Sunday 21 March 2010

Spot the difference

So I decided to enter my Black widow angel streamer into the the Flytyingforum.com 2009 fly competition last year with high hopes of it might have a slim chance.I've had this fly at a number of shows last year and have kept it nicely packed in a toilet paper tube which I'd sent the fly in for the competition.

So Imagine my surprise when I saw this image as my entry. Now here is a forum that is affiliated or endorses the well established "Hatches" magazine. A glossy 96 page feature of pure fly tying awesomeness in every issue. So you'd expect a bit of professionalism when it came to showcasing the flies in the competition, Yet every fly entered had be photographed against a garish blue backdrop. Now I'm not the best photographer in the world but I know how to get the best out of a fly and have been known to take images of 30 flies in one evening as well as edit them ready for publication. Flies should be showcased against a neutral backdrop so as to enhance the colours of the materials the fly tier has used on the hook or tube...I mean with the prizes and prestige this competition has, as well as the time and effort each fly tier has put in to his entry, you'd expect a bit of professionalism....wouldn't you. The excuse I received back was that the organizers were pressed for time as they had over 200 flies to photograph. I'm sorry but what a load a f****n bollocks. They could outsource this job to me...which I would do for free I might add, and still get the job done within 5 days. I'm sure I'm not the only one that was disappointed at how their fly was showcased. Anyway that's my rant at the establishment for a while. I Did learn one thing and that is to never enter another fly tying competition ever again....well if I did it would have to be a small fly preferably for catching trout or salmon and not Mike the pike.....what was I thinking!

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