BLOG

The Drake Magazine, Famous Potatoes, road-side reflections on literary idaho, richard brautigan, ernest hemingway, flyfishing,

My feature story, Famous Potatoes; Road-trip Reflections on Literary Idaho, focuses on the writer, Richard Brautigan. Known for his iconic novel, Trout Fishing in America, my research, which I used as a road map for a fall fishing trip through Idaho, revealed that he was an expert fly angler, in addition to his obvious talents as a poet and wordsmith. Photographer @nickpricephotography shot the opening spread but...

more
Ted Williams, Angler, Islamorada, magazine feature, Florida Keys, Hall of Farmer

My feature about baseball legend, Ted Williams, Angler: Islamorada's Lost Legacy begins: " Baseball and fishing are not uncommon bedfellows. In our family, they developed into our two sons’ varsity journey and an obsession with fly-fishing. And not coincidentally, they again converged during a stay in the Florida Keys. Which was how I came to be standing on the casting platform of a skiff somewhere in the...

more
Middle Torch Key, Saltwater flyfishing, John Tulp, canoe fishing, salwater canoe fishing, anglers journal, stephen collector, flats fishing, Big Pine Key, Saddlebunch Key

An Epicurean’s Approach; A WILLING CANOE ANGLER IMPARTS A NEW APPRECIATION FOR A WIDER RANGE OF FISH IN THE FLORIDA KEYS, is the name of my article in the First Light section of Anglers Journal. I stumbled upon a retired classics scholar, by the name of John Tulp, in the back country of the Florida Keys who gave me both an education and a novel approach to flats fishing in and around the middle...

more
Brittany, Brittany Spaniel, bird dog, upland game hunting, eastern Colorado, state wildlife area, birddog, Stephen Collector

"Stephen Collector's words and photographs have graced our pages in the past, but perhaps never so lovingly as with this story of his Brittany's last hunt. Stephen opens up about coming to terms with uncomfortable truths, both canine and human." wrote editor, Trey Reed about my magazine feature, Finley's Last Hurrah, where I become grudgingly resigned to the fact that my bird dog's career as hunter has come to a...

more
Big Sky Journal spread 23.jpg

The Big Sky Journal's 2023 Fly Fishing issue published my feature article, Testing The Waters On Opening Day. It's a piece about fishing the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park with my friend, John Baughman, former director of Wyoming Game and Fish and what we encountered on this local celebration of fishing for wild Yellowstone River Cutthroat trout. I shot the photos. To read the article copy the link:...

more
Jeff-Smith_Ohio-Key.jpg

The feature, The Heart of the Keys; A Marathon Journal, was published in the 10-year anniversary issue of Tail Fly Fishing Magazine. We spent two months last winter decamped in Marathon, Florida. This gave me ample opportunities to explore story ideas and make photographs. I'm pleased the editor, Trey Reid chose to use the work I shot in black and white to illustrate the piece. Hope you can check it out in the Sept./Oct....

more
Buffalo Bill Cody, Ernest Hemingway, Beartooth Plateau, L bar T dude ranch

My feature story about Buffalo Bill Cody and Ernest Hemingway just appeared in Strung Magazine, Vol 4, issue3 Summer 2022. I researched the home waters of both celebrities and then fished the region, in some cases with professional guides, to make sure I was in the right spot. I can't say with any conviction how the angling compared, but that wasn't the objective. I did experience at times, excellent fishing. The scenery was truly...

more
Brand Inspectors, book, Law of the Range, Portraits, Stephen Collector

Phototalk TV producer, Kent Gunnufson did an interview with me about my book of western stock detectives, Law Of The Range; Portraits of Old-Time Brand Inspectors. It's now live.

Here is the link: https://phototalk.tv/ (Scroll down until you see my name.)

more
Brown trout, Wind River, Darren Calhoun, trophy trout

My feature, Three Trips to the Wind, appears in the 2/2022 issue of the Big Sky Journal. The story condenses 30 years into three days and is a memoir of sorts, a story about failure and maybe if I were so lucky, transformation. Check article out on link below

https://bigskyjournal.com/three-trips-to-the-wind/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=three-trips-to-the-wind

more
Alaska-1.jpg

In 2019 after a call to my editor, Bill Sisson over at Anglers Journal we riffed about story angles for a first time fishing experience in the 49th state. It was Bill who suggested the idea of , Alaska, the First Time, and with that theme in mind I was able to place my story after a 10 day adventure. Here's a link to the feature: https://www.anglersjournal.com/adventure/alaska-the-first-time

more
Fish-Hippies-spread.jpg

"For a brief wrinkle in time, a band of cosmic cowboys from the 70s reveled in a western trout paradise". I wrote and illustrated the feature, a memoir written about a time period between 1977 - 1986 on the North Platte River in southern Wyoming which was about more than just fishing. It was about friendship, innocence, and our great good fortune. Read the article here:...

more
Bird dog, Brittany,  Holyoke, bird hunting, pointer, The Pointing Dog Journal

The May/June 2021 issue of The Pointing Dog Journal features a story I wrote and photographed about our rescue dog, Finley—a Brittany Spaniel. I had her professionally trained by Gary Ruppel out in Kiowa, Colorado in 2016 and he worked his magic, in spite of the fact, she was six. This photo was taken south of Holyoke, Colorado.

more
Fine Art Painter and Writer, Russell Chatham

The July/August issue of American Angler magazine has a feature I wrote and photographed about the noted artist, Russell Chatham. Beyond his considerable talent as a fine artist, it isn't widely known that for a decade he supported himself as a magazine writer and was one of the best of that period. Chatham continued to write articles, and good ones, throughout his career. Several books of his writing appeared...

more
Duane-Redford_Eagle-River.jpg

My first feature in Southwest Fly Fishing Magazine was about fishing the Big Two-Hearted Laramie River, in southern Wyoming. That feature appeared in the Nov./Dec. 2013 issue. I was inspired to write this story by Ernest Hemingway. For some strange reason I felt 'Papa' would have loved this tea-colored river, that is under the radar as far as national destination trout rivers are concerned. My current feature...

more
Russ Chtham and Jim Harrison

I have a feature I penned and photographed that transpired over thirty years ago in Key West, FL. I was on an assignment with my collaborator pal, Jim Fergus who'd landed a feature assignment for Rolling Stone Magazine. It centered on the writers/artists, Tom McGuane, Jim Harrison, Russell Chatham, and Guy de la Valdene. I would have never imagined that 32 years later I'd be telling the tale from my humble perspective.....

more
Hemingway writing observatory

In 2013 I had my first magazine feature as a writer published in Southwest Fly Fishing. Its title was The Big-hearted Laramie River and it was inspired by researching the life of Ernest Hemingway. The image above was photographed in Hemingway's writing studio in the tower at his Finca Vigia (Lookout Farm) near Havana, Cuba. Since then I've been carving out more time and attention to the craft and to date, I've...

more