Tech Toys

It seems there's a new tech company every month or so making a "huge" announcement of a new product, or a new release of a current product.  With new technology continuously evolving at a frantic pace, it's hard to stay on top of everything that's out there.  From 4K video to phones that shoot DSLR quality photos to cameras that can capture great images with almost no light, camera gear and the photo and video industries as a whole are evolving faster than most can financially keep up.

With the launch of the new GoPro 4, the adventure camera industry has officially hit 4K video capabilities.  The GoPro is helping bring quality film making capabilities to the masses.  One of the ways people are harnessing the power and size of the GoPro is with quadcopters, or "drones".  

The different perspective aerial video and photography bring are awe inspiring.  Being able to see amazing landscapes from vantage points rarely, if ever, seen by us normal folk, takes the viewer on visual adventures not possible five years ago.  

Working in a place like Norway is definitely a great canvas on which to create your masterpiece, and this video short doesn't disappoint.  

 

Toughness

Six months ago someone asked me to do something that is on my bucket list, but would require five to six months of strenuous work to accomplish.  After looking deep down inside myself I opted to pass and put it off until another time.  

What I was asked to do was run the Chicago Marathon with a group from church.  I've always been a runner - cross country and track in junior high and high school, running to stay in shape for hockey in college.  My dad runs, my sister and brother in law, and now my niece is a little runner.  But when considering the amount of time it would require to train, dedication to run through the rain, putting in the long mileage days and speed workouts necessary.  When it came down to it, I just couldn't commit.  

Why am I telling you this?  Well my wife Amy, just rocked the Chicago Marathon, validating a summers worth of hard work and effort.  She awoke at 5am to run on Sundays, ran after work, ran over her lunch hour, never letting her goal get out of reach.  I haven't really given her the credit she deserves and didn't realize it until I saw her reaction to seeing me at mile marker 25. That's where the picture below was taken.  When so many people were about to fall over, she's smiling and waving like, I've done something worth celebrating.  

To Amy, Phil Warman, Lisa Eaton, the guys and gals from Mission Church and all the other Chicago Marathoners, congratulations on your hard work and dedication.  26.2 is a huge feat and we're all proud of you!

Stuart loaned me his tilt shift lens for the day and it was fun to mess around.  The different options it presents from capturing an image are just awesome.  But it can be a bit fickle!  


Following the Fads

Lately I've become frustrated with the fly fishing industry.  I guess I can say not just the industry, but also the people within.  We are a fickle bunch - one day we're complaining about something, the next someone is praising it as the next great thing.  

There are fly guys out there that still wear the same vest and use the same cane rod they've been using for 50 years.  Other guys go out and buy rods and reels as fast as the manufacturers can kick them out of their factories and small shops alike.  To each their own, but it seems more and more of this industry is being driven by what's "popular".  

This is really a rant, mainly driven by what I see going on in the market place, especially when it comes to vintage rods.  With the help of Cam over at The Fiberglass Manifesto, the fiberglass fly rod has not only become relevant again, it's become the "thing".  I can remember when I built my first fiberglass rod 3 years ago.  I'd wanted one for about 4 years but didn't think I had the skill to make it happen.  When I walked in to Coren's in Chicago and told Eric Heckman what I wanted to do, build a Lamiglas 3/4.  He was the only one that didn't look at me sideways.  Fiberglass?  Once the guys in the shop and at our tying group had the chance to cast it, they understood why it made sense.  A short rod at 6'6", but with a finesse to match the Scott F4.  A perfect dry fly rod for the Driftless.  I haven't bought a graphite rod since and have added some outstanding rods to my arsenal recently.  Since that first Lamiglas for me, there's been a big movement with major name brands producing some great rods (Orvis (see Nick Volk at Orvis Yorktown), Echo, Redington to name a few) and some gems coming from the mid size and small shop blank builders (Swift's Epic (Carl McNeil at Epic), Yasuyuki Kabuto, Kazutomo Ijuin, the Steffan Brothers and Tom Morgan for example).

I think it's great, but at the same time, this new popularity has taken away some of the uniqueness that was there before.  Not too many people had cast fiberglass before and it was always fun to introduce new people to the thought of glass.  

With fiberglass rods here to stay, every photo on my Instagram feed tagged with #glassisnotdead or featuring their Epic glowing in the sunlight, I find myself wanting to get the rod building gear back out of the garage and start working again.  I've got a couple of projects waiting for me and hopefully some time in the future to get it done.  One I'm hoping will be ready to chase salmon and steelhead later this month.  I'm glass to see so many people geeked on glass.  It's only going to make the market stronger and blanks better, benefiting us all.  

To see a recent couple of builds, head on over to Revive Fly Mag for an article and interview I did with Cam from TFM as well as an Epic and Kabuto build.