Sunday, January 22, 2012

Cabela's & Maine

Maine Brook Trout- Seriously...
If you get a chance  to check out the Cabela's 2012 Fly Fishing Catalog you might notice a pretty thick brook trout gracing the cover. Well, I can tell you for a fact that the fish is indeed a Maine brook trout.

I know, because that's my hand holding the fish.

Earlier this summer I was contacted by Maine based photographer Dennis Welsh who was  looking to set up a freshwater fly fishing photo shoot for a "client". The deal was pretty simple. Help set up a location, and stand around and have photos taken of me while I "fish"- and I get paid.

After scouting some locations with Dennis we settled on the Upper Andro at a spot between Gilead and W. Bethel. The location had certain advantages: easily accessible, beautiful surrounding landscapes with dramatic cliffs and mountain views, and within striking distance of the coast, where they also planned on doing a saltwater shoot.

The whole process was definately a unique experience and I think I even managed to pick up a few photography techniques. According to Dennis, this was the first time that Cabela's had done a photo shoot for their fly fishing catalog on the East Coast. It was cool to be part of that.

"You want me to cast with which hand?"
On the inside of the cover there is a shot where I'm throwing a cast with my right hand-  except I'm a lefty.

Photographers (good ones that is) are constantly worried about the direction of the light and how it interacts with the subject. In this case, they were looking for a dark back ground with back light to illuminate the line in mid air. To get it right, Dennis asked me if I could cast with my right hand. "Huh?" I've done it before messing around, but I wasn't sure what the results would be. So I gave it a shot- and I've got say it looks like I even managed to get a haul in there resulting a fairly decent loop for the shot. No doubt the presentation on the water probably looked like a I was beating the water with a bullwhip.

So there it is, the beginning- and most likely the end- of my "modeling" career.

Definitely a fun experience, and I'm proud to have been a part of helping Maine's exposure in the fly fishing world. A big thanks to the Cabela's, Dennis Welsh, and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries for their support.

Best,

Tyler

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great story! Love the combination of fly fishing & photography. I am both a photographer and a fly fisherman.

I have followed by high school schoolmate, Bill Stevens, at his site, http://kennebagoguide.com/, for some time now, as he has some great fly fishing and scenic photos from time to time. Now, I hope to keep up with this bolg, when I can...

Cheers, Gary (Garland C. 'Gray' Black, III)

Wayne Jordan said...

Very cool, Tyler!

Wild River Angler said...

Thanks guys!