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Shore Shooter London bridges the gap between fishing and photography.
STORY BY P.J. PEREA "You can describe what I do as a revolutionary way to look at fishing or the biggest waste of time in the history of photography," said Bob London about his hobby that combines shoreline fishing with photography.
London, a former pit trader with the Chicago Board of Trade, cashed in his chips in 1994 and made a decision that changed his life. At the time, the market was in a prosperous upsurge, and the economy was in great shape. It was a good opportunity to hop out of the rat race.
London explained his life-altering moment this way, "At the age of 40, I looked around and realized I didn't belong on the trading floor anymore."
So he exchanged his fast-paced, high-stress career for a fishing rod and a camera. London left the trading to an occasional mouse click on his computer and immersed himself into his side interests— fishing and photography.
"I was watching this fishing video and saw other guys catching fish. I figured I could do better, so I decided to get into photography and parlay the experience into video. The only problem was I got stuck in the photography," recalled London. The photography really took off when London's wife, Sherry, gave him a camera as a birthday gift. During a fishing trip to the Florida Keys, London took a picture of a barracuda in the water while it was on the hook and line.
"I was mesmerized by the photo," London said. Upon returning to Chicago, he doggedly pursued every fishing venue trying to improve upon what he had just accomplished.
If he were to show you this picture, you'd realize it's not the best fish photo by many standards. You can barely tell that the fish is even a barracuda. But every angler understands the moment of capture. It's a time of both exhilaration and uncertainty, right when you first glimpse the fish that you've hooked. You can clearly identify the fish at the end of your line. Your excitement level is at a maximum, and adrenaline is coursing throughout your body. Your heart is in overdrive, and you can feel the pressure in your ears and temples. It's that moment when a giant cat
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fish swishes its tail and disappears back into the depths, leaving you only an instant to catch your breath before you continue the struggle. Or it's the split-second before that trophy bass leaps in the air and throws the hook or breaks the line. Or it's right before that monstrous pike exhausts its last drop of energy after a mighty fight, and you happily net your hard-won prize. Every angler knows the moment, but not everyone remembers it accurately, judging by all the imaginative tales that anglers are known to spin. London, on the other hand, captures the truth in this moment and preserves it on film.
London, does have a few rules when it comes to his fishing experience. He fishes strictly from the shoreline; waders are okay, but no boats. He doesn't use any electronic fishing devices or use the services of fishing guides. London feels that this cheapens the experience. Everything he needs to figure out the fishing spot comes from reading the water and personal experience. He describes his fishing as an almost Amish mentality, a step back in time of sorts, free of the electronic and technological gadgetry that has seemingly robbed today's anglers of a true fishing experience.
Even his fishing methods are unconventional. While many anglers will crowd the tackle store looking for that one special bait or lure, you are more likely to run into London perusing the supermarket aisles and ethnic food stores searching for bait.
"It's embarrassing at times," said London "You'd be surprised at how many species of fish will take a Hillshire Farms Smoky Link or even a hotdog. Asian stores are also great. You can find things like smelt, herring and all sorts of potential bait for pike." He even developed his own custom fishing rig known only as "Presentation X" to catch some of his more elusive fish. During the late 1990s, he spent much of his time fishing the waters of Lake Michigan, forest preserve lakes, subdivision ponds, and the backwaters and rivers in the Chicagolarid area "and collar counties.
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A male crappie displays his spawning pattern (left). London shows some of the devices that protect his camera from the elements (right). London describes this period as a great time for the fishery. Stricter water quality standards of the '70s and '80s brought about the recovery of many river fisheries, particularly in the Des Plaines and Fox rivers. Rapid suburban growth and development during the 1980s, especially in the collar counties, meant lots of subdivision ponds, park lagoons and lakes were renovated and created for flood control and recreational purposes. "Fishing was just phenomenal for a time," said London. Unfortunately, with anything good there comes a downside. "It seemed like whenever I found a nice place to fish the public would find it and wipe it out," he said, "I developed a deep affection for many of my spots. And I felt the need to collect a historical glimpse of the fishery before it disappeared."
London described numerous spots where 3-foot pike, 10-inch bluegills, 3-pound bass and foot-long crappie made brief appearances before anglers gutted the fish population. After many frustrating outings, London slowly developed an intense dislike of slob fishermen, especially those with no regard for the fishery.
"I'm not as tolerant of the public when I'm fishing," said London, "I like places to myself."
Although it's strange, London admits that the more intense and angry he felt during the photo shoots, the clearer the images became.
"Here I am, this fishing fanatic, and I wanted to do something artsy" London said. So he decided to put some of his pictures on display for the public.
"I received a lot of heat from some artists. They disliked my subject matter and called my work a bunch of dead fish," he said. Others, though, weren't as harsh, and some even liked his photos.
Not deterred by the criticism, London found more favorable comments from the angling public, many of whom recognized the artistic slice in time that London had captured. He emphasized that he made every effort to protect the fish and did not spend any unnecessary time leaving the fish hooked in order to get a shot. All but one of the thousands of fish he photographed were caught and quickly released. He made one exception when he gave a trout to a fellow angler to eat as a token of appreciation for holding a spot for him at one of his favorite fishing areas.
London lamented about the trout, "If I had known how well the pictures were going to turn out, I would have let it go."
Earlier this year, London opened his gallery to a world-wide audience when he created The Shore Fisherman's Corner website. He recently added a saltwater fishing section to the site, featuring photos from the Florida Keys.
In his early days as a fishing photographer, London figured that he was about 90 percent fisherman and 10 percent photographer. Now, he sees himself as a photographer that happens to fish—more like 80 percent photographer and 20 percent fisherman.
"I like to think of myself as an outdoor artist," he said, "but I'm continually evolving."
His newer interests are in the rapidly developing world of digital photography. And he's even dabbled with some of the latest computer programs to learn digital imaging.
For anglers convinced that there aren't any good places to fish in the Chicagoland area, here's one angler who can not only tell a few tales, but show you proof that his stories are true. If you'd like to judge his work yourself, visit his art exhibition entitled: "To, Fro, and at the Fishing Hole: Photography and Text by Bob London," at the Lake County Museum in Wauconda. His exhibit runs until the end of May. 8 OutdoorIllinois |
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