Chris, tell us about your background and how you first got into photography and cinemaphotography?
I was lucky -- my older brother David was really into photography while he was in High School (I was 7 at the time.) He built a darkroom in our basement and gave me a beat up old Nikon for my birthday. He really introduced me to photography, the process and the results. I learned about exposure, composition and printing as we would go on “hikes” around the woods near our house in Ohio.
You made films for the world-renowned ski and snowboard production company Warren Miller for decades, how did that experience shape you as a creator and film maker?
Yes, I worked on the Warren Miller Films for 30 years, bouncing all over the world filming skiing and snowboarding. For the first 20 years we shot the movies on film, it was very expensive and somewhat limited, I would usually take 4 to 6 thousand feet of film (about 3 hour) on a trip. So this required having a plan, discipline, and patience. Those were the best lessons that I learned, it’s so important to have a plan and not just go out filming everything in sight hoping to come back with a story. This keeps me very efficient with my filming today, I’m always editing in my head as we travel along filming.
Over the years, you've been all over the world shooting outdoor films, where were some of your most notable destinations?
I would say that as for the snowy destination… Nepal was a great adventure, we went to film heliboarding in the Annapurna area, it was spectacular to be amongst the highest mountains in the world. When it comes to fishing adventures, the recent Bhutan trip was out of this world, it felt like a land before time, so beautiful, both the landscape and the people of Bhutan. I’ve must also mention our Confluence Films trip to Tanzania for the movie “Connect,” that was also out of this world. Truly an adventure that I had always dreamed of experiencing.
You partnered with Yellow Dog Founder Jim Klug for the creation of Confluence Films, creating five total films over the years. What were those early days like and what sort of challengers did those early days bring?
The early days (the first two movies Drift and Rise) were shot on film, which was a technically challenge, particularly underwater. My underwater cameras didn’t have viewfinders, so I would just hope that I had the fish framed up and the exposure correct. Then two weeks later I would watch the processed film and either be thrilled with the results or heartbroken that I screwed it up. I will say that most often we were blown away and so excited with what we were watching.
It was such a fun series of films to make, I really wanted to be involved in every step of the production, film it, edit it and release it in theaters. Jim and I had a great partnership making those films. He would handle all the travel logistics, sponsor partnerships and the writing of the narration, then he’d plan the film tour.
I would plan the filming, edit it, select music and wrap it all up ready for release. It was a really cool creative opportunity, at that time there were no other film tours and very few filmmakers in the fly fishing space.
Your setup has changed a lot over the years with the introduction of so much advanced equipment. What is your preferred setup for filming fly fishing content these days?
In the spring of 2023, when Jim brought me on at Yellow Dog, I went way out on a limb and kinda reinvented my approach. It was a bit of a gamble, I needed to have a small but wildly creative kit for remote travel. So I went with a couple Canon DSLR cameras, the R8’s, a very simple small and light weight lens kit with a 16mm, 50mm and a 70-200mm zoom. I bought a totally consumer-rated stabilizer gimbal, put it on a 7 foot carbon monopod that I’ve had for 20 years and went super mobile. It was the best thing that I could have done, I had a new flowing style of filming, unencumbered by all the big expensive, and heavy digital camera’s I had used over the past decade. I adapted my underwater housing and I was so thrilled to be back in the water, I love that kind of filming. So far all the gear has held up super well and I’ve really put it to the test in Bolivia, Greenland, Bhutan, Belize and a few weeks in Chile. I love how free I can be with the camera now. I also bring along a drone, that was obviously not an option in the early days of our Confluence Films.
You have created five Field Reports to date — Greenland, Bolivia, Chile, Bhutan, and Belize — do you anticipate a busy 2025?
Yes, 2025 looks great on paper, several salt water destinations, so lots of cool underwater filming, you know how much I love that.
This is such an amazing opportunity to make the “Field Reports” for Yellow Dog, I love the format that we’ve established, it’s so fun to share these amazing places with the viewers and help them be informed about the trips as well as hopefully inspire their next fishing endeavors. I’m grateful for the chance to work alongside passionate anglers (the YD Program Directors) while on location, I learn a lot and enjoy the collaboration.
One piece of gear you never leave home without?
Well, it’s actually a couple of pieces of gear that I won’t leave home without. I have two Patagonia duffle bags that I’ve been dragging around the world for the last 25 years, they are the OG blackhole bags, super simple and light weight, yet durable and unassuming. They join me on every trip, one for my clothing, swim fins, mask/snorkel and tripod and one for the rest of my camera gear (underwater housing, sound equipment, simple lighting equipment and the gimbal (aka The Chris Crane).
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