Sunday, April 24, 2011

Channeling Rich, while photographing Rocky's Fly...

As I have previously mentioned, I enjoy "social networking", it has given me the opportunity to meet people I wouldn't have met otherwise, even if it is only virtually.  One such person, was a guy named Rich Schaaff, who like me is into fly fishing and photography, and was one of those people I really wished I could meet in person, unfortunately, I never got that chance, because Rich died suddenly last fall.  While I haven't really thought about him all that much since, it was on the occasion that I met one of my virtual friends who and also actually known Rich that I thought about him while we talked.
At the Wasatch Fly Fishing Expo, I met Rocky Maley, who has known Rich for several years, and has had Rich photograph a lot of his incredible flies for his website and more. After we initially talked and Rocky had a chance to look at my photography he came back with a couple of his flies, one of which I took and Brett Colvin, one of the other photographers I was displaying my photography with, took the other.
Before I photographed Rocky's fly, I took at look at Rich's "Art of the Fly" page, for some inspiration, many of the flies on this page are Rocky's.
As I was photographing Rocky's fly, I kept thinking of or perhaps "channeling" Rich, becasue I have struggled a little with doing these "macro" photographs with my Holga, so I think it helped, because I got it the first time.
Because these types of flies are bigger than the trout flies I am accustomed to I thought I would do something really different than just the usual square Holga photograph, so I did a "macro Holgarama".

I have talked to Rocky about it, while he gets what I was trying to do, he is a little confused by it, but he also said that the technique could grow on him.  I did a square version of the fly too, which Rocky really liked. 


 In talking to Rocky about it, and he said he would send a few more flies down.

I have posted this on a few photography and fly fishing forums and there no real consensus on which is the better photograph, so what do you think. Which is the better photograph and why?

Thanks for reading and hopefully taking the time to comment.
Brian