Top Photographer Brian O'Keefe:
Behind the Scenes of
Catch Magazine
7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Pasadena Casting Club Clubhouse
Brian O’Keefe has long been one of fly fishing’s top photographers, with a distinctive style, often showing us a perspective different than we’re used to. Whether or not you pay attention to the credits, you’ve seen his photos many times, in catalogs, magazines, or on the Internet. We last had Brian visit us in June of 2005, and he made such an impression on me, literally the next day I was at the camera store purchasing a wide angle lens for my DSLR. Unfortunately, all the wide angle lens did was give me a different perspective of the same bad shots….
Brian started fishing the world in the fall of 1973. He began with a solo trip through New Zealand and Australia, and a brief trek into the Himalayas to fish for brown trout. After returning from this two-year adventure, Brian spent his summers guiding in the Northwest and Alaska for trout, salmon, and steelhead. Brian sold his first fly fishing photo when he was 16—40 years ago. Since then, Brian’s photographs have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Miami Herald, USA Today,and many others. He has had cover shots in: Field & Stream; Outdoor Life; Fly Fisherman; Fly Rod and Reel; Fly Fishing in Salt Waters; Fly and Fish Magazine;Outside Magazine; and Men’s Journal. You can see more of his photos and writing at www.brianokeefephotos.com. Brian also has had a career as a fly fishing tackle rep. Brian is an accomplished fly caster who has placed in and/or won many fly casting competitions and is an FFF Master Certified Casting Instructor.
Brian has traveled to some of the wildest and most remote angling destinations in the world, including Bikini Atoll, the Seychelles, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tonga, Cuba, and Kashmir. He has also traveled to more accessible locations, such as: the Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Chile, New Zealand, Christmas Island, and more. In many of these locations he again chooses to venture off the beaten path, hiking, floating, sea-kayaking, or taking a Zodiac into the backcountry.
Although any presentation of Brian’s photos would be cause for excitement, this month he’ll be telling us more about Catch, the award-winning Internet magazine he started with partner Todd Moen. Unlike typical magazines, printed on paper and distributed by newsstands or the Postal Service, Catch can only be found on the Internet. Although it isn’t the only one, this is a different model for a publication in a fairly traditional sport. Many PCC members have been viewing Catch online, and with good reason. Although great fly fishing photos are enjoyable in any media, viewing photographs on a computer monitor gives them a luminous glow you don’t get with light merely reflected off of paper. An online magazine also allows the incorporation of video segments,generally produced by Todd Moen, a great videographer. Brian’s program will go behind the making of an online magazine, with all the unique aspects addressed.
Launched in 2008, Catch is published bimonthly, and just released its 23rd issue. Go to www.catchmagazine.net to see more of it. Catch has been highly regarded by readers, and recently received the annual Conservation Communication Award fromTrout Unlimited. Catch has also just moved from being free to a paid subscription model, which is also notable. Time will tell how many people are willing to pay for electronic fly fishing content.
Outside of his amazing photographs, Brian is also a captivating speaker, and an all-around nice guy. This meeting begins our summer season at the Clubhouse. Enjoy a great fly fishing program outdoors this Thursday evening, July 12th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Pasadena Casting Club Clubhouse in the Lower Arroyo Seco (go to the directions page at this site for a map). Consider bringing your fly rod and get some casting practice in before the meeting starts.
Seymour Singer