Today we have photos from reader Stephen Barnard in Idaho, sent on three successive days. First, a rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with the note:
… about to eat what I think is a Mahogany Dun mayfly (Paraleptoplebia).
A Maxfield Parrishian landscape photo, color manipulated (I’ve lost Stephen’s notes):
This was sent yesterday:
Moose in the foreground and a herd of elk back by the trees — taken a few minutes ago.
~
I had rainbow trout for dinner last night. Butterflied with olive oil, garlic and lemon. Served with asparagus, broccoli and red skin potato.
Stop — you’re making me hungry again, and I just finished breakfast!
b&
Great shots =)
Wonderful work, Stephen!
The insect looks like a dipteran. Maybe a Chironomidae because it looks like it is holding the front legs above head-heigh (you can see it better in the shadow in the water), which is characteristic of many species in the family. 🙂
Agreed.
Love the last one, Stephen!
I miss yellowstone…
“Moose in the foreground and a herd of elk back by the trees”
Or, as they would say in Europe, “Elk in the foreground and a herd of red deer back by the trees”.
The last two photos are HDR. It’s the only way to get the shot in those conditions.
Nice Stephen! That trout-fly shot is KILLER!
Agreed, and it’s now pinned with credit to Stephen. 🙂
Very nice shots. Nice rainbow. Do you fly-fish? I haven’t for a few years, but love the sport. Looks like you have some beauties in that stream…barb-less hooks and catch and release of course.
Yes, I fly fish, not only here but all over the world. Off to New Zealand in January.
Wow, lucky you! The most exotic place I’ve fly fished is Alaska. One day I’d like to try Tarpon in Florida or Mexico.
Are you fresh or salt water fishing in New Zealand…or both?
I fish both fresh and salt. New Zealand will be for fresh. The saltwater places I’ve fished are Florida Keys, Bahamas, Yucatan, Belize, los Roques Venezuela, Christmas Island, and the Seychelles. Saltwater flats fishing is my favorite thing.
I resent it that my government won’t let me go to Cuba. WTF? I can’t imagine a more counterproductive policy, all because both political parties are afraid to piss off a tiny minority in a swing state.
You can fly to Cuba from Canada and the Cubans will happily refrain from stamping your US passport. I’ve done it twice. It is a ridiculous policy.
No kidding! Open Cuba and close Guantanamo you f’n morons.
Hope we get to see some photos from your New Zealand trip!
Ha, that’s funny!
Beautiful, Stephen! That last one is exquisite. But the trout amazes me too…shots of fish in situ are damned hard, IME. Did you place the fly or was it fortuitous?
The fly was a natural. These fish are incredibly spooky. You couldn’t possibly get close enough to bait one. This was taken with a 700mm lens and cropped. I dream of getting a shot like this with an artificial fly.
I photographed this fish for several minutes, taking about 100 photos. This was the best. It was very active, moving quite large distances for bugs, taking one every few seconds. If you were looking from an angle and couldn’t see the fish, you’d think it were a pod of several fish. The trick is to anticipate the fish’s take and start rapid firing. If you wait for the take you’ll miss it.
That is quite the accomplishment!
Some birders pooh-pooh those who take pictures, saying they’re really missing out on seeing the bird itself, not just its image on a screen. I sometimes find the effort to get a picture makes me more aware of certain aspects of the bird, often a characteristic behavior.
Both approaches have their uses, but I’m very impressed that you’ve learned to think like a fish. 😀 (Of course, that probably comes from years of fishing experience.)
I’ve heard that objection from a few birders, about photographers. It’s absurd, fortunately not widely held, and in some cases to be attributed to jealousy.
And sometimes, I think, just tradition.
Yes, I do take pictures of some species I’m not sure about and use them at home, with my books, to work out the ID. The criticism is that that’s too easy, or that people will never bother to learn field marks…
Well, I’m an old coot, but I love my digicam! Pictures make the whole adventure that much more satisfying; and, not least, they save memories. (Not to mention making some of those damn field marks a whole lot easier to see…)
The photo-takers who bug me are the ones who go to an aquarium (such as the great one in Monterey) and hog all the glass taking pictures up close and won’t let us plebes get a look.
Oh, yeah.
Stephen’s lucky he only has to worry about moose.
😀
I wouldn’t complain if Stephen wanted to get in my way taking pictures anywhere! But when you get tour buses full of people cramming the glass, I get to muttering not quite under my breath…
Trying to pass off a photo of a captive animal as wild is a serious offense in my book, akin to plagiarism.
Amen. Zoos are fantastic places to take portraits of animals, and you do them justice by making the shot appear to be as wild as possible. But be sure to include the location in the credits.
b&
As often as not, for me, the camera is an excuse to go out and stare at beautiful things. Whether or not I get the shot doesn’t really matter all that much.
b&
Great point!
Coincidentally, that’s also my relationship with fishing. 😀
Of course, that only works if you’ve got a backup meal planned….
b&