Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park is a great place to visit and a superb place to photograph. If you have not been there it is good to know there are basically two sides of the park, Westside and Eastside. On the west side you will find Avalanche Gorge, pictured above, and Lake Mc Donald. Connecting the west and east sides is the Going to the Sun Highway. It is only open once the snow is cleared and this year, 2023, there is no telling when that will be. In a normal winter it is usually opened by the last week in June.

At the top of the pass there is a visitor center and a large parking lot. There are also trails that leave this area going in a variety of directions. The highline trail is a great one and I got this image early in the morning looking back toward the south as the sun was rising. Bear Grass is shown in the foreground, a lucky find as it does not stay around long.

If the Going to the Sun road is closed you can still get the east side by driving around the park to the south. It is well worth the effort as there are several great places to visit on this side and has more photographic opportunities that the west side. The image above was taken at Two Medicine as the sun was rising. I particularly liked the colorful rocks underwater in the foreground.

If you are lucky enough to be here when there is a dark sky (no moon) you can find some decent Milky Way shots. This is looking over Lake Mc Donald from the north east shore. The lights are from the Lake Mc Donald Lodge.

If you are planing to go to Glacier be advised that getting permission to drive the Going to the Sun Highway is not easy. Be sure to check with the park service - if you can get through to them, or check with any of the lodges within the park. When I go this year I will be staying in Apgar and the lodging includes a daytime pass to use the road. But be sure to check before you go.

If you would like to follow my blog and have it delivered to your email, please follow this link:

https://follow.it/notes-to-my-mother?leanpub

The East Side of the Sierras is Beautiful

Why “Notes to My Mother”? My mother was the one person in my life who was always interested in what I was doing, what I had to say, who I was. She was never too busy to listen and take an interest. Never critical, always accepting. Even when I was wrong or misguided, there would still be a gentle interested listener present. Though she has been gone over 6 years, I still get the urge to write or call her, to share an image I am proud of or share my latest adventure to some beautiful place. I know she would love to hear about it. My mother was an artist. She painted most of her life, right up to her passing at the age of 96. When I was 4 years old we lived on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range. She would take me out to paint with her - she with her easel, me with mine - and we would sit together creating our art. While I gave up on the medium she kept at it. Then, in the year she passed I picked up a digital camera and began my adventure into the world of landscape ph...

Eastern Sierras in Black and White

In November 2021 my grandson, Levi, and I headed to the Eastern Sierras to do some photography and enjoy the east side. Levi is a budding photographer (just sold his first print last week) and immerses himself fully into the pursuit of great images. Lundy Lake on a cold morning but enjoyable nonetheless. Just south of Mammoth Lakes, Mount Morrison rises to the heavens. This image was taken at sunset. Had the wind been just a bit calmer some very nice reflections would have graced our view. Maybe next time.

Mesa Arch & The Washer Woman

When the first light of the day hits the underside of an arch in Canyon Lands or Arches National Parks they glow a beautiful shades of crimson much like those found in slot canyons. A magnificent example is Mesa Arch located in Canyon Lands, Utah. However, as with many of the more popular photography spots, if you want to get a good shot you have to be there early. We were staying in Moab and it was about an hour’s travel time from the motel to getting on site at the arch. But arriving at or near sunrise would not be sufficient, we had to be there at least two hours before sunrise in other to have assurance of a front row seat. This is one of the parts shooting sunrises that I enjoy tremendously. Getting up around 3 am, traveling to the site under the stars, walking in to the location in the dark and setting up without being able to see the whole scene that is going to unfold. On this morning we had a treat. We were the first ones there so we could pick our spots. But more...

Notes To My Mother

Search This Blog