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Back from Glacier National Park

July 17, 2019 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Glacier National Park
Wild Goose Island, Glacier National Park. Sony A7rIII 24-70mm 2.8 f11 .03″ ISO100

Just returned from another epic trip in Glacier National Park! We had a great workshop with a fantastic group of travelers. I think someone had the good sunrise mojo because we had wonderful clouds and amazing color every single morning of the trip. Two of these we had no wind which allowed for some perfect landscapes. It’s not everyday we have these conditions come together, but when they do it’s magical! 

We had great wildlife viewing as well and saw around 7 or 8 grizzlies and a black bear with cubs, along with the usually Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, and some smaller critters. A wonderful trip and sorry to have to go. This workshop also marks my one year anniversary shooting Sony and I’ve been nothing but impressed with how this system is performing, still absolutely no regrets on making the switch last year from Canon. 

I’m really looking forward to getting back up to the park and will be conducting my fall workshop in late September. Here are a few shots from last week.

Mount Wilbur, Glacier N.P. Sony a9 100-400mm f5.6 1/60 ISO800

Horses Montana
Many Glacier, Glacier N.P. Sony a7rIII 16-35mm f11 1/1000 ISO3200

Mountain Montana
Swiftcurrent Lake, Glacier N.P. Sony a7rIII 12-24mm f16. 1.6″ ISO100

Fall Workshops

October 31, 2017 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Now that fall is on its way out and things in the photo world are giving me a slight break, I thought I would share a few images from our fall workshops this year. 

September and October had me up in Glacier National Park, Seeley Swan Valley and my own backyard of the Bitterroot Valley in western Montana chasing fall colors and leading workshops. In mid September the smoke finally cleared from the fires that we were having out west and ushered in snow for the mountains and gorgeous colors throughout Montana. 

Enjoy!

 

Montana Photography Workshop
Swiftcurrent Lake. Canon 5DMKIV 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II f11 1/500 ISO1600

Glacier National Park
North Fork. Canon 5DMKIV 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II f11 1/20 ISO100

Montana Fall Photography
Bitterroot Valley. Canon 5DMKIV 16-35mm f4L IS f16 1/6 ISO100

Montana Fall Photography Workshop
Kootenai Creek. Canon 5D MKIV 16-35mm f4L IS f16 1.5″ ISO100

Fall colors photo workshop
Daly Mansion. Canon 5Dsr 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II f16 0.5″ ISO100

Back from Glacier National Park

August 15, 2017 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Two Medicine
Sinopah Mountain. Canon 5D MarkIV 24-105mm f4L IS II f16 0.7 ISO100

I thought I would share a few images from this year’s Glacier National Park Workshop in Montana now that I’m back getting some images edited from my spring and summer trips. As per usual Glacier did not disappoint and as per usual I was reluctant leave:( 

Fortunately I will be returning soon to conduct my fall workshop and in the meantime here are a few images of our wanderings this go around. 

Glacier National Park
Mountain Goat. Canon 5D MarkIV 16-35mm f4L IS f11 1/350 ISO1600, fill flash

Waterfall
St Mary Falls. Canon 5D MarkIV 24-105mm f4L IS II f16 0.5″ ISO50

Glacier National Park
Swiftcurrent Lake. Canon 5D MarkIV 11-24mm f4L f16 1/4 ISO100

National Parks
Canon 5D MarkIV 24-105mm f4L IS II f11 1/10 ISO100

Two Medicine
Sinopah Mountain. Canon 5D MarkIV 24-105mm f4L IS II f19 4″ ISO50

Montana Photography Destinations

February 13, 2017 by Jason Savage 1 Comment

Montana Photo Workshop

Planning a photography trip to Montana and wondering where to spend your time? Here are few of my favorite locations throughout the state that I revisit year after year for amazing landscapes, wildlife, and to experience the diversity of Big Sky Country. 

Montana is our fourth largest state in the US but it feels much bigger partly due to its large open spaces and much like Alaksa it’s one of the least populated states, topping just over a million people for the entire state. Definitely more cows than people here, in fact more than double.

What really makes Montana stand out even more than its big wide open spaces is its diversity. Spend your time in the northwest and you’ll find expansive wilderness areas, millions of acres of national forest and mountains, big mountains. The Continental Divide cuts right through here creating an impressive backdrop from Glacier National Park down to the southern border of the Rocky Mountain Front. 

Venture east and you begin to head into the plains where rivers like the Missouri and Yellowstone snake their routes through the state joining in the northeast to continue their journey to the Mississippi. When you get out this way you get an understanding for what “Big Sky Country” means and you also get a sense of how small you are in the great wide open of eastern Montana. 

Below are just a few of my favorites places to explore that represent a good cross section of the state if you’re looking for some key locations during your travels. I have left out Yellowstone, because technically almost all of it’s in Wyoming (although many of us still secretly consider it a part of the state).

Two Medicine Lake
Two Medicine Lake. Canon 5D MkIII 16-35mm 2.8L II f16 3″ ISO100

Glacier National Park

If you can only visit one destination in Montana, Glacier National Park is the place to go.  I find my time spent here is usually some of the most productive of anywhere else and for good reason. You simply can’t beat the dramatic landscapes and abundant wildlife. The mountains rise up from the plains in the east and tower over you with sharp jagged ridges, glaciers, and sweeping vistas. The blue waters tinted with glacier silt of the many lakes reveal their multicolored rocks, like candy under the turquoise surface and wildflowers erupt in an epic display of color throughout the park.

There’s also only one road though Glacier and it’s probably the most jaw dropping 50 miles you may ever experience. Literally blasted out of the cliffs, hugging the mountains with thousands of feet of empty space below, it joins the west and east side of the park climbing in the middle to the top of Logan Pass. Completed in 1933 after nearly three decades of construction it’s a real testament to the determination and ingenuity of the men who constructed it and put in place a scenic drive that seemed an impossibility.

Bringing your long lenses? Grizzly & black bear, moose, big horn sheep, mountain goats are just a few of the large mammals that call Glacier home. Head to the northeast for some of the highest concentration of grizzly bears in the lower 48 or head up high and hang out with mountain goats as you point your camera over sub alpine meadows dotted with wildflowers and stunning backdrops of some of the parks 10,000ft peaks. 

Best time to visit is July-Oct, the rest of the year main access to the interior of the park is closed due to snow.

Montana State Parks
Makoshika Sunrise. Canon 5D MKII 17-40mm f4 f11 1/30 ISO100

Makoshika State Park

Head east, far east in Montana, to the small town of Glendive nestled up against the North Dakota border where you will find Maksoshika State Park, a surreal landscape and one of our coolest State Parks (in my opinion) in Montana. Makoshika is relatively small, only about 11,000 acres, but it sits in an area that is unique geographically and gives a glimpse into our prehistoric past. The park is an ancient exposed seabed that has been shaped by wind and water over millions of years and gives you a sense as you’re hiking through that you’re wandering in some sort of martian-like landscape. 

Makoshika in Lakota translates to “Bad Land” or “Bad Earth”, which seems appropriate as it’s situated in the badlands that stretch between Montana and North Dakota connecting up in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is a short drive east from Makoshika. The badlands in this area can be beautiful in late spring as the rains come and green starts to dot the brown parched landscape. In early summer, awesome thunderstorms make their way through bringing lightning shows and dramatic weather that can make for some fantastic landscape photography.  

To get to Makoshika head to the town of Glendive just off of I-94. There is some camping inside the park and also lodging in town. Late spring through fall is the best time to visit, but be prepared in mid summer for hot temps and drier conditions. 

Montana Fall
Rainy Lake, Montana. Canon 5D 70-200m 2.8 f11 1/20 ISO100

Seeley-Swan Valley

Are you searching for the perfect fall location to explore in Montana? Wondering where the best time is spent for great colors and epic landscapes? When fall arrives there is one place I head every year and that’s the Seeley-Swan Valley located in western Montana, a short 45 min drive northeast of Missoula. 

The valley is bordered by two distinct mountain ranges, the Missions to the west and the Swan Range to the east. On the other side of the Missions lies Flathead Lake and the Mission Valley and to the east past the Swan Range lies the famous Bob Marshall Wilderness. What makes the Seeley-Swan Valley so special? 

One, it’s home to a chain of lakes that stretch from north to south, some large some small, providing great landscape opportunities, especially with fall reflections. Second the valley is thick with larch or “tamaracks” as the locals call them, the only deciduous conifer and one that turns a brilliant orange in the fall, one of the primary reasons for photographing the area. Third are the mountains. Both ranges provide great backdrops, especially when the snow comes to the high country, adding nicely fitting snow capped peaks into the scene. 

Not only are the views amazing, but you have some great wildlife opportunities with both grizzly & black bear, moose, elk, and other large mammals. Not to mention some birding opportunity as well with bald eagles, loons, waterfowl and other migrating birds.

The best time to visit if you’re coming for the larch, is mid-late October. 

Montana Photography
Sunset, Rocky Mountain Front. Canon 5D MKIII 15mm 2.8 f16 1/30 ISO100

Rocky Mountain Front

What can I say about the Rocky Mountain Front? Well if I had to sum it up in into one word, I think it would be “Wild”! That’s the sense I get every time I make a trip into this incredible wilderness area. The “Front” in Montana stretches from just south of Glacier to the town of Lincoln and the two main towns that border this area are Choteau and Augusta. The mountains here rise up dramatically from the plains towering over the foothills where ranchers graze their cattle and grizzly bears still wander onto the plains just as they did before these lands were settled. 

One of the main draws of the Front is the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Just beyond the front range lies one of the largest roadless wilderness areas in the lower 48. Home to the second largest migratory elk herd in the United State and also the largest band of Big Horn Sheep it encompasses some of the most important and protected lands we have here. For day hikes or multi-day trips you can explore endlessly here with jaw dropping views and wildlife just about everywhere you turn. 

In the late spring I like to visit the Front as huge blooms of wildflowers appear carpeting the foothills and making for some awesome foregrounds. Late May into early June can be the best time, especially when the rains arrive. As you explore here whether driving the backroads or hiking in, you rarely see many people, giving you a sense that you have this whole place to yourself. I liken it to Glacier without the crowds. 

Montana Bison
National Bison Range. Canon 1DX 500mm f4L IS II f4.5 1/8000 ISO800

The National Bison Range

The National Bison Range is located just north of Missoula next to the small town of St. Ignatius in the southern end of the Mission Valley. The Mission Mountains provide a spectacular backdrop all along the valley in the east and extend to the Bison Range. The National Bison Range was established in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt to provide a natural habitat where bison could roam, protected. The Bison Range is just over 18,000 acres and is home to about 500 head of bison. 

What makes the Bison Range such a special location for photography is it also has some of the best elk and white-tailed deer photography around. Visit in the fall and you will have the elk and deer in rut, which is pretty amazing with some huge bull elk bugling everywhere you turn. The range also is home to black bear, bighorn sheep, and a fantastic bird habitat. 

The reason I like to visit here so often is the combination of great close-up wildlife  photography combined with the scenery of the Mission Mountains. It’s a productive area to work both early morning and late evening, with the latter providing the best lighting for your mountain backdrop. There’s one scenic drive that goes through the range with the upper portion being a one way tour taking you up into the higher elevations. 

Best time to visit is Spring-Fall, with special attention to Bison, Elk and White-tailed Ruts. 

 

 

 

Glacier National Park

July 10, 2015 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Glacier National Park
Swiftcurrent Falls. Canon 1DX 11-24mm f4L. f16 1/10 ISO50

Just finished up a fantastic private workshop in Glacier National Park this last week. It was so refreshing to be back in Glacier this year, one of my absolute favorite locations right here in my backyard in Montana. Had a wonderful few days with my client with an epic fog and light show our first morning and some pretty sweet wildlife encounters during our stay.

Just arrived in Seattle for a trip out to the Peninsula, but will be back to Glacier in a couple weeks for my annual workshop and will have some more images to share soon. As of right now I’m enjoying the cool down of the Pacific Northwest temps compared to the seemingly endless heat wave we’ve had further inland in the west, next stop Olympic National Park!

 

Glacier National Park
Swiftcurrent Lake. Canon 1DX 11-24mm f4L. f16 1/4 ISO100

 

Glacier National Park
Grizzly. Canon 1DX 100-400 f4.5-5.6L IS II. f5.6 1/125 ISO3200

Glacier National Park
Ferns. Canon 1DX 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II. f27 1/4 ISO1600

Canon 16-35mm f4L IS Review

September 29, 2014 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Canon Lenses

Now that I’ve had the opportunity to spend a couple months thoroughly testing out the 16-35mm in the field, I thought I’d post my final opinion on this new wide angle that was released in June from Canon.

So far this lens has traveled with me to numerous workshops, many miles on Glacier National Park’s trails and around the awesome landscapes of Washington’s Palouse.

I’ve put this one through many storms, dust, rain and everything else in between. It’s pretty much been glued to my 1DX since I received it in June.

To start out, I first will say I’ve had plenty of experience with just about all of Canon’s wide angles and wide angle zooms. For a number of years I shot with the 17-40mm f4L and after that the 16-35mm 2.8L II. I’ve also used a number of primes including one of my favorites the 24mm 3.5L ts II.

Going into this, like many others, I had a little grumbling here and there with the 16-35mm 2.8L II’s corner sharpness and performance on the long end, particularly when shooting landscapes. I also had some reservations about a few of the changes on the new F4 version, including the 9 aperture blades vs. 7 on the 2.8 version for sunburst shots. And the f4 vs. the f2.8 was a bit of concern as well in regards to night photography.

First off, the previous corner sharpness and other issues with the 16-35mm 2.8II have been greatly improved providing edge to edge sharpness. All around the image quality is getting right up there with the 24-70mk 2.8L II and the other improved optic updates Canon has released. I’ve done some pretty extensive testing in the field and I am completely impressed, no grumblings here!

The new 16-35mm f4L IS also comes with IS, which at first I was kind of scratching my head as I was with a few of Canon’s other wide angles that include it. But in real world use I do like it, and found that down to 1/10 when holding steady I was getting some sharp images. I probably would have been just fine without it, but I feel it’s a nice addition and it’s coaxing me off my tripod a little more often in difficult shooting situations and providing a little more assurance.

Canon at Glacier National Park

And for me, the whole issue with aperture blades really wasn’t a big deal. For those unfamiliar, the 7 aperture blade lenses will give you 14 point sunstars, whereas the 9 blade ones will give you 18 points. It’s just a personal preference thing, and I find both appealing.

For night photography, the f4 is a serious concern and really f2.8 or faster is ideal. However as others have tested, the f4 does perform well, but it does force you to go with a little longer exposure or use a higher ISO which can result in more noise. So not my preference, but acceptable and something I think I can live with.

As far as construction goes, this one uses the new build that is present in the 24-70mm 2.8 L II and 100mm 2.8L macro, utilizing a professional grade plastic build and latest optical coatings. One thing this accomplishes is lower weight and very good durability, there doesn’t appear to be any problems here.

That’s it for the pros. As far as the cons, I really can’t find anything to pull apart with this lens other than it would have been nice to have a f2.8 for night photography. Oh and also another for the pros, cost. Coming in at $1200 most will find this tolerable to very reasonable as far as current Canon glass prices go.

So to finish, I will say without a doubt that this is in my opinion one of Canon’s best wide angle zooms they have ever made and they have really knocked it out of the park on this one. I sold my 16-35mm 2.8L II and have absolutely no regrets.

If you’re concerned about image quality of previous wide angle zooms from Canon, want the best build quality and can live without f2.8, I would say this one would be a great choice and a nice addition to any Canon shooters bag.

Photographer in Glacier

August 23, 2014 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Photographer in Glacier National Park
Photographer in Glacier National Park, Canon 1DX 16-35mm f4L IS f16 1/125 ISO800

Another perfect morning in Glacier National Park from last month’s workshop.

Two Medicine Lake, Glacier N.P.

July 27, 2014 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Glacier National Park Photo Workshop
Two Medicine Lake, Glacier National Park

Given we had a lot of clouds for sunrise on one of the mornings of my Glacier National Park workshop, I decided to do a little black and white while we were on Two Medicine Lake. We did have some interesting and dramatic clouds, especially wrapping around Sinopah Mountan and a calm reflection of the lake which both added a couple nice elements to the landscape. I used both Lightroom and Nik’s Silver Efex Pro2 to edit this one.

Canon 1DX  16-35mm f4L IS  f16 3″ ISO100  Singh Ray 3stop grad

Montana Wildfires

July 24, 2014 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Montana Wildfires
Lupine and Wildfire, Montana.

Lupine and sunset just outside of Glacier National Park. Back in 2006 the Red Eagle Fire burned over 30,000 acres in Glacier and on Blackfeet Tribal Land drastically altering the landscape on the east side of the park.

Canon 1DX 16-35mm f4L IS (handheld) f16  1/20  ISO 400 -1, Singh Ray 3 stop Grad Filter

More Canon 16-35mm f4L IS

July 21, 2014 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Glacier Photo Workshop
Lake McDonald Lodge, Glacier National Park

I’m currently working on putting together a more thorough review of Canon’ s 16-35mm f4L IS now that I’ve had a chance to do some extensive shooting with it over the last few weeks. I used it almost exclusively on my recent Glacier National Park workshop, which gave me some great opportunities to test out its “IS” and corner to corner sharpness.

I thought I would share this image from the trip of a young girl playing piano in the lobby of the Lake McDonald Lodge. Unfortunately my tripod was out of reach at the time so I had to handhold this one in very low light. Also in order to achieve the depth of field I wanted, I had to set my aperture to f11 which made things even worse for my shutter speed.

But fortunately I was using one of my new favorite camera/lens combos with the Canon 1DX and new 16-35mm which gave me a couple very important advantages.

With the 1DX’s amazing hi-noise performance I was able to bump up my ISO to 6400 and at least get a 1/90 of a second for my shutter speed. Combined with the 16-35mm’s excellent corner to corner sharpness and a little help from the “IS” I was able to pull off a shot that quality wise, turned out to be pretty decent. I also underexposed this by about a stop to preserve some of the window highlights.

Stay tuned for a full review soon!

Canon 1DX 16-35mm f4L IS f11 1/90 ISO6400

 

 

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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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