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Montana Photography Workshops

October 20, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Montana Photography Workshop

Back from teaching my Seeley Lake Workshop in Montana, no cell or wifi for a few days, kind of nice! Had a fantastic time with a wonderful group. Things are spectacular in northwestern Montana right now, fall colors, snow-capped peaks, and some amazing aspens, such as this one.

Canon 1DX, 70-200mm 2.8L IS mkII, f5.6 1/45 ISO100

Fall Colors

October 16, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Montana Fall Colors

Fall colors in my backyard this morning.

Canon 1DX, 100mm 2.8L macro IS, f27 6.0sec ISO100

Fly Fishing the Missouri River

October 14, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Missouri River Fishing
Probably one of the most beautiful fall days I’ve spent floating on the Missouri River in Montana. Cold morning with frost on our boots, amazing brilliant orange cottonwoods lining the banks and hundreds of migrating sandhill cranes in the distance. Could not have imagined a better morning to be out here on the river.

Canon 5d MarkIII, 16-35mm 2.8L mkII, f16 1/180 ISO1600 +1.5

Fall Aspens

October 10, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Fall photography montana
Fall colors are going strong in Montana right now. Photographed this aspen stand not too far from home last night just after sunset.

Canon 1DX, 70-200mm 2.8L IS mkII, F11 0.3 sec ISO100

Montana Fall Photography & The Government Shutdown

October 8, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Government Shutdown National Parks

Being hopeful that the Government Shutdown ends any day now, I thought I would provide some helpful alternative photo locations for those who have been shut out and stranded on their Yellowstone & Glacier National Parks vacations. And to all the locals who had plans to visit as well. October in Montana is probably one of the best (IMO) times to visit both Yellowstone & Glacier, but this year so far we are out of luck.

Here are some top fall locations to consider:

Northwest Montana:

Fall Photography Montana

The Yaak & Ross Creek Cedars

Located in extreme northwest Montana, this area is not only phenomenal in fall, but has some of the most unique and remote forested country in Montana. Check out Ross Creek Cedars for amazing photography in the old growth cedar groves and nearby lakes & rivers for some scenic landscapes. Up north in the Yaak, awesome colors and views are to be found. Best route here is to take Hwy 2 west from Kalispell. You can take Hwy 56 south off of Hwy 2 to Ross Creek Cedars or continue on past the town of Troy and then head north into the Yaak. Either way, it’s some sweet country.

Rainy Lake
Seeley Swan Valley

Head south from Kalispell on Hwy 83 into Montana’s Seeley-Swan Valley. Golden Larch or Tamaracks as the locals call them line the valley and many different lakes give way to some of the best fall photography in the area.  Stop in the town of Seeley Lake for a great hike to a local waterfall nearby or checkout the handful of lakes down the road for some amazing fall photo ops.

 

Southwest Montana:

Montana Fall Photography

Big Hole River

You can’t go wrong here, the Big Hole is just plain awesome in the fall. Fantastic colors line the banks and there’s a ton of wildlife out this time of year. Take I-15 to Hwy 43. The Big Hole River follows Hwy 43 through the towns of Wise River and Wisdom. You can finish up at the the Big Hole Battlefield just a few minutes out of Wisdom for a popular historic destination.

Montana Photography Paradise Valley

Paradise Valley

Just north of Yellowstone, the Paradise Valley offers awesome landscapes and wildlife, with spectacular views of the Absaroka  & Gallatin mountain ranges. Hang out south, just north of the the town of Gardiner for some excellent wildlife photography, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and elk. Just off I-90, Hwy 89 runs from Livingston to Gardiner, just on the border of the park.

Whether the shutdown ends tomorrow or continues on bleakly, these are still some of the best spots to visit outside the parks. Of course there are many other fantastic locations around the state, these are just a handful of my favorites nearby. Have fun out there!

Red-winged Blackbirds

October 7, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Montana Blackfoot Valley
Every October like clockwork, I somehow end up in the Blackfoot Valley located in western Montana just on the southern edge of the Scapegoat Wilderness.

I realized this yesterday as memories brought back all the early October days I’ve spent here photographing fall colors and the migrating wildlife.

This year like others, is just plain awesome. Colors are turning, nights are damn cold, and the wildlife has begun to ready for winter with some stopping over on their annual migration.

Thousands of Red-winged blackbirds are feeding in the fields right now readying for a return to warmer climates south, creating massive flocks that rise up out of the fields.

In between looking for grizzlies and photographing fall colors, I would stop and photograph them as they made their way around the valley. If you look real hard in the flocks you can also see a yellow-headed blackbird or two playing “Where’s Waldo” in the flock.

Canon 5D MarkIII, 500mm f4L IS, 1.4xtc, ISO 800 F11 1/500

Fall Colors Montana

October 4, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Fall Photography Montana
Fall has arrived in Montana. Where will you be heading this month?

This shot was taken on my way up the Seeley-Swan Valley a couple year’s back. The lone larch separated from shore was illuminated by late evening light being filtered through the clouds. With the passing clouds, I was patient and waited until just the right moment when they shaded the background and lit up the larch, providing a much more dramatic shot and isolating the tree.

Canon 5d MarkII, 70-200mm 2.8L, ISO100 f8 1/45

Fall Colors Montana

September 30, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Fall colors & aspens in Montana. Here I’ve used a 15mm fisheye lens to get just a little bit more into the scene and to exaggerate the distorted angle of looking up through the trees.

Canon 5D MarkII, 15mm 2.8 Fisheye, f16 ISO 100 1/250

Montana Aspens Photography

Glacier’s Lake McDonald

September 19, 2013 by Jason Savage 12 Comments

Glacier National Park, Lake McDonald

Here’s a favorite fall image of mine I took a few year’s back on the west side of Glacier National Park. This image usually gets a lot of questions regarding digital manipulation, so I thought I would share how it was created. This particular image was obviously shot with a very wide angle lens (16mm) and just after the sun had gone down on Lake McDonald. In order to achieve this unique look to the foreground, I simply used a polarizing filter to remove the reflection of the water off the rocks, enhancing their color and making them seem to pop out of the water. In addition I combined a split neutral density filter to balance out the brighter sky with the dark foreground. So nothing too complex, just the right conditions and a couple easy to use filters.

Canon 5D MKII, 16-35mm 2.8L, f16 ISO 100 1.0sec

Pro Fall Color Hot Spots

September 16, 2013 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Canoeing Montana Lake in Fall

Check out “Pro Fall Color Hot Spots” in this month’s issue of Outdoor Photographer to find out where this favorite fall Montana hot spot of mine is located.

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/how-to/shooting/pro-fall-color-hot-spots.html

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About

Based in Montana, Jason works as a freelance and commercial photographer, specializing in travel and outdoor photography.

His work has been featured in National Geographic Traveler, Time, Outside, Audubon, Outdoor Photographer,The Nature Conservancy and many others.
His images have also been featured in numerous advertising campaigns, books, and calendars around the world.

Contact

Jason Savage Photography
546 Fox Meadow Ln.
Hamilton, MT 59840
jason@jasonsavagephoto.com
406-202-0709

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