Silver Creek

Cumulus clouds and wind and smoke from refuse piles rolls over the clean Picabo Hills and stinks of cottonwood limbs and scorched dessicated weeds. It's spring near Picabo, Idaho.

Spring. Silver Creek, Idaho.

I keep a photography journal where I store thoughts, ideas, quotes, etc. Below is a quote that is a favorite by Theodore Roosevelt:

 

The Man In The Arena

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end triumph at high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Bud Purdy

Bud Purdy, an Idaho icon, passed away two days ago at his home in Picabo, Idaho at 96 years of age. Bud was many things including a steward of the land and a gentleman with a core work ethic that garnered respect throughout the west. For those of you who do not know, I work as a guide for the Purdy's out of Picabo Angler in Picabo, Idaho. Below is a video on Bud:

 

Bud Purdy in February of 2014. 96th Birthday Celebration. Picabo, Idaho.

Amy Lou's. Mackay, Idaho.

"Can I take your portrait?" I asked Amy Lou a few mornings ago at her restaurant in Mackay, Amy Lou's.

"It won't be the first time," she responded with a bit of a smile. Amy Lou is sassy to say the least. But she really is a warm hearted person who both takes your order and cooks your breakfast.  No need to order your eggs scrambled or sunny-side-up as you'll get your eggs exactly the way she cooks them.

Amy Lou. Mackay, Idaho.

Big Wood River Rainbow

The warm 50˚ weather is behind us--for now at least-- and we are in the more typical low 40's and blustery weather. It blew today and last night at lower elevations as hard as it has blown all year. Semi trucks were blown over on bridges near Twin Falls today...

Below is an image of a rainbow on the Big Wood River near Ketchum, Idaho.

Big Wood River Rainbow. March.

Big Wood River

It's Midge Madness on the Big Wood River, Idaho at the moment. While the water is a bit chalky in color from recent rain, it is improving in clarity daily and the dry fly fishing is very good. In lieu of fishing today I sat in a run with my camera and tried getting as close to rising fish as I could get without spooking them. Below are two of the images I took.

Feeding Rainbow. Big Wood River, Idaho. March.

A midging Rainbow sharks near the surface of the Big Wood River. March.

Big Lost River

While early to mid-March on the Lower Big Lost River can be quite cold with a wicked north wind, there are often bonus days and yesterday was one of those exquisite, warm and calm late winter days in Mackay. Incidentally, this is not one of those you-should-have-been-there-yesterday rants... The next 3 days are forecast to be in the 50's which is a recipe for a magical day. It's midge madness and with the slightest of cloud cover the baetis have been good to strong.

A young angler and a bent rod. Lower Big Lost River.

Low, clear water make the Lost River a de facto spring creek in the winter months. That also means strong midge and baetis during the heat of the day.

Window Light

Rain has melted away much of our snow below 6,000 feet and my yard shows it; rotting fall leaves and a brownness that lives under a snowpack for months reveals itself and once buried baseballs rest where they were frozen in time and a palpable earthy smell travels through cracks in the doors with a warmth greater than winter. Days are longer now and the hills near Hailey, Idaho are mottled white and brown, a snowshoe hare slowly morphing into the next season's coat.

Below are two images taken near a window in my house.

Yard & Reflection. Early Spring. Idaho.

Journal & Stool.

Edward Burtynsky Interview

Here's a link to a great interview with the photographer Edward Burtynsky: Interview

His photo book, Water, came out in November of 2013. Below are a few quotes from the interview that I found particularly eloquent:

"I’d say, actually, that I’ve been careful not to frame the work in an activist or political kind of way. That would be too restrictive in terms of how the work can be used in society and how it can be interpreted. I see the work as being a bit like a Rorschach test. If you see an oil field and you see industrial heroism, then perhaps you’re some kind of entrepreneur in the oil business and you’re thinking, “That’s great! That’s money being made there!” But, if you’re somebody from Greenpeace or whatever, you’re going to see it very differently. Humans can really reveal themselves through what they choose to see as the most important or meaningful detail in an image."

"There’s a certain point where you learn from your own editing. You just stop taking certain pictures because they never make it through. Your editing starts to inform your thinking, as far as where you want to go and what you want to look for when you’re making a photograph."

–Edward Burtynsky

To see a short slideshow of images in Water check out LensCulture's piece on Edward Burtynnsky HERE.

Cello Maker

I walked by this cello/violin shop on my last night in Rome a few months ago. Doors were locked. Nobody there. I took this image through the window and stood peering in for a few long moments. I left feeling as though I had just walked through a hard to find painter's studio or the perfectly messy poet's desk.

Inspiration 

Rome, Italy.

Heron & Fence

I just added Heron & Fence to the Fine Art Prints section of this site. It was taken a couple of weeks ago near the Silver Creek Preserve, Idaho.

Heron & Fence
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