[Phil Monahan]

David, I have not received an email from you. Where did you send it?

P

[Phil Monahan]

Dusty,

That first shot has good composition, but the shadow over the angler makes it a poor cover choice. The second one has too much going on, which confuses the eye.

Douglas,

In both your shots, the compelling rises would be covered by the magazine’s logo. Plus, the first is too dark.

Thanks,

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

Hi, Lee. I did check the flickr group and didn’t see anything that specifically worked for this call.

P

[Phil Monahan]

Just so you know, when he told me that he was starting a photography section I invited Marshall Cutchin (who runs Midcurrent) to join our Flickr group, so expect to see more IA folks on his site.

Those of you who haven’t yet joined the Flickr group now have even more reason to do so.

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

Again, thanks for all the advice. I am not really looking to become a pro photographer. (Wouldn’t wanna steal work from all y’all, don’t you know.) Instead, I want to be able to supplement my writing with good photography. As an editor, I know how valuable it is to find a writer who can also shoot. Not only does it ensure that you can get the right photos for a story, but it also cuts a step (or 5) out of the editorial process if you don’t have to chase down specific images, such as a certain river, an angler performing a specialized tactic, or a fish with a specific fly in its mouth.

So, I will not be trying to shoot covers or even spreads. I’m more interested in quality images that will run a page or less. If I find that I’m really into it, then I may start thinking about spending $5k on gear. I’m not there yet.

P

[Phil Monahan]

Thanks again to all. My decision to go Nikon or Cannon might be decided for me, on account of I already own 2 lenses for my Nikon N60 (which I haven’t used in years). However, if the lenses are crap, then the field is wide open.

So, are these worth keeping?

1. AF Nikkor 35-70mm (1:3.3-4.5)
2. Sigma 072 28-70mm (1:2.8)

Don’t worry about hurting my feelings. If it’s crap, I’d rather know now. (I suspect the Sigma is low-budget, based on appearance alone.)

My life was a lot easier when I could let you guys worry about this stuff.

[Phil Monahan]

Thanks a lot, everyone. That’s a ton to digest, and I plan to. The first thing I have to do is get a DSLR; lost mine when I got canned.

[Phil Monahan]

Hey Chad,

That sucks. I feel your pain, my friend, as you know. Lemme know if I can be any help.

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

An editor’s point of view:

We ask for RAW because we don’t trust photographers to understand our art-direction and printing processes. It’s better for the art director to have too much information (RAW) than too little (JPEG).

Another problem is image size. To turn a digital photo into a double-truck spread (across two pages), you need a big file. Rather than explaining pixels and everything to photographers, we simply ask them to shoot the biggest file the camera can produce.

Once we know that a photographer is capable of editing his own images, we readily accept jpegs (as Zach has noted). For images less than half a page, RAW is hardly ever required.

My favorite submissions come with two folders–one with RAW images, one with jpegs. The images in the two folders have the same names, just different extensions. So I preview the jpegs, and then send the RAW files of the images I like to the art department.

If you really want an editor to like you, rename all the files so that they are easy to identify. If the images are of brown trout and streamers, give them titles like monahan-brownstreamer1.RAW. Having the photographer’s name on the file helps.

Learn how to use ftp, and you’ll save a lot of time and money.

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

Colin,

We’ve already got a Joe Tomelleri illustration, so I’d say a grip-n-grin is what we’re looking for.

Thanks,

P

[Phil Monahan]

John, By “landlocked salmon” I mean not any salmon that doesn’t make it to the ocean. I’m looking for the species of historically landlocked Atlantic salmon found in the Northeast and Canada.

This guy: http://www.oldtrout.ca/Graphics/eBay/Fish/Land%20Locked%20Salmon.jpg

[Phil Monahan]

Oh yeah, and for a story in Outdoor Life, I’m looking for good landlocked-salmon shots.

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

Thanks, folks. I sent a few of Brian’s shots down to Augusta, so I think they got what they need.

Look for the shot as the opener for the “EXpeditions” feature in the March/April issue.

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

Thanks, Tim. I remembered them, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen them. I need Brian to email me ASAP.

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. And for the job offer, Joel.

It looks like I’ll continue to be involved in fly-fishing editorial in one way or another, so I don’t think that this is the end of our little experiment.

I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks again,

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

Anyone who lives in another hemisphere, send me a PM with your email address. When the magazine hits the newsstands, I’ll send you a PDF of the article.

I have no sympathy for you North Americans who don’t subscribe.  ;D

Phil

[Phil Monahan]

Zach,

A crazed reporter throwing his shoes at a head of state (no matter who it is) goes beyond politics, don’t you think?

P

[Phil Monahan]

The issue won’t be on newsstands for another couple weeks. I don’t know why we send out subscriber copies 20 days before the newsstand issues go on sale. Perhaps it’s to convince people to subscribe, so their buddies aren’t always one step ahead.

[Phil Monahan]

Folks,

Here are the extremely thorough writer’s guidelines for American Angler. If you have any questions after this, please feel free to post them.

Phil

AMERICAN ANGLER
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS

GENERAL GUIDELINES

[Phil Monahan]

For some live South San Gabriel and Centro-Matic, go here:

http://tinyurl.com/6s66gt

Phil

[Author]

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