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.
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.
The theme of this spring here in Montana has been wild swings in weather, but it seemed to work with Morgan and Ben's wedding day schedule anyhow. Rain threatened all day, and there was considerable cloud cover throughout. However just as Morgan began walking down the aisle for the ceremony the sun broke through the clouds and hung around throughout the ceremony. Then as we were wrapping up wedding party photos, the clouds opened up and showered us in a downpour with small hail. We sprinted back to the pavilion at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake and enjoyed a beautiful reception.
Venue, Lodging, & Catering: The Lodge at Whitefish Lake / Bakery: Montana Wildflour / DJ: Sidecar Audio / Florals: Pure Happiness Wedding Flowers / Rentals & Decor: Celebrate Event & Party Rentals
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.
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.
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!
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!
I've been fortunate to work with Betsi, Luke, and their twins Gabriel and Elijah several times, but never for some laid-back family portraits. It's always been theatre performances and studio headshots.
Betsi's brother and his family were in town over the Thanksgiving holiday and I was able to make time for some quick portraits. It was so much fun meeting the whole family and documenting the occasion of everyone being in one place at one time.
