caltrout,    Photography,    val atkinson

I Interview Fly Fishing Photography Great Val Atkinson (on CalTrout Site)

By Tom Chandler 12/7/2011

You can't spend much time in the fly fishing world before you run into a Val Atkinson photograph.

Perhaps the leading light in fly fishing photography since the early 1970s, Atkinson remains the pinnacle fly fishing photographer; he shoots in a very classic, painterly style that evokes a certain romanticism about the sport.

Plus he knows how to have a little fun:

Val Atkinson: Drake on Guinness

 

I interviewed him for CalTrout, an organization that's been lucky enough to enjoy the use of Atkinson's images for its website and promotional work (as has the Fall River Conservancy website).

Read the interview and you'll learn:

  • The story behind the famous Drake/Guinness photograph

  • Atkinson's feelings about digital photography and fly fishing media

  • A few tips on taking better pictures of your own


See you drooling over the photographs, Tom Chandler.
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

9 comments
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I'm just happy I can help the team, just taking it day by day, some days you win, some days you lose...
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I think Atkinson was being a little politic about things; most of the fulltime pros (especially the guys who sold a lot of stock) have suffered a little under the digital onslaught, where even parttimers can easily sell. And I *know* he was being nice when he referred to the plunge in editorial standards in the fly fishing magazines (good enough will often do).
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A friend who used to be a stock photographer was thrilled by digital, reasoning he could get more useful images from each shoot. He didn't realize that applied to all the part timers too.
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Had the pleasure of chatting at length with Val several years ago about a project that he ended up not having time for. He was a gentleman of the highest order, posing intelligent questions and offering advice and direction of great value. In great contrast to my own photography and that of many others shooting the fly fishing world today, I've never looked at Val Atkinson image and wondered 'what ... more the hell was he thinking?....'
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Any article that starts with a picture of my favorite Beer has to be good and this is no disappointment. As one of those photographically impaired individuals I love digital cameras, because I can take decent pictures and with very little effort and little knowledge of software make them nice to look at. I can see how that is frustrating to a talented photographer, but I'm not selling or trying to ... more win contests with my images. I'm just trying to impress my friends with pictures of the beautiful fish I catch and have them around to look at and reminisce when I can't be on the water without being distracted by a poor image.
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Has 60 Minutes called? They should. See you and Morley on the river.
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Nice interview. Again. I'm curious. You seem to be the engine for Cal Trout's new website, and I see a number of wonderful articles written by you that evoke a lot of thought and interest on my part. Why don't you put your byline on the stories? Chris Raine Cal Trout Streamkeeper Award Recipient
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Speaking only for myself as an amateur photography enthusiast, what bugs me personally about a lot of digital "photography" is the fact that any duffer who doesn't know his aperture from his f-stop can shoot a thoroughly lousy image and using the right software, convert it into something glorious. Nothing wrong with that, and perhaps I'm splitting the hairs too finely, but I believe it's important ... more to make a distinction between photographic talent and computer skills... Now having said all that, I don't have anything against digital in and of itself, and in fact carry a small digital camera in my pack during my ramblings. Given the price of film and developing anymore, it's nice to be able to burn up nothing but memory when taking mere snapshots. For "serious" stuff though, I still like film. What constitutes serious can vary somewhat.
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Great interview and a wonderful read. Val seems like a super-down-to-earth kind of guy and he certainly has a great talent as a photographer. I found it interesting that even as a professional/classical photographer, he was excited and positive about the new digital age. Often times he seems that some B&W and older photographers are not as welcoming to the newer technology. Great post. Ben
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