Ellen and her mom were visiting Whitefish this spring and realized she hadn't had any senior portraits taken yet so why not take advantage of the beautiful area and correct that oversight? As is typical of spring weather in Montana—and the general late arrival of actual spring—we weren't able to take advantage of fields of wildflowers, or enjoy a beautiful sunny evening but I think we made out okay hitting up some of my favorite spots in town.
Alpine Theatre Project's 2024 season kicked off with their ATP Kids production of Mean Girls the Musical, School Edition featuring a ton of super-talented kids from grades seven through twelve. Arguably not as heavy as last year's teen production of "Les Misérables," still an absolute stupendous production.
I couldn't wait to get Abbey and Kyle in front of my camera again after their engagement session in West Glacier this past Fall. They had planned a fairly large wedding here in Kalispell at Diamond B Weddings, which in addition to kicking off my 2024 wedding season, was also the same venue where I photographed my first ever Montana wedding back in 2018.
As is common for spring in Montana, the weather was a very big variable in terms of the plans for the ceremony location. Thankfully, in addition to the large heated event space Dimaond B added five years ago, the original barn is still there and was able to serve us well for the ceremony with a rainy, chilly forecast for the day.
Regardless of location, the day was always going to be filled with laughter, love, and smiles with Abbey and Kyle surrounded by over 150 friends and family.
Wedding Venue: Diamond B Weddings / Catering: Atomic Tacos / DJ: V-Team DJs / Hair & Makeup: Glacier Beauty / Transportation: Venture Shuttles / Rentals: Hi-Country Linen Service / Second Photographer: Cortney Foster Photography
A couple of years ago I got to team up with the badass boss women of Elope Montana. A collective of women who provide all-inclusive elopement services here in the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park. I've worked with many of them individually over the years—both the officiants and the other photographers—and it's always nice to hang out if ever so briefly in a non-wedding or elopement setting. Even if it does send my anxiety through the roof when photographing several other truly outstanding photographers.
My latest work with Whitefish Theatre Company was photographing their production of "Silent Sky" by Laura Gunderson. The play depicts the true story of the women at Harvard's Observatory who quite literally mapped the stars in the early 1900's. It was at times funny, poignant, and infuriating how dismissively women were treated in academia in the last century. "Silent Sky" opens Friday, April 12, 2024.
This has been the winter and spring of engagement portrait sessions for several lucky couples. Or should I say I've been the one lucky to be working with them?
Spence reached out to me weeks ago as he and his now-fiancé Kristen would be in the area and he was planning on proposing. While he wasn't trying to capture the actual proposal itself as part of a portrait session, he wanted to commemorate the occasion with a portrait session the following day.
We spoke on the phone a couple of times, he asked dozens of really great questions, and we settled on a time and place for the session. All we needed was confirmation of Kristen's "Yes!" and we were off and running.
We experienced a perfectly magical evening with clear skies and warm sun in West Glacier and Glacier National Park resulting in some epically beautiful photos.
Joni contacted me all the way from Texas because she, her husband, and their three children would be visiting the Flathead Valley and wanted to have a simple vow renewal somewhere picturesque, ideally with snow and mountains. Thankfully, Mother Nature cooperated, and we coordinated with Jason of Big Day Officiants for the ceremony exchange itself and had the most lovely evening together.
I told Brian—after he'd successfully asked for Melanie's hand in marriage on the shore of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park—that I think my heart was probably pounding as quickly as his heart was. Surprise proposals are such an honor to be a part of but man can they be stressful. What if I'm in the wrong spot? What if I'm focussing on the wrong couple? What if I have a camera failure at the key moment?
Thankfully, choosing a winter proposal here in Glacier means it won't be super busy, and with the proper preparation—something Brian and I began discussing three months prior—a lot of the risks can be minimized. Photographing a proposal is also an adrenaline rush for me not unlike the start of a race, where I quite literally have one opportunity to get it right, and there are no true do overs.
The latest production I've had the pleasure of photographing for Whitefish Theatre Company is William Goldman's "Misery" based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. It features one of the most elaborate sets I've seen the crew at WTC put together with a super tight cast of three. Get your tickets!
Gabrielle and Christian had two prerequisites for their engagement session. They wanted to include their dogs, and as winter sports enthusiasts they wanted it to be snowy.
Including the dogs was the easy part, but the snow was not so much. This winter has been so strange—and more like spring than winter for most of it if we're being honest—so we kept pushing the session date. Thankfully, Mother Nature finally delivered with almost a week straight of snow, and temperatures low enough to where it stayed pretty and didn't turn to slush. We also lucked out by avoiding the weekend when it was -28 degrees. However, we still dealt with single-digit temps as it was.
I cannot wait for these to get married next fall at Star Meadows Ranch!
