March 22, 2023

Whitefish Family Photographer, The Cowarts at Whitefish City Beach

Those in the Flathead may recognize the Cowart name from local musician Todd Cowart. I've had the pleasure of photographing him as a performer a number of times in his work with The Alpine Theatre Project productions.

Needless to say when I got the call that his family would be visiting from out of town and he was hoping to grab some family photos with them I jumped at the opportunity to make it happen! We had an exquisite bluebird afternoon at—and on—Whitefish City Beach as our setting, and there were lots of laughs to be had.

October 12, 2022

Whitefish Portrait Photographer, City Beach, and Riverside Park

This Fall we have been blessed with the most absurdly nice weather. Normally by early October, we'd be expecting much cooler temps but we've been enjoying highs in the upper 60s. Maybe not the best thing in the grand scheme of everything, but it sure is awesome for portrait sessions. Jena booked a simple one-hour portrait session before dinner while they were visiting the Flathead Valley, so we hit up Whitefish City Beach and Riverside Park, two of my favorite locations right here in Whitefish.

July 20, 2022

Whitefish City Beach Family Portraits, The Ewens

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!

July 4, 2022

Whitefish Family Photographer, The Andersons

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.

April 11, 2022

Whitefish Elopement Photographer, Lianne & Ron at Whitefish City Beach

A week or so before they were to elope I received a message from Lianne to see if I were available to photograph their simple elopement ceremony with just the two of them and their officiant. I happened to be free that afternoon and was more than happy to do so. They were both so sweet, and you've got to love the expression on Ron's face as they said their vows to each other. It's such an honor to be a part of these intimate moments in people's lives.

Venue: Whitefish City Beach / Officiant: Lichen & Pines / Flowers: Mum's Flowers

January 13, 2022

Whitefish Portrait Photographer, Ed & Suzette’s 20th Anniversary

This portrait session with Ed and Suzette was perfect for so many different reasons. Not the least of which was they were just a joy to spend a couple of hours with while we all lost feeling in our hands. For one thing, it was a great reminder you don't need to be recently engaged or recently married to have portraits taken. It can be any milestone, such as a 20th anniversary which is very much worth celebrating. It can also be an opportunity to document your vacation to an area that has a dramatically different climate than the one you're used to, and they were certainly not used to a massive powder day in Whitefish. It snowed all day, which was a dream come true for me, because I finally had the opportunity for a portrait session with it actively snowing, which had eluded me up to this point.

Ed's suit was rented from Mimi's Bridal in Kalispell.

September 18, 2021

Whitefish Family Photographer, The Oaks

I've had the pleasure of working with Nikki in the past through her son's involvement with Alpine Theater Project, and through school district fundraisers so it was an honor to be asked to do a family portrait session with them this summer. We made a quick trip to Whitefish City Beach on a beautiful summer day here in Northwest Montana for a mini-session and it couldn't have been more pleasant.

August 26, 2021

Whitefish Family Photographer, The Feinbergs

Like the majority of my family portrait clients, each summer the Feinbergs were visiting our amazing corner of the country and wanted to be sure to sneak in some family photos in order to document the occasion. We actually split their portrait session into basically two portrait sessions, with the first being focused just on the children in and around downtown Whitefish, and then family photos—sneaking grandma into some—at Whitefish City Beach at sunset. As you can tell, Montana was showing off on this amazing mid-summer evening.

June 2, 2021

Whitefish Family Photographer, Debbie’s Family Reunion

Debbie contacted me through my Instagram page in hopes of getting just a handful of photos of her family's spring visit to Whitefish. It was the first time they'd all been together in several years and was especially important to her parents. Multi-generational family sessions are always such a pleasure to do because there are always special moments whether it's between a dad and his daughters, some sibling tomfoolery, or grandparents and their grandchildren. Because of the toddlers and their diminutive attention spans to match their size, and the fact that Debbie is a pretty great photographer herself, I created a custom 'multi-generational family session' and we knocked these out in just 30 minutes.

October 3, 2020

Whitefish Family Photographer, The Ahmad Family

I was fortunate to spend this chilly morning with the Ahmad family at Depot Park and Whitefish City Beach documenting their late-summer family getaway to Northwest Montana. Little A. wasn't super comfortable in front of the camera for a lot of the session, but once she saw the water at City Beach and got to take a little walk with her brother and grandmother she perked right up and started grinning from ear-to-ear. They mentioned that they are planning a potential permanent move to Montana, and I can't wait to welcome them if they're able to make that happen.

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

Copyright ©Matthew Wetzler 2008–2023