About the Artist
It seems clichéd to write that every artist has a muse, but perhaps it’s true. I’ve been a dedicated photographer since the age of 16, back when high schools still promoted the arts. The tangibility, the process, the chemistry, and the vision of the developing print made such an impact on me that I’ve smelled like fixer ever since.
I first stepped into the McCloud River in 1998 as a photography student from San Jose State University. At that moment, when her waters surrounded me, my life changed course. Through many visits to the McCloud I started to see anecdotes of life in her majestic scenery, and I began to think this place was trying to teach me something. With my camera I listened to her wisdom, a wonderful mentorship that continues to this day.
I was born a fisherman, and the McCloud is a Mecca for fly fishing. I was spending so much time on the river that I soon learned some of her secrets and where the monsters lie. The day that someone paid me to share that information, I slipped and fell into a career as a flyfishing guide. Wild Waters Fly Fishing Guide Service was formed soon after, and I finally had an excuse to spend the majority of my time on the McCloud and my days off in the darkroom.
I was, am, and will remain infatuated with this place. I fish because of the visuals I see while fishing and I photograph them to understand what it all means. Some of my work has been collected in the book The McCloud River, published in 2012 by Modernbook Gallery of San Francisco (for more information, visit http://www.modernbook.com/).
John Rickard
