Random Goodness

I took some time over the past week to take some random photos as I felt necessary. I tried to take my time with these photos and focus on my camera settings to achieve the best results. Some didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but I was able to get a few nice photos. Enjoy!

I took this picture up by Lake Elmo in Billings, MT. I enjoyed the blurred, yet color background that doesn't draw too much attention from the flowers that are in focus.

This is my cat Hannah, she likes to help motivate me with my homework. I liked this picture because I was able to capture a lot of the detail in her face. I also like that my blurred pencil or right edge of the notebook lead into the main subject.

I took this while fly fishing the Big Horn River last week. My buddy Brad was fishing near sunset and I tried to get just his silhouette, but it didn't quite turn out the way I had planned.

Bighorn River Brown Town

Last Friday I was a naughty student and decided to skip a class to enjoy a day of fly fishing on the Bighorn River near Fort Smith, Montana. I went with two of my good friends on this trip, rather than by myself like I usually do. Yet, I still have many photos of fish that I took myself. The brown trout this time of year are just starting their trip up river to spawn, and this movement was greatly noticed on this day of fishing! My day consisted of catching nothing nut brown trout between the sizes of 16" and 22". This made for an exciting day of fly fishing that will be on my mind for weeks to come!(All 3 photos were taken with my iPhone 4s)

This was on the shorter end for the length of trout, but had the most girth and put up the biggest fight throughout the day!

This was one of the first brown trout I caught on this day of fly fishing. There's always a few first mandatory photos to prove to people that you did catch some fish.

This was one of the longest fish of the trip that I caught. I decided to use a color splash app on this photo and its one of my favorite fishing photos that I have yet to take!

Fishy Business

I only have one of my personal photos with this post, but I did want to take a little time to share a photographer’s photos that I thoroughly enjoy. I think I primarily enjoy these photos because of the fly fishing aspect, but they are gorgeous shots period. Jennifer de Graaf is based out of British Columbia and shoots a little bit of everything, but has a passion for fly fishing. I wasn't actually able to able to attach Jennifer's pictures because of photo protection, but I made sure to add the links and some of my thoughts about the photos. The fly fishing photos she's able to capture are spectacular and get you itching to go throw some flies in the river!

This is a photo of a Mormon cricket I took with my iPhone 4s, it was found on the Beartooth Plateau just outside of Montana and just inside of Wyoming.  http://gracerosephotography.photoshelter.com/ Here’s a great picture of a dandy rainbow trout. The fast shutter speed capturing the drops of water coming from the trout really complete the photo. http://gracerosephotography.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Fly-Fishing/G0000NHYrG.vsLq8/I0000znk7vySgqLA I love this photo of a beautiful cutthroat trout because of the amazing detail captured. Every little groove and texture can be seen on the trout and even the fly line. http://gracerosephotography.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Fly-Fishing/G0000NHYrG.vsLq8/I0000C9ETBKMa_pc

Labor Day Weekend Fun

Labor Day weekend is a great time to get outside and enjoy what is left of the gorgeous late summer weather. Having an extended weekend after the first week of college is the best way to kick off the school year as well! I took my extended weekend up towards Helena, Montana to enjoy some fly fishing and time on Canyon Ferry Lake. I fly fished the Stillwater river, upper Yellowstone river, Shields river, and Avalanche creek  for a half day each over the weekend. I also took the time to snap a few pictures of wildlife between catching fish. Hope everyone had great Labor Day weekend as I did! Enjoy the photos! 

(P.S. If you're a DIY kind of person like myself, I highly recommenced this website to help guide you to some of the best fishing locations in Montana.)  http://www.bigskyfishing.com/River-Fishing/River-Fishing.htm

This is a photo of a decent rainbow trout from the Stillwater river near Columbus, Montana.The pink pookie, which is a grasshopper imitation, it a weapon of choice this time of year of many Montana lakes and rivers. This was an iPhone 4s photo.

This Terrestrial garter snake was soaking up some rays on the edge of the Yellowstone river near Livingston, Montana. This photo was also taken with an iPhone 4s.

Habituation of wild animals tend to be a problem in recreational areas around Montana. At Canyon Ferry Lake, near Helena Montana, these Mule deer were not shy to check your hand for their next meal.This photo was shot with an iPhone 4s.

This species of Groundsel, wich is in the sunflower family, stuck out by itself on the shore of the Shields river near Wilsall, Montana. Photo taken with an iPhone 4s.

This was one of the many wild Brown trout that were caught on the Shields river near Wilsall, Montana. This Brown fell victim of the pink pookie grasshopper imitation, which is my favorite terrestrial fly to use this time of year. This photo was taken with an iPhone 4s.