In this space you will find articles about photography, places to photograph, travel, and photo-related Web sites (including this one) and links. New articles will appear on an irregular basis. Previous articles are archived. The information presented here is based on my own experiences in the areas listed above. I will avoid how-to articles, as I'm in no position to offer advice or tutorials. Instead, when I find an interesting place to photograph, had a fun or unusual experience making pictures somewhere, or simply have a good story to tell related to making, preparing, or displaying photographs, you'll find it here. Please note that the articles may contain several photos; the page may take a few minutes to load if you have a slow connection to the Internet. I hope you enjoy the articles. Use the email link at left if you'd like to comment on anything you read here. Jay L. Cross Photography Workshop, Glacier National Park, June 2004
I had never participated in a photo workshop. When I read Montana Magazine was sponsoring a photography workshop in Glacier in late June, I decided to check it out. The instructors would be Chuck Haney of Whitefish, MT, and John Reddy of Helena. The group would be limited to 20 participants and focus on landscape photography. A couple of pros for instruction, a reasonably small group, and Glacier approaching the peak of wildflower season. I started writing checks. The workshop would shoot locations on Glacier's east side. Glacier west entrance is only 70 miles (115 km) from my home, but driving the length of the Going-to-the-Sun Road would add another 90 minutes to the commute. In June, just after summer solstice, the days are long and sun appears early. This would require being on location around 5:00 AM, and I had no wish to start driving every day at 2:00 AM. Local lodging would be required. The group met later at the St. Mary Lodge near the park's east entrance. Introductions were made, along with decisions about how to divide the group among the instructors. Chuck asked for a show of hands: how many in the group were beginners, defined as those who'd used only point-and-shoot or fully automatic cameras. He then asked how many considered themselves expert photographers; if there were any, none would admit to it. In the end, John took the group of beginners, and Chuck had the group of seven more experienced students. We wrapped up the evening with a critique of our prior work. We'd been asked to bring 20 prints or, if shooting digital, a laptop for viewing. It was very helpful to hear Chuck's comments about my work and that of the others. There were some very nice photos -- I'm happy this wasn't a competition! I'd thought I'd be the only film shooter there, but surprisingly, only two of us were shooting digital. In the field: Day OneI was in bed before 9:30 that first evening. I awoke an hour later and heard rain on my cabin's metal roof. No problem, I thought. It's not yet 11:00. I awoke again around 3:00 AM. Rain on the roof again. OK, maybe a wet morning. I got up for the day around 4:15, still raining. Fortunately, there are no bad days in Glacier. We met at 5:00 just outside Glacier's Many Glacier entrance, and continued in to Swiftcurrent Lake at Many Glacier Lodge. It was dark, raining, and a bit windy. We attempted some photos of a little waterfall at the end of the lake, but it there was no chance for a clearing and good sunrise light on the lake and mountains. Here's a photo I shot in September of 2002 of what we might have seen. Chuck decided to move on to a little known lake near Many Glacier campground. Fishercap Lake is no more than a 10 minute walk through some boggy ground from the campground parking area. The lake is protected by the surrounding mountains and is often very flat, making for good reflections. We spent 90 minutes or so looking, listening to Chuck's instruction and pointers, and shooting. The sky was, unfortunately, "just white", a photographer's nightmare. It's difficult to eliminate the sky from photos of mountain reflections! This is a very nice spot and I will return again and again looking for the good light and photogenic sky. From there we drove back toward the park entrance at St. Mary, and a short distance down the Sun Road to a great wildflower area known as the Golden Stairs. Little more than a cliff face along an inlet of St. Mary Lake, the Golden Stairs has the potential for great morning light on the rock, giving the area its name. No great light this morning, but there was no breeze, and the unmoving flowers were stunning. Abundant Indian paint brush, larkspur, death camas, and a variety of other flowers set the area aglow with color, not at all harmed by the flat, gray light. Again more instruction from Chuck and the opportunity to look through his viewfinder as he worked on composition. I can't overstate how valuable this was for me. The image in Chuck's finder was right off the page of a magazine, and there was the scene right in front of me. Great stuff. One of the challenges in a spot like this is getting eight people in and out and having them wander in search of their own images, without damaging the flora. The rocks were a bit slippery and the soil muddy; no question we did some damage. A brief lesson in the ethics of nature photography from Chuck surely helped keep that to a minimum. Mindful of the adage, "Take only photographs, leave only footprints", we did our best. In the field: Day TwoOur group met at St. Mary Lodge on Saturday morning at 5:00. In the rain again. When light and weather turn bad, you shoot intimate landscapes and close-up or macro pictures. There would be no grand scenics this morning. Today's hike required dropping a car at our trail's end, and taking everyone in two vehicles to the trailhead. We set off at a brisk pace and soon reached Deadwood Falls on Reynolds Creek. Still raining and quite muddy, we set up under some trees looking for good compositions. The low light would require slow shutter speeds, rendering the falls a white blur on film. This can be good or bad, depending on the desired effect in the photo. The rain became a fine drizzle, allowing us to move around the falls a bit with fewer concerns about water on the lenses. From there we moved on to St. Mary Falls, again climbing around the area looking for good shots. As always, Chuck was helpful in pointing out interesting scenes and making suggestion for exposure and composition. Day Three: Winding DownAfter a night with no rain, we met at 5:00 AM as usual and drove the Sun Road to a turn-out overlooking Wild Goose Island in St. Mary Lake. We had an interesting sky for a change, and the promise of good light for the classic shot of the lake and mountains ablaze with the light of sunrise. The lake was a little choppy; we would not have mirror-like reflections of the mountains, but there was still a chance we'd have great color in the water. We set up quickly and waited. As the sun broke the horizon, out of our view, the tops of the mountains began to glow. We waited, and the mountains became redder. It was still a bit too soon for good color in the water. A few minutes more, and we'd have the magic light. Just a few minutes more. Anticipation ran high, and shutters clicked so we'd at least have records of having been there. Just a few more minutes... and a large cloud moved in and obscured the mountains. This happened with amazing swiftness. We could see the mountain tops washed in orange light, but much of the lake was hidden. Perhaps another time. Just up the road, however, was the Golden Stairs area, and the good light was there. Most of our group moved there for another chance at great color in the rock and wildflowers. We wrapped up the workshop just inside the park near a bridge over the St. Mary River. The sky had become more cloudy, but the light wasn't bad for some close-up work in the flowers near the river's edge. After a few group shots, we said our farewells, and I headed for home. I returned the way I'd come, on the Sun Road to the park's west side. I stopped several times for photos, and also stopped along my route south through Creston, MT and along the east edge of Flathead Lake. AftermathI felt I was "seeing" more and better, and was excited by the prospect of making better pictures. Although the workshop was only a couple of days, the near total immersion in photography for that period, along with Chuck's instruction and the views through his camera, had a remarkable impact. I've made the drive from Glacier to home, along that same route, many times. But on that Sunday morning I saw things I'd not noticed before, saw the light in ways I'd not before, and was very glad for the time I'd spent with Chuck and our small group. A great group it was, too. Everyone paid attention, worked hard, asked questions, tried Chuck's suggestions, didn't complain about the weather (very often), and generally had a great time. It's not often one has the good fortune to be part of such a group. 20 August, 2004 Links
My best photos from the
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