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.
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.
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 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!
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.
All photographers who photograph weddings and family portraits cherish their repeat customers. There is truly no greater compliment than to be invited back into your family to mark a family milestone. And there are few bigger milestones than adding a new family member to the mix!
If you've followed my social media or browsed my blog and website before you've very likely come across the smiling faces of Chris and Paige before. Both for their wedding and an adventure portrait session in Glacier National Park. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to get the call they were expecting a baby this holiday season and would be needing some new portraits. I swore I would do whatever I could to get there as soon as they were ready for said portraits and I'm so thankful we were able to make it happen. The little one arrived a little earlier than originally planned, but we ended up able to do the portraits just one day away from his original due date. I just couldn't be happier for these two.
When Abby and Kyle first booked me for their wedding and added an engagement session, we always planned on scheduling it in the Fall. Partially because the Fall colors in Northwest Montana are amazing, but also out of necessity. Kyle is a Wildland Firefighter, and during the summer his schedule can be extremely volatile.
Thankfully, things worked out tremendously weather-wise. We did have a heavy dusting of snow that provided a lovely contrast with the Fall colors. I am so looking forward to their wedding this spring.
When is a "day after" adventure session? When it's five months later. Lindsay desperately wanted some portraits done in the mountains, in the Fall but also wanted more predictable weather for the wedding day itself. The solution? A June wedding with a Glacier National Park portrait session in late October was the obvious answer. And while we were constantly getting spitting rain as we traversed Going-to-the-Sun Road, the Fall colors were popping off everywhere. It could not have been more vibrant, moody, and more in line with what they were hoping to accomplish.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Glacier is a cheat code for photographers, and I am not mad about it.
