Birding, Fishing, or Photographing?
Last summer and fall Tommy would ask with a little bit of regularity which was my favorite activity between fly fishing, birding, and photography. I would explain to him in fairly simple terms: that photography was my favorite, followed closely by fly fishing, and then birding, but birding was something I could do while photographing, or fly fishing.
My longer answer is that three pursuits are perfectly compatible and complimentary: birding is something I can do while doing the other two, and as I’ve gotten more into birding, my time photographing and/or fly fishing has only been enriched. No longer is the birdsong I hear in the land or on the river only a pleasant sound, but in addition to that, those chirps, songs, and calls add another element with which I grow closer to and gain a deeper understanding of the earth and nature, and my place within it.
Fly Fishing on the Little Bear River
Western Meadowlark
Photographing Salt Creek