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Chapter One

ANGLING ANDPHOTOGRAPHY

One of the benefits of being anangler is that we get to see thenatural world as few normal

people ever get to see it. While the rest ofthe world sleeps or sits in commuter trafficwe are by the water’s edge, witnessing themist-filled dawns and the fiery sunsets. Weare awake and alert when the water birdsbreak through the mist to poke among theweed beds; we witness the moment whenthe sun drops below the horizon and turnsthe water blood red; when the first batstake to silent wing and flit through thetwilight like fleeting shadows we are bythe waterside. While our nostrils are filledwith the aroma of the water’s edge: thewater mint, the foam that breaks in theweir pool and the heady night scent ofwild flowers, our ears detect sounds ofwater rushing over stone, of owls hootingin the nearby forest or pigeons cooingunder the shade of the broad-leaved trees.Yet, the greatest thrill of being an angler isnot that we are merely observers of nature,it is that we are part of it. We are wiredinto nature’s plug socket in the most

unique way possible. And that is why animage of water is always more evocative ifthere is someone with a fishing rodsomewhere in it.

Whilst many of us are happy just to bethere when nature is at its finest there arethose among us whom feel compelled totry to record what it feels like to be by thewater and experience special moments sothat others, both fellow anglers and non-fisherman, can feel how we feel. It is animpossible task, of course, but sometimeswhen we take a great photograph, some ofthat magic of what it was like to be therejumps out of the image and touchessomeone’s soul...

Like many of you, I suspect that myinterest in taking better angling picturesgrew out of a desire to capture some of themagic moments that I have experiencedwhile out fishing. At first, my ambitionsextended only to taking better trophyshots but I soon came to realise that thetrue magic of angling lies in the places that

we fish in, the people that we fish withand the atmospheres that we experience.Capturing images that convey not justwhat has happened but what I felt are mypriority. I want people to feel some of theemotion or the drama of the momentwhen they look at my photographs and Irealise that trophy shots, whilst being niceto look at and great to brag about,generally lack impact. Taking anglingphotographs that contain so much of thejoy and respect that I feel about anglingrequired a major jump in photographicknowledge and technique. I went out,bought myself a better camera, a ton ofslide film and went for it...

At first, of course, the results never quitematched up to the images I had in myhead. I could see pictures OK but I didn'thave the knowledge, skill or experience totranslate them onto that tiny rectangle of35mm film. I went through tons of filmbut occasionally I would get a shot rightor discover something interesting byaccident.

LEFT

This shot of Allan Sheppard with a fly-caught pike

shows how a wide-angle lens can be used to

produce a high impact image without making the

fish or angler look 'grotesque.' Fill-flash has been

used to retain the detail in the angler’s face and

reduce the shadows caused by the harsh contrast

light. With the pike held forward it dominates the

image and takes the eye through the frame. The

angle is important - shot fully head-on with an

ultra-wide angle lens the fish would look distorted

and disproportionate. 14mm optically corrected

lens, 1/160th sec at f8, ISO 50.

BELOW

Some shots lend themselves to a panoramic crop

like this image of Jens Christiansen fishing the

river Glomma in spring. Including an angler in

landscape images makes them more interesting

and landscape angling photography is very

rewarding.

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That is how it was to learn with film: thehuge delay between when you sent thefilm away and got it back usually meantthat you forgot what you were doingwhen you took the pictures and as aconsequence learning was a slow andpainstaking process. Nowadays, withdigital cameras, learning is so easy - youcan take a shot and review it instantly...

I wanted to capture those beautiful dawnswhen the sky is flooded with delicatepastel hues and the mist steams from thewater; the blazing sunsets when theclouds tower above us and the heavens areon fire with colour; the spine-tinglingmoments when fish leap from the waterand send water droplets scattering likediamonds on a glass tabletop. Since thoseearly days, when I blundered along withmy SLR camera and endless rolls of

transparency film, I have learned enoughto occasionally do justice to what I feel inmy angling soul. It has been a painstakingroad that has required some considerableeffort: reading photo magazines andbooks; chatting to pro-photographers;experimenting endlessly and learning tohandle post production techniques likePhotoshop. How much quicker I couldhave got to where I am now if we'd haddigital cameras back then! Moreover, I'vespent a small fortune in cameraequipment and invested endless hourswaiting for just one shot.

Eventually, my passion for photographygrew until it rivalled my love of fishing: ithas never quite matched it but it comesclose. Indeed, sometimes I am happy tospend time just taking pictures, not justfishing pictures. I love landscape, macro

and nature photography. Yet I am neverhappier than when I am taking picturesthat involve water, fish and fishermen.

Whether you simply want to take bettercatch or trophy shots; fancy capturingsome scenic and action images; or maybeyou crave to make the jump intocapturing ultimate angling pictures, thisbook is for you.

Cameras and camera phones are now astandard part of every angler'sequipment: not quite as important as arod and reel, maybe, but one of the must-have pieces of kit even for pleasure fishers.With the advent of digital technology,taking angling photographs has neverbeen easier - even your average mobilephone will take a pretty decent catchphotograph.

RIGHT

As one salmon becomes fully airborne, a second

fish leaves the water underneath it. The venue is

the powerful Eggfossen waterfall on the Gaula

river, Norway. This shot was achieved by hanging

over the waterfall while fitted with a

mountaineering harness. 28-70mm lens at 43

mm, 1/1000th sec at F4, ISO 400.

BELOW RIGHT

Big sunsets cry out for the silhouette treatment.

Timing and light play a huge role in the impact

of the image. At any other time of the day, this

image would lack impact but the blood red

evening sky and the inclusion of the structure in

the image make it a classic.

LEFT

Dawn has just broken at Cragwood on Lake

Windermere. A lone pike angler makes his first

cast of the day from an anchored boat. Mist

shrouds the water as the sun climbs above the tree

line to flood the sky with brilliant, warm light.

This shot is all about timing - five minutes earlier

and the pastel colours in the sky would be

shrouded by mist, five minutes later and the sun

would have burnt away the mist. Who would not

want to be part of a scene like this? 165mm,

1/750th sec at f5.6, ISO 200.

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For most fishermen, recording a catch, sothat it can be viewed by friends and family,is about the limit of their aspirations butthere is a definite movement toward takingbetter angling pictures and I know thatmany of you reading this book want to gobeyond the stereotypical 'man with fish'shot. Those of you whom own a decentcompact camera will know that thesepocket-size powerhouses are capable ofpunching way above their weight in termsof image quality and creativity. Moderndigital SLR's (single reflex cameras) are,without doubt, a revelation.

I recently purchased a compact digitalcamera that's simply amazing. For Creativephotography I still prefer by DSLRCanon's, but this mini powerhouse, thePanasonic Lumix FT3 is so good that I canrecommend it to anglers everywhere. Inaddition to having a Zeiss lens of thehighest quality it shoots 12 mega-pixelstills, is fully submersible and can be usedunderwater and also features an HD moviefacility. For all but serious photography it'sthe ultimate piece of kit that can be zippedinto a pocket and taken anywhere.

Digital is so good because it allows you topractice and review the results instantly. Foranyone learning photography, gone are thedays when you had to shoot a pile oftransparency film, wait several days to getit back and then view a stack of imagesdisplaying various faults from wonkyhorizons to poor exposures. Nowadays youcan delete poor images instantly. What'smore, you can reframe until you are happywith the balance of the shot; try some fill-flash to gauge its effect on the image; avoidthe messy tree branch that you failed tospot growing out of your fishing pal's head;re-focus so that the important parts of theimage are sharp, not blurred and so on. What's also great about modern digitalcameras is their ability to deliver goodresults when set to auto or 'idiot' mode.To take consistently good angling photosyou will need to learn to switch auto offand use the camera on 'manual' butnonetheless, if you can learn how to seeand frame and image properly, seven timesout of ten your camera will deliver a prettynifty result when set to auto.

So what makes a great angling photo? Inmy opinion, it's an image that goes

beyond recording a catch or a scene: agreat angling photo captures the magic,the atmosphere or the drama of angling.In other words, when someone else viewsit they feel something. More thananything else, when I see a great anglingphoto I want to be there and experiencethat moment for myself.

Catch photos of man-with-fish rarely cutthe mustard - unless, of course, the fishhappens to be of monumentalproportions but then it's the size of thefish and the ‘wow!’ factor that makes itstand out. A catch photo can beconsidered successful if it happens to bepin-sharp with the fish well-displayed andwith captor and quarry really well-lit.Sometimes a catch photo makes it togreatness if it's shot from an unusual angleor in an unusual way. A big fish, forexample, can be made to look even moredramatic if it is held toward the camera(predatory fish often look really gooddisplayed in this way) but it's a fine linebetween adding impact and going totallyover-the-top with a wide-angle shot thatmakes captor and fish look slightlygrotesque. Images of this type are usedtoo frequently in the angling press thesedays and it's my opinion that they rarelyhave the impact that editors seem to thinkthat they do. There is a danger with these‘in your face’ wide angle shots that we aretrying to change the emotion of anglingand the nature of the fish that we areholding. Angling images that feel out ofkilter with the moment or situation arealways a flop. A benign or small fishdisplayed in such a way seems ratherridiculous to me.

RIGHT

The sense of isolation is profound when fishing on

Argentina's Rio Grande, a Mecca for sea trout

anglers. The landscape is barren and windswept.

The driving force of the wind and the sound it

makes as it howls across the plain is almost

deafening, leaving the fisherman feeling alone in

a desolate landscape. The black and white

treatment given to this image attempts to capture

that sense of isolation, and the use of a slight

vignette around the edges of the image pulls

attention toward the lone angler choosing a fly.

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Galleries of men with fish don't do it forme either. There is something ratheranorak about row after row of grinningcaptors displaying fish with names andprecisely recorded weights. Looking atthem is rather like seeing someone else'sholiday snaps or wedding photos - youlose interest after the third image. To anoutsider they must look truly ridiculousand rather sad. Even worse are thecaptors that don't even smile andinstead strike a pose that they feel makesthem look mean and moody - a sort offishing James Dean - when in realitythey look rather silly.

The best angling catch shots are well lit,beautifully sharp, show the fish near toits environment and show the captor ina relaxed, happy or exuberant mood. Adefinite ‘no-no’ are the photos that I stillsee in magazines from some parts ofEurope that show captors holding deadfish, usually suspended by its eye sockets.There is nothing even vaguely attractiveor interesting about these photographsand all magazines should banphotographs of dead fish in my opinion.

Nonetheless, catch (aka ‘trophy’)photographs, whilst not at the mostcreative end of the angling photography,are a very important part of our sport.We all take them to remind ourselves ofwhat we caught and, just as importantlyto brag to our mates. In essence, they arepart of angling history - national,international or simply sometimes justpersonal angling history. We owe it toourselves to make the best job we can.And done in the right way, with the fishdisplayed in a creative way or beingreturned to its natural setting, catchphotos can and do achieve greatness...

Usually, though, great angling images arethose that convey mood, atmosphere orspecial moments. These are the imagesthat capture the spirit of angling andmake you want to go fishing when yousee them. Whilst most of us areimpressed by a picture of a big fish itrarely makes us want to go out there anddo it. Show us an image of a lake atdawn shrouded in mist backlit by a fierysun, however, and we all feel thatlonging to be a part of that scenerumbling in our gut...

As anglers we are in a privileged positionwhen it comes to developing ourphotography skills. The truth is thatphotography is mainly about quality oflight: light, the amount, type anddirection can transform a mundane sceneinto a fantastic one in a matter of seconds.Dramatic light is usually seen at theextremes of the day - as anglers we spenda great deal of time out in nature at dawnand dusk. Even your local park lake canlook absolutely stunning when the sunpokes its head above the horizon and skyand lake's surface are washed in a paletteof stunning colours. Moreover, typical citydwellers just don't get to see the placesthat we regularly spend time in - being bywater and surrounded by wildlife is partof the deal in angling and as suchwhenever we go fishing we are beingconstantly bombarded by a series ofphotographic opportunities.

Just how many of these opportunities thatyou grasp is your choice. Many of you, Isuspect, simply want to take better catchphotos or capture the glory of a favouritefishing venue. Others will want to go oneor several stages further by capturingimages that go beyond the basics. A few ofyou will already be competentphotographers looking to turn that 'auto'or 'programme ' button on your cameraoff. To the latter group I say 'be warned!'Photography is seriously addictive. You willknow that you've got it bad when you startpicking the camera up when the light startsto fade and the fish usually start biting;your mates will get sick of you asking themto pose in landscape shots; you will curseevery time a fish leaps out of the water andyou don't have a camera in your hand.

Cameras have come a long way in recentyears and so too has anglingphotography. Though the days of the guyholding the fish in a rag with a woodbinesticking out of the corner of his mouth,the top of his head cut off and his fishinggear strewn around in the background sothat it looks as if he is standing on abomb site are not quite yet gone, theyalmost are. There has never been a bettertime to take angling pictures and withthe development of the DSLR as a filmmaking tool, this really is the era whenwe ordinary folk have the equipment tocompete with the professionals.

TOP LEFT

A low angle emphasises the gaping maw of a large

catfish from the river Ebro in Spain. The red

shirt adds a splash of colour and draws attention

to a key area of the image. This is a classic

example of how to make a trophy shot more

interesting and impactful.

BELOW

I was fishing for trout in Arctic Sweden with my

good friend Ed Brown when we got one of those

sunsets that sends you scurrying for the camera.

The breeze dropped to leave the lake becalmed and

the distant clouds provided a wonderful anchor for

the sunset. Ed hooked a fish as I was reaching for

the camera leaving me little time for thought about

treatment of the image. I settled for the classic

silhouette to capture the rich colour detail and to

freeze the action. The movement of the angler sends

oily ripples in concentric circles - I often ask

subjects to move slightly when wading in calm

water to achieve this effect. This shot was taken

using a panoramic camera, the Hasselblad X-Pan

and shot on transparency film (Fuji Velvia). 45mm

lens, 1/30th sec at f8, ISO 50.

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