photo

Talking Fishing and Photography With the B&H Podcast

October 1, 2021 By Jess McGlothlin

It was a great pleasure to sit down with @t.nolan.imagery and the team behind the B&H Photo Podcast — @jrockfoto and @allanweitz — to talk fly fishing, travel, and outdoor photography. I’ve shopped B&H since the beginning of my photographer career, and we had a very fun time recording this podcast! Toby is on top of his game, and we had a fun conversation with the B&H team about our strange little fly-fishing industry, the gear we use in the field, and more. Now we just have to get the same group back together and hit the water somewhere!

Click here to give the podcast a listen, and let me know what other topics you wish we’d touched on.

Photo Tips From The Field for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers

October 16, 2020 By Jess McGlothlin

I’m one of the judges for Backcountry Hunters & Angler’s 2020 Photo Contest, and as part of the contest, I shared five photo tips on the BHA blog this week. Visit the blog to read the tips and see images from around the world.

As a bonus, I offered a few notes on gear as well:

Camera equipment preferences vary widely person to person. It’s possible to shoot creative, quality images on an iPhone, though advancing to an entry-level DSLR camera will provide much more creative freedom. Don’t let the lack of fancy equipment hamper you from getting outside and shooting.
If you do choose to invest in camera gear, lens choice will have the most impact on your outdoor photography experience. Look at purchasing a quality wide-angle lens, as well as a 100mm+ lens. Wide-angle lenses (anything wider than 50mm on a full-frame system, or 35mm on an APS-C system) are a photographer’s best friend, encouraging new shooters to get up close and personal with their subject.
A lens with a bit longer “reach” (think 100mm+) will allow you to photograph subjects from a further distance, making it a valuable tool for outdoor athletes/adventurers. Many of the outdoor sports we love are not conducive to having a second person right alongside the first during activity. Longer lenses allow photographers to capture tighter images from further away and can provide a valuable tool for learning how to frame tighter shots.
Above all, just get outside! Keeping a camera at your side is an excellent way to share your stories, capture memories and document adventures. And with a little creativity, it’s an exciting challenge all on its own.

New Work: Ad for onX Hunt

March 31, 2020 By Jess McGlothlin

Quick little post here. Like most of us, like has been fairly turned upside-down these past few weeks. As we all adjust to the new normal of COVID-19, I’ll still be posting a bit here, and certainly on my Instagram. This will pass, like most things do, and some day we’ll be traveling again. Until then, I’ll do my best to provide a little armchair travel on that Instagram feed.

In the meantime, here’s a quick look at a recently-published ad for onX Hunt, using an upland hunting image that was shot on assignment with onX autumn before last right here in Montana.

Stay safe and healthy out there! Here’s to enjoying travel and fishing through an entirely new lens once this passes.

Weekend Vibes

February 24, 2019 By Jess McGlothlin

Black labrador dog curled up next to Patagonia dry bag backpack in a boat while fly fishing in Alaska at Bristol Bay Lodge.

It’s another cold, sub-zero day here in Montana Yesterday, I laid all my fly boxes out on the floor and began the ritual spring sorting of flies. It didn’t help matters—it’s still too cold to fish here locally—but at least I could close my eyes and pretend I was somewhere tropical, eyes scanning turquoise waters for the tell-tale shadow of a fish.

And then I’d look out the window.

Anyway…

Hope everyone is enjoying a relaxed weekend (or charging hard off on some adventure). This image, made during a shoot with Alaska’s Bristol Bay Lodge, will somehow always embody “weekend vibes” for me. Sage, one of the best boat dogs I’ve had the pleasure to spend time with, would raise her head now and then to check on us anglers, sniff for bears and then plop her head back down on my Patagonia dry bag. Keeping the cameras safe, as it were. She was the definition of work hard, play hard, and it was lovely.

American Angler: Life. Simplified. In Swedish Lapland.

February 21, 2019 By Jess McGlothlin

Grayling jumping into the water fly fishing in Swedish Lapland. Underwater photography. More work coming out from last July’s partnership with Swedish Lapland and Fish Your Dream.

This article in American Angler Magazine, titled “Life, Simplified. In Swedish Lapland” talks about the remarkable slowing and rebalancing of life away from the distractions of modern life. By far my favorite aspect of this assignment was the removal from phones, computers and the internet. Life slowed to the pace of nature, rising and falling with the sun, and things just were. And it was glorious.

Girl fishing from boat, man smiling at grayling fish caught while fly fishing, macro image of grayling fish fin in Swedish Lapland.

Large fish signs and bar in fishing camp Tjuonajokk in Swedish Lapland, girl with pike fish caught while fly fishing in Sweden.

Fully Unplugged: Swedish Lapland for the U.K.’s Fieldsports Magazine

February 19, 2019 By Jess McGlothlin

Jess McGlothlin Media for Fieldsports Magazine "Fully Unplugged" article and images about fly fishing for grayling and pike in Swedish Lapland. Last summer I was lucky enough to go spend some time running around Swedish Lapland with a few newfound friends. While the team from Swedish Lapland Tourism was making a short film about my photography and writing work, I was running around with cameras and an underwater housing, trying to capture the incredible light, rivers, fish and people of far northern Sweden. Whenever you are above the Arctic Circle, magic tends to happen, and this was no exception.

Underwater image on man fly fishing with grayling caught in net in Swedish Lapland.

I really enjoyed penning a feature for the U.K.’s Fieldsports Magazine about the trip, especially mine time off the grid at Geunja and Tjuonajokk, now two my favorite “reset and remember what’s important” locations. Thanks to the Swedish Lapland team, the awesome crew at Fish Your Dream and the various editors around the world who have supported this project. It’s rare on international shoots that everything goes smoothly and is even kind of relaxed, but this shoot was one of them (despite the lack of sleep—why rest when the midnight sun is the best light for making images?). And, somehow, despite the lack of sleep I’ve rarely felt better.

Must be something in the water.

Grayling fish in golden sunlight being held in the water in Swedish Lapland.