A lovely weekday portrait session with the Sperandio family getting together before daughter Madeline was going to be on deployment for several months. Rivers Edge Park is such a lovely, surprisingly secluded park right near downtown Columbia Falls that is perfect for portrait sessions and family picnics.
The Korpela family reunion I was fortunate to be invited to photograph followed a similar theme to so many large family gatherings I photographed in 2022. That the occasion was the first time everyone had been able to get together in one place, at the same time, in at least two years due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. It's always so fun to be a part of these large gatherings.
My favorite part of this particular portrait session though was eventually winning over the youngest member of the family. For the first 30 or 40 minutes she didn't want anything to do with this stranger in their midst taking everyone's photos. But after giving her some space, and having her race her brother to see who was fastest she warmed up and did a complete 180 from before, totally taking control of the session and art directing a good portion of the photos that came afterward.
Nothing like a simple and relaxed family portrait session in and around West Glacier. We kept this one pretty relaxed and informal with the little one because it's pretty easy to get tired of smiling for the camera (this applies to grown-ups sometimes too.)
The Burton family happened to be breezing through Northwest Montana on a cross-country road trip, and wanted to memorialize it with a quick family session, but nothing too involved. They didn't have a ton of time to carve out as they had plans to visit as much of Glacier National Park as possible. I don't often do one-off West Glacier mini-sessions, particularly in the summer, but occasionally my schedule lines up to allow it, and I'm glad I was able to accommodate.
My portrait session with the Bratt family was another amongst the "delayed family reunion/vacation" that finally got to take place after COVID cancellations. They were staying at the amazing Snowmoon Ranch vacation rental as part of the Going-to-the-Sun Chalets in West Glacier. After the standard group photos you really have to get at these moments, we had those who wanted to kayak or canoe do so and I snapped away. Such a great way to spend another evening of near-perfect weather this summer in Montana.
This family was so special if even just a bit bittersweet for me. I was supposed to photograph Anna and Lex's wedding in the early summer of 2020. As you can imagine, those plans didn't exactly move forward as planned because of... things... going on in the world at the time.
They ultimately tied the knot back home in Canada, and have since added a two-legged baby to go along with the four-legged child to make a family. Much to my excitement they came down to Whitefish shortly after the border between the U.S. and Canada reopened for non-essential travel and I got to see and photograph them for the first time since their engagement photos in 2019!
What do you get when you mix a delightful family, absolutely perfect mid-summer weather, and Northwest Montana's beautiful scenery? Some truly amazing, almost unbelievable family portraits. I truly didn't want this portrait session to end, and the Patterson's to return to their home in Florida. I wanted them to find a house here not even so that I could have them as repeat clients, but just to hang out and chat.
The Anderson family have been regular visitors to the Whitefish area for years, but a global pandemic and a closed Northern border between the U.S. and Canada had prevented them from making the visit for the last several years. Hailing from Canada and points beyond, this was the first time the whole family has been together in over two years and it was such a pleasure to document the occasion with some portraits at Whitefish City Beach and Riverside Park.
Nikki contacted me several weeks before her family's trip to Montana to have some portraits done while they were here, as one does. Or as one should do anyway. She was going to be with her husband, their children, her parents, and her aunt and uncle. They weren't interested in anything super fancy, just to capture them on a rare occasion when they were all together. I arranged to meet them at their vacation rental on Lake Five in West Glacier and we made quick work of documenting their vacation. It's always such an honor to share these moments with these families.
If I'm ever feeling bummed about the status of my bookings, I can thankfully count on at least one thing a couple of times of year to bring me right out of it. And that is Maggie messaging me for some updated family portraits. I've now photographed them every season and a half-dozen times over the last 2.5 years. Love seeing their family grow and change.
