Joe Ahlquist|Photographer: birds

Today I found myself out pheasant hunting with a family who gets together every year for the opening of pheasant hunting season here in South Dakota.

I love these kinds of assignments because there is usually so much going on that my subjects immediately forget that I'm there, and I can just fade into the background and be as unobtrusive as I want to be.

As someone who enjoys hunting, fishing and just being outside, I thoroughly enjoyed this assignment.

Although the pheasant numbers are down, the hunters we were with managed to knock down a few birds, but more importantly, they had a good time. Most of the people we were with were stressing the fact that they enjoyed being out there more than actually shooting the birds.

Which, for me, is what I have always enjoyed most about hunting and fishing. It's always been more about the experience in the woods, on the water or in the field with family than it is about getting whatever it is we're after.

That said, I'll stop writing and show you some pictures.

Here are a few of my favorite frames from the day. More photos can be seen here.

©Joe Ahlquist/Argus Leader

I haven't had a post on here in a little while. Here are a few frames from the last couple months that I like.

Enjoy.

All images ©Joe Ahlquist, ©Joe Ahlquist/Winona Daily News

Bicycles hang on a wall at Adventure Cycle and Ski in downtown Winona.

Jim Trouten scrapes wax from a downhill ski Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, at Adventure Cycle and Ski in downtown Winona.

The view from the deck outside my parents home near Bemidji, Minn.

Birds sit on a power line in downtown Winona.

A firefighter with the Lewiston Fire Department works to put out a vehicle that had caught fire Friday, March 1, 2013, on I-90. The vehicle was travelling eastbound on Interstate I-90 and caught fire shortly after 12 p.m. Friday. Driver Brendan Trocinski of Austin, Minn. was driving with his wife Rachel, six-year-old daughter, and sons ages five and nine when he looked in the rearview mirror and noticed smoke. No one was injured, and the fire was extinguished by 12:30 p.m. The Lewiston Fire Department, Winona County Sheriff's department and Minnesota State Patrol assisted at the scene.

A firefighter with the Lewiston Fire Department walks through smoke while working to put out a vehicle that had caught fire Friday, March 1, 2013, on Interstate I-90 near Winona. No one was injured in the fire.

Bemidji State's Jason Edwards (10) reacts after the Beavers scored during a NSIC Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game against Winona State Saturday, March 2, 2013, in McCown Gymnasium in Winona. The Beavers went on to win 74-72.

Bemidji State's Maxie Rosenbloom (4) reacts to a call during a NSIC Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game against Winona State Saturday, March 2, 2013, in McCown Gymnasium in Winona.

Charlie Parr performs for the release of his album "Barnswallow" with Mikkel Beckman (not pictured) and Dave Hundreiser (also not pictured) Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at the Winona Arts Center, where he recorded the album. Parr performs in Winona regularly and has participated in the annual Boats and Bluegrass Festival and Mid West Music Fest.

Kirk Bailey, left, of Winona, Minn., talks with Bill Bly, of Rolling Stone, Minn., while helping him get his bait Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, at the West End Bait Shop in Winona, Minn. Bly has been a patron of the shop for about 40 years, he said.

Kirk Bailey talks on the phone during his shift at the West End Bait Shop in Winona.

Ashley Eide’s breath is visible in the candlelight Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, during a candlelight vigil in memory of 23-year-old Neala Frye, who died Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, at Body and Sol Yoga, Massage and Tan in Onalaska, Wis. Frye’s body was found Sunday night in a ditch in Onalaska, Wis.

Josh Zibrowski writes a note that reads, “I’ll get some turkey legs for you,” referencing an inside joke he shared with Neala Frye during a candlelight vigil in her honor.

Candles surround a chalkboard with notes written on it during a candlelight vigil in honor of Neala Frye.

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