hyalite reservoir

Native or Non-Native

admin Blog, Fishing September 16, 2021September 12, 2021cutthroat trout, hyalite reservoir, yellowstone cutthroat

The best part of getting up early is the reward of the catch afterward. Hyalite is a pretty cool reservoir for fishing as it has been stocked with Yellowstone Cutthroat, Arctic Grayling, and Brook Trout. For the avid angler in the valley, it’s a great place to spend a morning or afternoon. The photography can be fun as well with so many species potentially to work with. Due to the smaller size of the individuals, I opted for a smaller net with a black mesh fabric because it made for a better background prop as opposed to my usual one. It’s a small detail but it can make a difference.

The High Slopes

admin Blog, Landscape January 21, 2021January 17, 2021Hyalite Canyon, hyalite reservoir, montana in winter, winter landscape

While out skiing I came across this scene and it stumped me. The mountains looked amazing and the clouds rolled back enough that it created a lot of drama but the light was so bright that I couldn’t see the great photo opp. While obviously I still tried to make the photo happen it still feels lacking. If this happens to you then you have to ask yourself, is the photo worth it or is it better to just soak in the moment?

Afternoon In the Snow

admin Blog, Landscape January 14, 2021January 13, 2021Hyalite Canyon, hyalite reservoir, montana in winter

Photographers all know to take their cameras with them where ever they go because the moment when you don’t have one is the moment when you need one. Well, I don’t normally take my camera with me when I go skiing because let’s face it, I fall down at times which can be scary when you have a camera, but this time around Hyalite I made sure I had mine. Beautiful powder and some great light made for a fun afternoon outing.

What a Cutie

admin Blog, Fishing September 10, 2018June 14, 2020cutthroat, hyalite reservoir, yellowstone cutthroat

Cutthroat Trout were once found all across the west before other species were introduced to compete for habitat and food supply. Now, while the Cutthroat species and various subspecies still persist, their numbers and sizes are dramatically different then what was once prevalent. What you see above, in most places throughout Montana, is a standard size Cutthroat, in this case a Yellowstone Cutthroat. Why did I take this shot? I was asked this by the guy holding the fish because he thought it was a little boring until he saw the photo, but simply put it was a new species and a great looking subject. Now most of the time I use flash in my fish images but seeing the light, looking at the dark background and bright subject, a simple click with the D5 and 24-70 AF-S did the trick.

Crazy Can Be Good

admin Blog, Fishing October 16, 2017June 14, 2020hyalite reservoir

Not everyone fishes during or after a snow storm let alone when it’s below freezing but sometimes it yields rewards. For a photographer the reward is that freshly fallen snow, add in a great mountain range and top it off with a little spot lighting and boom you got something to work with. I talked about this situation last week but I decided to combine two things from last week into this one image.

I talked about the benefits of going out after a storm or evening one out and I also talked about composing the image without the subject being in direct light. You can see both here. What’s the subject? Does that subject have to be lit? Is there a way to show him or here without light? Yes, these things are all possible if you’re watching whats happening around you. Sometimes they are planned but the best images are spontaneous and capture the moment that exists. Those images tell a story.

Images Captured with Nikon 1 V3

Winter Storm Magic

admin Blog, Landscape October 11, 2017June 14, 2020Hyalite Canyon, hyalite reservoir

Winter storms can really suck the motivation away from going out with the camera. It’s cold, it’s dark, it’s snowing and you’re left with this challenge of making something happen with all that. Well despite that, they can break up and when they do that fresh coat of snow can be gorgeous. Well up at Hyalite Reservoir a really strong storm came through that basically was white conditions. After 20 minutes it was gone and all that was left was fresh snow and some great pocket lighting.

It’s hard to believe the blue sky came out but it was never more welcome. In these type of scenarios I love using a longer lens, mainly the 70-200 VRII because it allows you to isolate certain areas that are more interesting while eliminating more distracting spots. Since I wasn’t expecting this to happen and I had a more stripped down setup I made do with the 24-70 AF-S and High Speed Crop. When these situations come up you have to adapt quickly or miss out.