STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTOS BY JOHN BOYDSTON

John Boydston is a late bloomer when it comes to photography, becoming serious about it in retirement.

And he loves shooting in the Sun Valley area as he believes it offers the opportunity for shots that are unique to this area. John is sharing some of his favorite shots taken over the past year as his Christmas gift to Eye on Sun Valley readers.

This rainbow trout was chasing mayflies in Silver Creek south of Bellevue.

Boydston takes a wide variety of subjects. He, for instance, captured a shot of The Liberty Theater’s modern throwback deco and neon beauty at night, shooting it with a long exposure on a tripod waiting for a passing car to bring the light.

“The Wood River Valley is blessed by the presence of The Liberty Theater,” he said. “Built in the early 1900s and recently saved from demolition, it has been fully restored inside. Now, it offers live music, plays, musicals, comedy movies--you gotta go or you’re missing out on the fun.”

Like many photographers, Boydston spends a lot of time fantasizing that something wild will show up one day it did in the form of a great-horned owl that grabbed a perch right outside his upstairs window.

“I happened to have the camera at the ready and the owl gifted me with a photo. I’m not sure if this owl could see me through the glass fumbling for the best settings, but it stuck a little while so maybe not,” he said.

John Boydston made a special point of capturing neon lights of The Liberty Theater, which has experienced a resurgence after Wood River Valley residents thought they might lose it.

While the owl fell into his lap, he has also worked to get some of his shots. That was the case with a trout with its mouth open.

“I spent a good deal of time at Silver Creek this summer—not fly-fishing, but watching trout and endeavoring a payoff shot while standing on the Kilpatrick Bridge,” he said. “It’s not a high-percentage situation--at least not for me--but sometimes you get one.  With the clear water, the current moving the grasses and bending the light, every single shot is unique to that moment.   I managed to photograph a rainbow trout, and my guide buddy Brett W. Informs me that’s a mayfly right there near its mouth.”

Chuckle. Like all of us, the trout was probably not happy that Boydston caught it with its mouth open. But it made for a compelling picture!

You might call this great-horned owl a peeping Tom, given it was looking through John Boydston’s window.

John Boydston shot the Days of the Old West Rodeo in Hailey for the first time this past Fourth of July, catching a cowboy who beat the buzzer on this ride.