitutes a "parliament." (A group of owls is called a parliament. ) Short-Eared Owls are predominantly diurnal and are about 15" tall but look much larger when flying due to their wings.

Short-Eared Owl. Picabo, Idaho

A Short-Eared Owl near Picabo, Idaho.

Camera: Nikon D3s

Lens: Nikon 80-200 ƒ2.8 afs

Hailey Rodeo 2013

Tonight, July 2nd, was the first of 3 nights of the 2013 Hailey, Idaho Rodeo. I was not planning on going but the skies were ominous and there was a little lightning so I thought I would head over and try to get a few lightning shots. 

Hailey, Idaho Rodeo & Lightning. 

Thunderstorm & Hailey, Idaho Rodeo. 

Camera: Nikon D3s

Lens: Nikon ƒ2.8 14-24

Big Wood River Green Drakes

Green Drakes on the Big Wood River have not started yet, but the drake nymphs are really abundant in shin deep water up and down the river. My son, Charlie and I turned over some rocks yesterday in Hailey along the Big Wood and found a ton of green drake nymphs.  The river is fishable yet swift now but expect this hatch to happen after the Wood has dropped a little more which will likely mean an incredible Green Drake year on the Big Wood. With colder weather forecast the Big Wood should drop over the next few days. Look for adult Green Drakes around the 24th or so of June...

Imitation & Natural. Green Drake Nymphs. 

Green Drake Nymphs. This was shot in a clear tin full of water placed in the river. Once a nymph is taken out of the water it gets far darker.  

Hand Full Of Drakes. 

Umpqua's Epoxy Back Green Drake nymphs and The Real Deal. 

Silver Creek Brown Drake

Ok, I know the Brown Drakes are done on Silver Creek for the year, but here's one more. I can never get enough of this hatch. When it all comes together and the spring air is warm and the wind lies down and miniature submarine wakes crisscross in the water and an emergence starts and spinners start to swarm in the air and it gets a little frenetic and the next hour and a half you never want to end.

A Silver Creek Brown Drake. 2013. 

Camera: Nikon D3s 

Lens: Nikon Micro 105 ƒ2.8 

Pahsimeroi Valley Ranch

I was recently hired to photograph a ranch that's for sale in the Upper Pahsimeroi Valley in Idaho. It's on a small spring creek that has a growing number of fish including a limited number of salmon and steelhead that come up to spawn.  If you have not been to the Pahsimeroi valley, it's pretty spectacular. Here are a few of the images I took:

Fenceline

Old log building and likely new building site. 

A spring creek that flows through the property. 

A meadow & wild iris. 

A 3 image panorama of a meadow.

Wild Iris & Meadow. 

The front entrance.

Spring Creek & Lost River Range.