Monday, June 30, 2014

The Photo Bin - April/May/June 2014


The title says it all. Three months. I've been woefully negligent.

Mostly, I've neglected the cameras themselves, which is a shame because I really enjoy tinkering with them. And I've been thinking about the art of photography (not that my work has anything to do with art, mind you) as some of my scribblings have recently been paired with photos by gentlemen whose work I have come to greatly admire; most notably Tosh Brown and Tim Romano. It's an honor (and quite humbling) for this shutter-challenged hack.

But it's not just Tosh and Tim that inspire me. I am lucky be able to refer to a number of unbelievably talented photographers, both professional and enthusiast, as friends; Louis Cahill, Russ Schnitzer, Alex Landeen, Jess McGlothlin, Thomas Harvey, Steven Brutger, Darren Doss, Dave Hosler (and, no doubt, others whom I'm temporarily forgetting - and to whom I apologize to now for the omission). It's an amazing list of creative individuals whose images of our sport fascinate me daily.

In fact, I'm so inspired that I'm considering updating my ten-year-old DSLR. You think that new Sage is expensive? You have no idea. Between fly fishing and photography, it's a good thing that I'm fabulously wealthy.

That made me laugh too.

Anyway, it's back to this belated bin (and back to earth) with a handful of my snapshots, often more talking points than things pleasing to look at. And that's okay because I like to talk too. But then you knew that.


The vast majority of what fell out of the camera these past three months originated on South Padre Island where I spent three frustrating days searching the Laguna Madre for redfish. Luckily, I had a pair of good friends along for the ride - Chris Hunt and Brandon Robinson.


We slew them, as you can plainly see.


Short of that trip, fishing has been slow. Thankfully, there's plenty of other ways to amuse one's self around here. A good example is the F3T tour that wandered through Asheville in April. It's always good to hang out with the Hunter Banks and Southern Culture on the Fly folks up there; especially when it's at the Highlands Brewery...


And I did sneak in a day, late in the striped bass spawning run, on the Roanoke. Launched out of Weldon, the rockfish capital... well, you can see for yourself.


But the most important outing of the lot was the 3rd Annual Live Free Cornhole Tournament, honoring the memory of my step-son and benefiting the Georgia Tech scholarship that we've established in his name. Friends and loved ones from around the country converged for a bit of competition and fun, and more than a few tears, with Freeman constantly in mind.


Not much to show for three whole months. I'll try to do better in keeping the bins full, buoyed by the inspiration of many; photographers, fishing friends, and loved ones alike. Maybe a little of each will rub off on me.

Smile and say cheese.


What is a Photo Bin?

5 comments:

Mel said...

Thanks for sharing, Mike. I always like to look at pictures when you get around to posting them. Brandon's fish there is a real prize. I tie some Streamer patterns that are bigger than that fish.......

Ken G said...

I have on backorder a Pentax K50 and a 55-300 mm lens. Apparently they're popular enough to get backordered.

I like the fact that it's weather resistant.

Been using nothing but digital point and shoots for 14 years and their limitations have been frustrating.

You already have the eye, the improvements in the last 10 years on the digital side have been dramatic and I think you'll see a huge improvement in image quality. For me, that's the key.

Mike Sepelak said...

Mel, that beast took Brandon deep into the backing before he was subdued. You should have heard the drag scream. :-)

And that looks like a fine choice, Ken. I started many years ago with a Pentax SLR. I've been Nikon since the digital days arrived and will probably stay in that line. The new APS-Cs look mighty interesting though...

Michael Agneta said...

I think I make this same comment each time, but man I love the photo bin posts...

Mike Sepelak said...

I appreciate that Mike. I'll try to be better about keeping it going, just for you. Find your way back to Charlotte soon, bud.