(^40) FLYLIFE
Great colours, nice casting loop,
good composition, relaxed and active
posture, very descriptive. Jason Robert
Walker’s portrait of his partner Madi
on the Styx River in southern Tasmania
(6) is a perfect way to open the next
spread. Unfortunately it didn’t make
the judges’ final six but from a layout
point of view it was in our top three.
It’s always nice to introduce a bit
of local colour, in a lighter moment
when the fishing slows down. A group
of youngsters, neck deep in water,
playing with a fly rod fills the bill (7).
This is more about context than bril-
liant photography. Aaron Tait captures
the essence of cultural exchange and
the slow pace of the Pacific Islands in
‘Tomorrow’s Guides’.
Yes, we do crop images (2, 5, 7,
9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17) — square peg,
round hole — and it’s not just to
annoy good photographers. Unless a
submission includes a good selection
of peripheral ‘fillers’, then we have
to sacrifice better shots to do the job.
These column-wide images offer little
signposts and points of interest, break-
ing the text, filling holes and keeping
things moving along. A blue tuskfish
(9: Andrew Mckinstray), a gum beetle
(10: David Wilson), the bleached jaws
of a GT (11: Wayne Moon) — these all
have impact, even at small size. They
all deserve more space, but we only
have 100 pages. Think flies, insects,
tackle, boats, camps, flora and fauna
— all these little asides help to fill the
overall canvas and save words along
the way.
Brendan Turriff’s ‘Slow and Steady’
is all about habitat and getting lost in
the moment (8). The forest, the river,
the flow through the pocket water,
and the angler immersed in the scene
— a real David Anderson approach.
We just couldn’t crop this one without
losing something vital.
And if you’re going to lift a big trout
out of the water for a photo, at least
look excited about it (12). Francis
Thong leaves us in no doubt that this
is a treasured moment and a great
achievement. This was the popular
favourite and a landslide winner in
the public (Facebook) voting. Big fish,
happy angler — no real surprise there.
6
7
Top Shots... continued
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