So, a few days ago I became aware of a gentleman by the name of Flip Pallot who passed away on August 26 at the age of 82. He was extremely well known in the salt water, and probably fresh water as well, fishing world. The outpouring of tributes on social media to Mr. Pallot, who was especially well known to fly fishers, has been, well, overwhelming. Flip was a Florida fishing guide and eventually hosted a fishing show called Walker’s Cay Chronicles on ESPN from 1992-2006. He is credited with introducing millions of people to saltwater fishing, his specialty, perhaps, being fly fishing on salt water.
My years of fishing were mostly surf fishing in Ocean City (MD) and Assateague as a kid but continuing for a few years into my 20s. My dad loved to saltwater fish, both in the surf and offshore, but once I was out on my own, I didn’t keep fishing. The thing that has grabbed my attention about Flip Pallot is that, as I have learned from article about him as well as video interviews, that his calling was every bit about being outdoors in nature and having a strong conservation of nature ethic. Therein lies my feeling of connection with him. He started guiding fishing parties in Florida in the early 1980s so he could be out on the water, in the sun and in nature all day every day. From what I have seen and heard of his quotes and voice, being out in nature was both good for him but also instilled in him a deep love for and commitment to nature and its preservation. My preservationist leaning mindset started in Hampshire College in MA in the 1970s and continued through a career involved with shore protection in DE. A sidecar to that career in natural resources protection was my love for photography in nature. I have been retired from DNREC now for over 7 years and time and opportunities to photograph subjects in nature world have increased significantly. Being outside for photography does for me what dishing did for Flip Pallot (I am decidedly not holding myself up here as a comparison to someone as accomplished as him but merely observing a similarity in passion for nature and its protection. And how he got there on different paths).
I am not exclusively a single subject in nature photographer. I like shooting anything and everything that I find attractive, interesting, educational, or unusual. In nature I like shooting landscapes, weather, wildlife and macros. I also enjoy photographing cityscapes, buildings, pets and people. I consider myself to be a generalist photographer who probably shoots nature subjects 80% of the time. Reading about Flip Pallot’s life well lived is inspiring. I woke to my alarm clock at 5:15 this morning to get out before daybreak light lit up the sky. Sunrise turned out to be very uninspiring, so I pivoted and set up my macro rig and struck out for tiny world. I got a few keepers today, the first of which is seen here: a bumble bee hovering with a pollen beard. I send credit to a man I never met or even knew of until after he had passed away. I was inspired to get back out there once again and let being out in nature with my passion allow the thoughts and angsts of everyday life drift away for a while. He loved that about his time outdoors fishing and that is precisely the same lift I get when out photographing. Thank you, Flip Pallot, for inspiring yet another person, even after you are gone.
