Jordan River NIght Time Photography

Jordan River Night Time Photo shoot

December 19, 2011 Tom S. and his students are awesome; fun willing to face the night time cold to develop their photographic knowledge. They invited me to join them at Chapham Library to view their latest exhibit, and then go shoot night photography with them on the Jordan River. To me this still counts as being on a river, but of course this time I brought camera alone and not the fly rod. The Jordan has plenty ‘O cat fish and carp, but that’s not my cup of tea. People think fishing is fishing; hell they think photography is photography. Not so, you can’t just lump them all together.

In my book, which is not always the right book, but it’s a book I highly recommend; I say it’s not that there is a hierarchy, but a difference. In the world of fishing, fly fishermen take themselves way too seriously. Just because fly fishing is really difficult, has a completely bottomless learning pit, and always makes you over think it, doesn’t make it better, it just makes it harder. I guess the equivalent would be the fine art photographer, as opposed to the guys taking pictures for a living, and not just for “arts sake.”

I grew up in a photographic home; my parents converted part of their house into a studio, and made a living as wedding and portrait photographers. Dad later moved into creating art, and took it on the road to art shown and such. He is an amazing photographer, with a perfect balance of the science with the artist; which is what I think photography is. You have to know the technical to get it to obey your creative vision.

I grew up on small rivers in Utah with a spinning rod in my hands, the love instilled mostly by my Uncle Sam, and fostered by my older brother and cousin. As an adult my buddy Evan kept at me with learning how to fly fish, which I fought but finally relented. I’ve been “hooked” ever since that first trip in the Huntington River. But I still miss the feeling of how hard trout hit on a spinner, and quite honestly I miss the simplicity. I pack enough stuff with me now, that you’d think I was going on a 5 day trip. I have made this thing complicated. With a spinner, I would put 2 or 3 in a film container and be off. It’s a reflection of my life in a way.

I bought a Canon Rebel for my oldest daughter for Christmas. I am hoping we can make it out a few days before she has to go back to College. We had our first outing last night, Christmas night; we took some night shots of the Big Cottonwood. I’ll post them on the next entry. It’s a parents job, to first of all mess your kids as much as possible, and secondly to pass on some of your interests and passions. Although my middle child hasn’t fished with me for a few years not, I am hoping and praying that I got enough river water in her veins to permanently infect her with the fishing disease.

I forgot I was supposed to stop blathering on an on, and do a simple six word Memoir or sort of summary for each day’s experience, here goes:

Merry Christmas, I’m still blathering on!