Nature Photography Workshops Tours
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 in my backyard this morning.
Canon 1DX, 100mm 2.8L macro IS, f27 6.0sec ISO100
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 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
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:
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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 & 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
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
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