July 1, 2024

Spring Family Portraits in Whitefish, The Vermillions

I was fortunate to hang out with the Vermillion family at their vacation rental on Whitefish Lake this spring. Funnily enough, it was the second time I've done a portrait session at this very rental which was fun. I even got the bonus of hanging out with them afterward when the road leaving the area was blocked.

June 26, 2024

Fischer Family Portraits at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake

The Fischer's eldest daughter lives in the area and had the pleasure of being visited by her parents, sister, and niece. They so rarely get the opportunity to all be in the same area at once it seemed like the perfect opportunity to knock out some family photos. It happened to be during a stretch of extremely rainy and cloudy weather this past spring in Montana, and the possibility of having to move the timing of the session around loomed all morning and afternoon. Thankfully though, we stuck to our original plans and were blessed with almost perfect weather for our evening time slot.

They were staying in one of the rental properties near The Lodge at Whitefish Lake which provided us a nice variety of photo backdrops to choose from including the trails in Viking Creek Preserve, Whitefish Lake, and Whitefish Mountain Resort.

May 1, 2024

Whitefish Senior Portrait Photographer, Ellen R. Class of 2024

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.

April 24, 2024

Elope Montana Branding Portraits

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.

April 5, 2024

West Glacier National Park Engagement, Spence & Kristen

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.

March 20, 2024

West Glacier Vow Renewal Photographer, Joni & Brandon

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.

March 13, 2024

Surprise Glacier National Park Winter Proposal, Melanie & Bryan

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.

February 21, 2024

Whitefish Engagement Portrait Photographer, Gabrielle & Christian

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!

February 16, 2024

Whitefish City Beach Senior Portraits Plus Bonus Family Photos

The real impetus for the Sarailles family reaching out to me was senior portraits for their son because the due date for the yearbook was coming up. Hey, it happens to the best of us. So that was the main goal, and Mother Nature blessed Whitefish with a fresh layer of fluffy snow the day before so pushing the session to the last minute was ultimately the right call.

After wrapping up those we went ahead and knocked out some quick, updated family photos and called it a day!

February 14, 2024

Studio Portrait Actor Headshots, Tanner Harmon

It was a pleasure working with one of my favorite young Alpine Theatre Project actors. Tanner has moved on to college studies, but over several years I was able to witness his outstanding comedic acting chops and what I can only describe as 110% effort in all of his performances. Any time he popped up in a cast you could know you were going to be treated to effortless comedic timing and a very physical performance. Can't wait to see what's next for this young man.

Prints & Canvas

Matt Wetzler is an editorial, motorsport, portrait, and destination wedding photographer based in Whitefish, Montana.

Copyright ©Matthew Wetzler 2008–2024