Tom Sperduto Photography » 2011

A Winter’s Day

A winters day on the Pequest River

I found myself again today on the Pequest River. It was cooooold. So cold that the line on my fly rod turned into an icicle. It was beautiful. The snow was falling lightly at times and though it was way below freezing I was toasty warm bundled up like the kid on the movie “A Christmas Story” chasing his brother. I took a few pictures and while fly fishing (my wife says I am a fly fishing snob, I can’t call it fishing. It just doesn’t sound right) I thought mostly about taking pictures. Not just pictures for the sake of making pictures but making pictures because what I was seeing was making me feel something. As I was looking down river I felt something. So I made a picture. I love my river. When I stand in its waters I know it’s a place of special meaning and magic healing powers. It’s banks are holding mysteries of great proportions and wonderful colors with the possibility of an introduction on every cast. When I am standing in my river everything feels right in the world.

Today was a very good day. The above picture will remind me of how it felt. Tomorrow is a new day and I am rejuvenated and ready for it. I kick off a new portrait project that has been in the makings for awhile and I am very excited about the potential it has to make people feel something for the special people I will photograph.

Thanks for stopping by.

Passion filled days on the river

John Heaney catching a 25 inch rainbow trout in 26 degree NJ weather on the Pequest river.

I have been having a wonderful winter fly fishing in New Jersey. There was once a time when freezing temperatures would make me dream about being on a river. These days, it just means more solitude and more river to fish. Fly fishing reminds me of photography. Things slow down for me on the river just like they do when I am behind a camera. I’m more methodical, I think more clearly, and I really feel part of the moment, part of the river, much like I feel connected to the person in front of my lens when we are trusting each other. I’m finding a wonderful connection with other fly fishermen who are as passionate as I am about casting flies. It reminds me of how I feel about the community of photographers I belong to and call family. John Heaney, a fly fishing guide in NJ, was once my hired guide and he taught me how to catch trout with the best of them. John has become one of my closest friends over the last few years. We fish together often and when we are not stalking trout together we still seem to bump into each other on some frozen patch of river that other anglers overlook. We both live very close to great fly fishing water (Yes, that does exist in NJ, trust me) and sometimes can be out and back without the family knowing we stepped out to catch a trout or 12. John is one of the most passion filled people I have ever met. He reminds me of a little kid at times whooping and hollering on the river when he gets into a big fish and John ALWAYS gets into a BIG fish. John and I don’t talk much religion on the river but there are days when you can just feel religion in your boots. Some days John doesn’t fish at all. He walks the river for hours studying it, learning it and though he hasn’t said it, I know on some level he is at one with it. It’s this kind of passion that is a great lesson to all of us photographers once we get past the buttons and dials and all that light and shadow. Sometimes you’ve just got to love it enough to become it and to feel it in your bones. You can do it your entire life and never master it. You can always be better tomorrow. Our conversations, much like the many I have had over cold beers and full compact flash cards, always come back to how grateful we are to have found our passions. At the end of the day, it’s all that really matters. Like my photo dad Chip Maury would say “It’s what makes your ducky quack.” It’s what makes us love more, smile more and look forward to growing to old doing what we love.

Thanks for stopping by.