Bill Konway’s Photography Blog

A last minute opportunity to hang out and brainstorm with a good friend of mine, Chris Brackett in Illinois, gave me a chance to shoot a few new pix that will be great additions to my DVD for the ATA and SHOT shows in Indy and Orlando, respectively.  The shows actually begin next Wednesday.  I guess I’m really not suprised that the DVD project is still being worked on.  Afterall, I’ve only had a year to prepare for it…  While flipping through a magazine, we noticed a shot of a guy sitting in a treestand, rattling in a deer.  We figured we could do better and the above shot is what we came up with.  You’ll have to take my word for it that it really is a more interesting and dramatic shot.

The shot below was something of a “Grab Shot”, that just happened.  Somehow the shutter just clicked at the right time as we moved from one set-up to another.  I love it when that happens!  Almost makes me look competent.  The last shot was taken the day after Christmas at a local Christmas tree farm for Realtree that I forgot about till I began this entry.  I managed to get several pretty good shots, despite the totally dirt roads that were covered in 3 inches of solid, wet, super slick ice.  I have one more day to shoot here in Illinois then it’s time to head home, wrap up an editing project for a publishing company and then pack and leave for Indy.

I am still amazed at how quickly time moves when you need more.  I’ve been planning on the ATA, (Indianapolis), and SHOT, (Orlando), shows for, well, all year.  Now they’re right around the corner and I’m still trying to put together a DVD slide show as a self promotional piece for them.  I kept telling myself that it would be easy, only take a day or so, wait a few more days and you’ll have a few new, cool pix.  Now we’re down to the wire and yes, I have added a few new pix and a couple cool tear sheets that just came in.  The shot above was a quicky that sort of came about after a goose hunt the prior afternoon.  I wish I could have shot photos the previous day, and hunted this day, but it is what it is.  The shot below is another from the same shoot.

I’ve also included a couple of tear sheets below, that I don’t think I’ve ever done before, here.  I’m looking forward to show season and have some pretty lofty goals for the new year.  Looking back, I have met some truly great people, made some cool photos, and paid some bills.  That’s what it’s all about I guess.  Thanks to my family, friends, and all those that helped me get through the year one way or another.  Wishing you all a great New Year.

A short hunt in Missouri seemd to be just the ticket for me to take a really decent buck.  For the third  straight year I was invited to the Knight Rifles Invitational Hunt.  I was unable to draw one of the coveted Iowa tags, but they found me, and a writer from Oklahoma, Mike Lambeth, a great piece of ground just over the border in Missouri.  Although I hunted a couple hours on Thursday afternoon and a few hours on Friday morning, this guy came around about an hour and a half into my Saturday morning sit.  A single shot from my Knight KP1 muzzle loader won him a trip home in the pick-up truck. 

Monday morning after the hunt I headed to St Louis for a couple of days to lead a private photography class.  I managed to get home mid day on Wednesday and headed back out first thing Thursday morning for a two day shoot in Kentucky, which is where I’m at now.  Tomorrow morning we’ll get started shooting hunters along some wooded and rocky creeks and rivers for a client wanting to highlight their new rain gear.  It should work out great.  As soon as I have a chance, I’ll get a couple of them uploaded here.

OK, as promised, here are a couple from the KY Prois shoot.  Love to hear what you think, good or bad.

 This fall has certainly been 1 of a kind.  I have had, and still have a few opportunities to try and harvest a great deer, but strange as it may seem, time is begining to run short.  I still have a couple of hunts here in Indiana that I drew in for at a military base and a deer reduction hunt at a State Park.  There’s still muzzleloader seasons here in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky,and Michigan.  However, time to hunt has become a more rare than I had anticipated.  That’s not all bad though, it means I’m working, which is the whole point, I guess.  At least that’s what I keep telling myself.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not nearly as hardcore as most of the people in the industry.  As my buddy in KY says, “Your a photographer, not a hunter”.  At first I thought that was a bit harsh, but the more I think about it, yeah, I guess I am, and I ain’t apologizing for it…  A couple hours in the stand is plenty for me.  Anything more usually results in total boredom and thoughts of things that I should probably be doing rather than sitting in a tree.  On a positive note, I did set a personal record of hunting 3 consecutive days, morning and evening, and sitting till noon!  Now that’s an acomplishment for me.  Anyhow…

The shot above is one that came from a recent effectiveness shoot for Realtree and their Advantage Max4 pattern.  Chris Brackett is the model and it was shot near his home outside Peoria, IL.  Thought I might include another new Prois shot as well.  More of a portrait, but sort of cool anyhow.

There are still a couple of projects in the works for Realtree and we have also been doing some work for a company called Rivers West.  They make some awesome gear for hunt fanatics.  They want all their shots to be as extreme as possible, which is cool when it comes to shooting.  I love the challenge.  Here’s a recent shot for them during a mini blizzard in Michigan earlier this week. 

Wow, how time flies.  I thought I had just posted a new blog entry.  A lot has happened since the last update.  I spent several days last week shooting waterfowl hunting set-ups in Illinois.  Had a gret time and got to spend a few days with Chris Brackett that always sems to have some sort of wild, crazy, and over the top photo idea.  Chris is the host of a new show on TV called Arrow Addiction.  I couldn’t try to explain it if I tried.  Watch it and you’ll see what I mean.  The shot above is one from his place that we did just for kicks.  See what you think.

Currently were still putting out work for Prois Hunting which with the approaching show season has become a big priority.  There are plenty of great ideas for this company but a limited number of great fall days to shoot.

The photos below are from a shoot for a company called Game Plan Gear that makes some really cool stuff, to say the least.  One of their products is the Spot and Stalk Pack that you have probably seen Michael Waddell wearing on several of his shows.  this is some great, well thought out gear.

This weekend I’m hoping to make it to our farm in Kentucky for the opening of rifle season there.  We’ve seen several good deer using the property.  the following weekend is the opening of firearms season in both Indiana, and Michigan.  As it’s planned, opening day will find me in Michigan, if all goes right.  For whatever that’s worth.  I got drawn for a couple of reduction hunts here at home, late this month and early next month.  I also have my invite to the Knight Rifles Invitational Hunt in Iowa in early December.  I didn’t draw a tag for Iowa, but I they have found me a spot just over the border in Missouri where it’s OTC tags.

I’ve started putting together a list of images that could be used for my presentations at both the ATA show in Indianapolis and the SHOT show in Orlando, on back to back weekends in January.  I’m really happy with the work I’ve done this year and the way things have gone in general.  It could be a great next year!

And one other thing.  I’ll be leading an outdoor photography seminar at the Sawbriar Hunting Lodge in north central Tennessee soemtime in February.  this should be a very good time!  If yoou need more info, just get a hold of me and I’ll put you in touch with the right people.

Got away recently for the early muzzle loader season at our farm in Kentucky.  It sure is a beautful place in the Fall.  Although the deer didn’t cooperate for me, I did enjoy the break and managed to shoot a few photos as well.  Some for the outfitting business, some just for the heck of it.

The shot above is an early attempt for a promo shot for Straight Creek Outfitters.  It’s a good start, but I think it needs a bit more work.  I like the lighting and the “feel” of the shot, but it just has to be tweaked a bit somehow.

We placed a trail camera on one of the feeders at the farm and were quite pleased to see a couple of really nice deer making an appearance there.  Unfortunately they showed up at 2am rather than during shooting hours.  I guess that’s why they’ve lived to the size they are. 

My ever faithful hunting partner John made the trip with me and agreed, like he had a choice, to pose for a few other shots.  The one below is one of those.  I sort of like it.

  The cabin there may look familiar as it was the same one used for some shots back in the spring for another client.  This particular has a lot of photographic appeal for me.  Maybe it’s just the rustic appearance of it, I don’t know.  One other shot I wanted to share here was one that popped up in the middle of a blank thought process.  See what you think and maybe leave a comment regarding it.  It was shot on the same porch with a bit different lighting set-up. 

I just returned from a brief trip to the northern portion of Michigan, near Gaylord.  Had a chance to shoot some of the great fall colors up there along with some elk.  The shot above was taken in the Pigeon River State Park on one of the many lakes.  Although the area was at only about 20% of it’s full color, it was still very, very beautiful.  A huge thanks to Paul at the Gaylord Convention and Visitors Bureau for the chance to come up there.

In addition to the fall colors, we had aa chance to shoot some of the elk in the area.  The aerea has a large population of elk that roam the hils.  They also have a 160 acre park in towwn that has a good size herd.  We attempted to shoot the wild variety but time constraints didn’t allow us more than a single evening.  Apparently the elk were unimpressed with our tight schedule and failed to appear where we would have liked them.  However, we did manage to get several decent images of the captive herd, one of which is below.

With hunting season here, and some new work in the very new future, later today actually, things will once again get busy.  I’m looking forward to a great fall, some terrific time in the stand in a few states, and the chance to work with some outstanding clients as they prepare for their fall seasons.

I‘m currently on my way home from an AGLOW conference that took place in Baudette, MN.  You could probably skip a rock to the Canadian side of the river.  The image immediately below is one of my favorites that I shot while there.  It was taken from the shore of Lake of the Woods, one evening.  I had hoped to get a shot that emphasized the full moon a bit more but the clouds weren’t going to allow it.  It was about a 15 second exposure at around f22.

Got to meet up with several old friends and meet quite a few new ones while there.  I’m really looking forward to being able to provide work to a couple of the contacts I made there.  The shots further below are another couple I made during a dog training demonstration.  I sure do love shooting dogs, especially ones that were as well trained as this one.

I have a ton of work that is awaiting me when I get home tomorrow night, which is really, really, a good thing.  I’m hoping to be able to dive in first thing Sunday or Monday.  Some of the work includes submissions to a couple of magazines and web sites and several days of shooting turkey hunting, deer hunting, and waterfowl hunting.  It’s going to be a busy few weeks.  Goose season in Indiana opened on Sept. 1st.  Urban deer on Sept. 15th, and Kentucky deer season on Sept. 1st.  I have yet to make it out for any of them.  Probably the first time I’ve meiised an opener in 10 years I’ll  bet.  There’s still a chance to make either the Michigan or Indiana regular deer season opener on Oct. 1st.

I have an opportunity to head to northern Michigan early in October to shoot some pix of their elk herd near Gaylord, MI.  It’s going to be tough to pass up this chance, for sure.

For some time now I have been putting off shooting some photos for a client, waiting for the perfect weather, nasty weather that is.  Well it took me a while to figure out that if I wanted to shoot this a particular way, I’d have to create my own weather.  Not that what we got was the “perfect homemade storm”, but it was a great learning experience.  One consideration for this was the amount of water needed to make rain.  As I came to discover, it’s not necessarily the quantity, but rather the quality.  I had all the volume I needed, and all the pressure, what I didn’t have was rain drops, mostly just a mist.  A mist that had no problem soaking everything over time instead of just the model.  That included cameras, light stands, flash heads, etc.  Live and learn.  What we were able to do on the spot to get a better raindrop was to place the head way above the model and let it blow down through the various leaves and branches, and then drip down from there.  It did work, but I think we can do much better.  You’ll see.

I took on a job as editor for a tab insert for a large newspaper publishing company.  The writers I’ve taken on are great!  We were on a super tight deadline and it looks like we will actally be ahead of schedule.  That should be finished up by the end of this week, just in time for me to head to northern MN for the AGLOW conference.  This will be my first time with this organization.  I know several of the members already and it should be a good trip. 

Although I have not made it out yet, hunting season is here!  Goose and dove opened here in Indana, deer in Kentucky this past weekend, and mor deer in IN soon.  Maybe one afternoon I’ll get out to the goose pond and knock down a couple.  The last time I did that,I got some great shots of the geese dropping in to land with the camera, and a pair of birds from the same group fell to my shotgun.  It would be nice to do that again, huh?

Wow!  It’s hard to believe it has been so long since I’ve had a chance to put in a new post.  To say I have been busy is an understatement.  In the last month I guess I have been to Sioux Falls, SD, Nashville, TN, twice, Northern Illinois, and worked on any number of projects here at home.  The shot featured here is from one of the recent trips to Nashville.  Another, make it look like fall, in August this time.  In reality, the temp this particular day hovered at a haydes like 103.  I was in shorts and T shirt, while the model was outfitted in the latest cold weather gear.  I knew there was a reason I stay behind the camera.  To his credit, Tony never once complained about the heat.  You’re  better man than I am.

I recently took on a  new project that will test my organizational skills, at the very least.  I was asked by a publishing company to produce  a 16 page tab insert for their chain of newspapers across the country.  Shouldn’t really be a problem, after all, I have about two weeks to get the writers, story budget, cover, etc.  What was I thinking!  LOL  Actually I’m really looking forward to the challenge.  I think it will become the best outdoor piece they have ever produced. 

September will be another busy month with  a trip to northen Minnesota for another conference, the opening of goose and urban deer seasons on Indiana, which I have never missed at least one opening day, and the opening of deer in Kentucky on the 6th of September.

Currently I’m juggling about six different clients with six different products, plus trying to shoot some stock images for magazine submissions.  Time has become a very valuable commodity lately, but I got to tell you, I’m loving it!  It’s like living a dream.  The real beauty of it is that my destiny is finally in my own hands.  Sort of like renting vs purchasing a house.  All your work and effort goes directly to you.   Despite the long hours and road trips, I can only wish I had done this sooner.  Hopefully it won’t take me quite so long to get in here again with an update, but if it does, It’s because I’m out doing what I enjoy most!