Persistence

A favorite photographer of mine, Keith Carter, has many quotes written on the walls of his darkroom and this particular quote stands out to me:

Press On

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

 

           --Calvin Coolidge

 

Freestyle Course. Roundhouse Slope. Sun Valley, Idaho.

Bud Purdy

Bud Purdy, a Picabo, Idaho legend celebrated his 96th birthday last night at the Picabo Angler. One of his goals is to be back in the cockpit and fly from Picabo to Carey, Idaho by May 1st.

Bud was 10 years old when he spent his first summer working on the K-K Ranch in Picabo. In 1883 the Picabo Livestock Company was established by 6 brothers from Nebraska, one of whom was Bud's grandfather. Later, in 1955, Bud purchased the Kilpatrick Company and the rest is history.

Bud Purdy. 96th birthday party. Picabo, Idaho. 2014.

Damsels In Disrtress by Sharptail Media

This is an incredible short video by Sharptail Media.

My wife and I were fishing with friend/guide Dean Whaanga in New Zealand when a combination of bad weather and good timing resulted in a fish giving us the experience of a lifetime. I crawled on my stomach with my camera to the waters edge, hit record, and watched what was one of the coolest moments I have ever witnessed. Thanks to Orvis for the support.

Embracing The Flaws

A terrific photographer & photography teacher who I admire, Chris Orwig, discusses, "embracing the flaws." That concept was likely brought to the surface for him when he was talking with the musician Seal about photography. Seal mentioned to Chris that, "When I shoot digitally I look for the flaws and when I shoot film I embrace the flaws." While I do not shoot film at the moment, the idea of "embracing the flaws" has not left me. Perhaps it's those imperfections that can, in the long run, make an image resonate.

John Huber making a January cast. Silver Creek, Idaho.

A lens I frequently use for fly fishing photography--the Nikon ƒ2.8 14-24--is a flare machine. The two arcs on the left side of the above image appear in many images of mine when shooting into the sun with my 14-24 lens. Why not just embrace the marks the flare makes?

Black & White Italy

Below is a slideshow of black and white images from Venice to Tuscany to Rome. From the landscapes to the people to the details... All of the images were taken from the end of December through early January.

Below is a three image pano of St. Marks Square. Crowds disappear at night and the giant square takes on an entirely different feel.

St Marks. Venice, Italy.

Tuscan Landscape

It was quite wet the week I was in Tuscany which made for a saturated and moody environment. Most of these landscapes were shot wide open--ƒ1.2 on the 50mm lens I used.

Storm & Tuscany. Near Lucca, Italy.

Moody winter weather near Lucca, Italy.

Dirt road & trees. Tuscany.

Windy road near Gombitelli, Italy.

Breaking storm. Torre, Italy.

Rome Fishermen

I just got back from a 3 week trip to Italy and had one particular photographic goal: to get portraits of people who stood out to me. I purchased a used copy of Nikon's 50mm ais ƒ1.2 lens prior to leaving. From changing the aperture to focusing, it's a fully manual lens. It slows me down and has, when wide open, a very shallow depth of field which is exactly what I am looking for. It stayed glued to my camera for about 90% of my trip.

I took the images below of the only fishermen I saw over the course of my entire trip. I saw these two men from a bridge that crosses the Tiber River in Rome not far from St. Peters. I knew I had to walk down and talk with them, I don't know Italian, and try and get a portrait of one of them if not both. Knowing some Spanish went a long way in talking with these two men.

Portrait of a Fisherman. Tiber River. Rome, Italy.

These two men were fishing for carp and the catching had apparently been slow. Recent rain had caused the Tiber to go brown. They tied off the butt of their rods to a small wooden stake to lessen the odds of a fish taking one of their rods downstream for a ride.

Tools of the trade.

Fisherman. Tiber River. Rome, Italy.

Minimal Landscapes

It was super foggy from Bellevue, Idaho all the way down to Picabo today. Below are a few images from today.

Silver Creek Preserve & Fog. December.

Wheel Line & Fog. Gannet, Idaho.

Angle. Wheel Line. Gannet, Idaho.

Camera: Nikon D3s

Lens: Nikon 35mm ƒ2