Montana Outdoors: Old Montana

Another day of howling wind and no fishing (as I said not for me) we spent the day hiking and poking around the Birch Creek country not far from town. Lots of history here, ranch homesteads, Farlin silver mine and smelter and so on...Obviously scenic too...This shot is as it came out the camera...The rest are cropped and tweaked in Lightroom; heavy on the presets...obviously. Hope ya like 'em...

In case you are interested the presets allow you to tweak the look of the photo; in the above photo the settings accentuate the rust and of course gives the entire photo a lot more pop...not for everyone I know but since this is my party...

 This old shanty is slowly settling into the sagebrush; the roof is all but long gone; but as this crop shows what's left is still pretty damn plumb, level and square...at least to the extent log construction and minimal hand tools allowed way back when. Can't say how many hard working miners this one housed but since is only about 10wide X 8deep X 6 feet high...sure hope they got along...

Whoever built this one knew what he was doing; note the careful fit of the logs especially around the window frame; the inside even sported a fiberboard ceiling and walls. Evidently someone used it after the mines shut down (hunters) and had big plans for restoring juding the pile of new metal roofing stacked outside; but again judging the broken windows, doors ripped from hinges, ceiling and wall smashed and other signs...a bunch low-life vandal bastards ended those dreams?

Montana Outdoors: Photography

Way back when, desperate to break into the better paying hook and bullet markets Jack Samson, then editor of Field and Stream graciously took the time to pen a personal rejection (as opposed to the stock one liner: "With deepest sympathies we regret to inform your piece, How to (fill in the blank) does not fit our editorial needs at this time."

In essence Samson's letter read: You write pretty good but... Your idea, however, to somehow change Field and Stream's editorial slant does not and will not work...Study the style of the many writers we publish regularly and resurrect your pieces to mimic same. Above all, get a decent camera and LEARN  HOW-TO USE THE DAMN THING; Erwin Bauer's Outdoor Photography is a good place to start. Enclosed is a copy of my book Successful Outdoor Writing: if interested feel free to read and study it. Good luck.

And so as I was wont to do in those days, instead of heeding his expert and spot-on advice, in a fit of rage (like who do YOU think YOU are...) I tore the letter to shreds, vowed to never again submit to F&S...Like so there, your loss not mine. And of course the rejections just kept pouring in...Oh maybe one in ten got published but except for the random home run every now and then most paychecks sure didn't put a lot of bread on the table.

But while it took awhile eventually I got it...sort of. I bought a decent camera, learned how to use it at least good enough to know a properly composed, decently exposed image that also told a story. I came to study the style of the magazines and get a go on a query letter before even so much as turning on the typewriter (no word processors back then). While I still sometimes submit a finished piece to, say, a magazine I've not written before, the odds of acceptance go way up when you submit an idea (query) meshes with ED and he says's "let's see it."

So while I never made it big time and never will, I did eventually come to terms with rejections as nothing personal, just the way the outdoor writing/photog gig works.

Which brings us to the two photos above and the two below: None of which have much, if anything to do, with the included rant: Just two photos I shot on our recent birthday tour (Gale's) of the upper
Big Hole--where unlike our valley where seems spring has indeed sprung (winter never happened actually) up there still very much locked in winter.

  

The top two are pretty much as shot, as came out the camera. So there Jack, you no doubt would have no time for the subject but c'mon man admit it not all that shabby, eh? The last two are course well-doctored in Lightroom. No neither one has much (if any) editorial value or any value for that matter but damn ain't the pair sure purty...

Fly Fishing: Random Shots

Raining, article all but finished, no pencils left to sharpen, nothing much else I wanted to do why not surf the photo files says I to self? Whereupon I found these old gems hiding in a corner the computer apparently I haven't visited in awhile, that is while I do remember them now that I've seen 'em did forget somehow where the hell I might a filed 'em...Anyway here goes: Above of course is a blizzard, green as it is obviously a summer blizzard...No not snow flakes but a zillion tricos all caught up in a mating dance...one those funnel cloud-like swarms, actually.

Paul Antolosky battling, from the looks of it, a pretty hefty trout (brown, rainbow? sorry, done slipped the ol' agin' mind.



Lamar Underwood, long time pal, best editor, mentor ever, casting the Mighty Mo near Wolf Creek.  



If only a teeny-weeny bit of Kate's fishing intensity would rub off, I'm here to tell you the Boss would be a damn tough hombre to beat.

 

While it sure doesn't look good in the short term I remain optimistic the cricks will indeed once again flow normal-like, the bugs will hatch and actually be warm enough for lift off and the trout will once again rise...true story.

Meantime, might as well tie a few ugly flies shoot a few pretty shots, kick back and wail away..."How high's the river Mama?" Well you know...

And of course there is always the greeny to go to fixin'...seein' as she's in dry dock as we speak, her bottom all torn to pieces and expectin' the next shipment fixins any minute...might best shove her to the front burner, eh?

Montana Outdoors--Lewis and Clark Fishing--From the Edge Weather Channel

Prime time for sage hen watching is NOW!

If you like me are in awe of Lewis and Clark and the incredible journey the Corps of discovery managed to pull off now...Now you can catch up on what has been called the "greatest fishin' trip EV...ER. Which I for one find hard to argue. Anyway click here to enter:  http://www.undauntedanglers.org/

For you camera nuts out there the Weather Channel's From the Edge, featuring the talented and well-traveled Peter Lik airs tonight--Thursday April 14th at 8PM ET--6 PM MT--Peter travels to Glacier NP this week.

Montana: Day Tripping

Fox pup highlights a Sunday afternoon walk in the southwest Montana...

Each spring for as long as we've lived in Dillon one thing we can count on is discovering a fox den, sometimes several, on the Blacktail Road out past the Matador Ranch. Today we somehow missed this on the way out to run the dogs, give we geezers aging joints a much needed workout.

On the way home I almost missed the den again but spotted what I thought, still think were three almost fully grown kits out the corner of my eye. Stopping, I grabbed the camera and bean bag out the back seat, they bailed and went to ground.

Surprised how big at this early date, the real surprise came when this little guy/gal poked its head out the hole. About the size of a kitten, perhaps five or six weeks old no way could it have been one of the three I spotted originally...but then if I did actually see what I think I saw what the hell are 3 obviously older, maybe even mature foxes doing in the same den as such a little kit???

Oh well, whatever, we got our annual spring fox kit fix anyhow. Will keep the investigation going until the kits and/or adults leave the area, hopefully solve the case one way or tother...

Prior the dogs seemed to enjoy the romp as did we under the watchful eye of a large elk herd, countless deer, a few antelope, a raptor or three to say nothing of the Sisters being for a change on their best behavior made for "indeed a pleasant outing" as a DH we'd just as soon forget might have put it...sorry.

Snow: The Surest Sign of Spring--Montana Style That Is

Snow, at times serious snow greeted us last Wednesday as we drove the 200 miles or so from our home in Dillon to Seeley Lake, MT to attend the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association (NOWA) annual three-day conference. Not at all surprising to us but something of a surprise for the writers and photographers who live on the west coast where snow is mostly a winter phenom, or as one put it, "Where I come from we have SPRING RAINS...SNOW? NEVER!!!

Anyway it snowed all day Wednesday (the day prior to the start of conference) and all night and in the morning the scene--as you can see from the shot above--was way more winter like than perhaps even some less hardened Montana pilgrims might have expected. Coming from the high elevation southwest corner of the state, however, we've come to expect spring snow days but nonetheless disappointed since it was sure to put a crimp on some of the planned outdoor activities which make the conferences so enjoyable. 

Over the next several days I plan to post more on just what our group and conference is all about. But first let me tell you about one of my favorite activities. It's called the Photo Shoot-Out. Starting at 8 Thurday morning and running until about noon Friday participating photographers (any member can) try their best to fulfill a variety of "assignments." This year there were three "catagories" Lifestyle, Recreation and Scenic. Individuals could shoot any number of shots but only 10 could be entered for final judging. Of the 10 shots you could mix and match any way; in other words all 10 could be Scenics or you could enter several in one category, the rest in another category and so forth. Judging was blind, in other words the judges only saw the photo and not the name of the photographer. Criteria judged were Theme, Composition, Technical (exposure, focus, etc.). 

While the above photo was one of many shot during the Shoot Out it did not make the final cut for obvious reasons. One it's not much more than a revealing snap shot certainly not one I would deem worthy of competing against, for example, my Livingston MT pal Keith Szafranski whose scenics rival and often exceed the best artwork and two...well since "one" kills it why go there. So I spent the first day rambling around the area apparently in something of a brain dead state as nothing seemed to click. I did manage a nice shot of a snowshoe rabbit in transition but since wildlife wasn't a category...what to do with it who knows?

Day 2 dawned somewhat nicer, a little morning sun and much better light. I had planned to pose Gale in a variety of shots but alas she'd come down with a nasty cold and didn't feel up to the task. So setting the camera on a tripod and using the self-timer I posed myself fishing and after took a couple shots of flies...really stretching it I know but...To make a long mostly sorry story short...The shot below did somehow manage to garner second spot (Recreation). My take is the judges just felt bad for the ol' boy....Oh well. Stay tuned...

    

Spring Snowstorm Puts Our Sage Hen Photo Shoot On Temporary Hold

Our friends Bert and Jane are on the way home after spending the winter writing about and photographing the desert southwest. Bert is one of the best photographers around but has never had much luck with sage hens.

So when I suggested they stop off here for a couple days and just maybe we might get lucky naturally they jumped at the chance.

Alas after leaving Zion National Park they made it as far as the Utah/Idaho before running into a massive spring storm. Having experienced blizzard conditions before on Monida Pass on the Idaho/Montana border and wanting no part of an instant replay they wisely pulled into the KOA to wait things out.

This morning they awoke to 6 inches new snow and my grim report of more to come around this neck of sagebrush later this morning. But the worst thing is we got several inches already. I've never tried to photograph sage hens on snow but if Bert ever gets here and wants to give it a go...why not?

I scouted a local lek yesterday and found plenty of dancing roosters busily courting a fair number of hens. Whether or not the group is up for posing in the snow...well, hopefully we'll be able to better answer that soon...stay tuned.

Upland Bird Photography

Spring, from about now through May, is the best time to photograph upland birds (any bird for that matter). Because it's breeding season birds, especially males, make a point of dressing in their finest. With love on their minds males are far less cautious than usual and with a little planning and a lot of stealth you can often get right next to them...as was the case the day I shot this handsome male blue grouse.

While he strutted and clucked about a pine covered hillside here in southwest Montana, moving slowly I simply followed along clicking away as the opportunities arose. Certainly aware of my presence he acted oblivious was still doing his thing as I walked away after shooting several dozen frames.

Other's such as sharp-tailed and sage grouse act similarly oblivious as they strut about traditional "dancing grounds" (leks). In most cases even a two-ton pickup in their midst fails to draw much more than a cursory glance.

Turkey gobblers are a bit more cautious, less oblivious and some are downright difficult to approach. But set up a simple blind, put out a decoy or two and even Ol' Two Toes, reputed wariest Tom T. ever strutted is likely to come callin...especially later, once his gals have gone to nesting.

Regardless to get good photos usually means screwing on a telephoto lens...I shot the blue grouse with a 300mm f2.8 lens, mounted on a sturdy tripod. In this case because of the relative darkness beneath the pines even at midday the fast f2.8 lens allowed me to use a high enough shutter speed to stop whatever movement. Today's digital slrs boast an incredible range of ISOs. Which means you can ramp up the ISO to compensate for low light and still obtain decent noise free photos. In other words you can get away with slower lens.

High quality telephotos in the 200mm to 400mm range are both widely available and affordable. Aftermarket brands such as Tokina, Sigma and Tamaron get high marks for both quality and affordability...in most cases hundreds less than you'd expect to pay for, say, Nikon and Canon lenses.

As with most photographic subjects the closer you get the better but ethically speaking there is indeed a need to draw the line far enough away so as to not disrupt the bird's natural behavior.

How-To Photograph Flying Upland Gamebirds in Winter

Recipe: To (2) bird-crazed German Wirehaired Pointer(aka Deutzche Drahthaar aka GWP) Sisters, Add (1)snowy sagebrush sea. Stir in one to several sage hens. Allow Sisters to Cover as much of the sagebrush sea as necessary in order to uncover the sage hen(s)and establish staunch points and/or a single staunch point with classy back. With SLR camera in hand, armed with 200mm lens and ready to fire, stride quickly into position and upon flushing bird(s) fire away...naturally at will since the more you shoot the better your odds of getting at least one passable shot. It should go without saying but should you fail at first by all means send the Sisters, try and try again. Good luck!!!

And yes the winter is indeed already starting to get a little old...not a crisis mind you just a bit irksome.

Great Places Montana

We published Great Places (Wilderness Adventures Press) last spring. Subtitled A Recreational Guide to Montana's Public Lands and Historical Places for Birding, Hiking, Photography, Fishing, Hunting and Camping, our intention was/is to inform readers of the many and varied recreational opportunities to be found the length and breadth of Big Sky Country. For whatever reasons the publisher chose to emphasize Birding and to a lesser extent hiking, camping and photography, while de-emphazing hunting and fishing. So be it but...since the book came out we have made it point to re-visit many of the spots depicted in the book with emphasis on hunting, upland bird hunting especially, and fishing...

Since we already knew pretty much what to expect--that is many of the Great Places are also great hunting and fishing spots--there is not much news for us. But since some of you might not know what to expect, as this blog evolves I'll do my best to fill you on the high points.