It's all about the light.....

• When you need to go and photograph long distance fly casting like Nick Hart and I did yesterday, it doesn't half help to have some decent light for it. We lucked out big time. The forecast was for a bright start to the day, but that it would rapidly cloud over and possibly rain. Guess how correct this forecast was ? Hint - look at the big blue skies in the photos here. I am sure that forecasts are actually getting worse, or is that possible ?

• All that light bouncing around lets me do so much with the photos, and with Nick bending the hell out of these fly rods, it's brilliant to be able to put him against the sky and let rip on the motordrive at ten frames per second. You need this kind of camera speed when a proper caster like Nick is double-hauling and ripping the rod and line through at near-warp speed.

• We were shooting this casting feature for Trout Fisherman magazine up at the stunning Clatworthy reservoir - it looked spectacular yesterday, and there were plenty of people out trout fishing. There can be no more perfect escape from all this economic doom and gloom than going fishing. Too many people are all doom and gloom when it comes to fishing - by no means is anything easy at the moment, but a positive outlook goes a hell of a long way for starters.

• Anybody who saw the two of us doing our stuff at Clatworthy must have thought we were mad - there's Nick going through cast after cast, with me either kneeling down in the water in front or to the side of him and stuffing a wide-angle lens in his face, or otherwise I'm perched somewhat precariously on top of a small step ladder out in the water, trying for a different angle on the pictures. I know that Nick would never collapse laughing if I had fallen off the ladder into the lovely cold water !! And then the one time I turn around to have a pee without checking, a couple of walkers come right down the path in front of me. What can you do but say "Afternoon, lovely day isn't it ?", and hope you haven't ruined their walk !! Nice thought.

• We basically walked the whole way around the reservoir yesterday - me with my camera gear, Gitzo tripod and stepladder, and Nick with all the tackle needed to shoot a casting feature. What I hate though is that there all these signs up saying "No dogs", when yesterday would have been such a great day out for my sheepdog Jess. What harm can there possibly be when a well behaved dog wanders around the reservoir with her owner ? The world's going mad......