Scouting in Glacier National Park with my G10

It amazes me how every National Park is so different. There’s nothing like the red rock cathedrals of Zion, or the shear granite facings of Yosemite, in all, the uniqueness that is found in every park. Glacier National Park in far northwestern Montana is no exception. It is its own park, just like the others. I set out thi morning with my easy to carry around Canon G10 to check out the  conditions and get a general feel for what is in store for my coming workshop this weekend. I typically do this, not looking to make any images worth saving, but just to get a goof feel for the area. on the 1st day I get back to an area before a workshop begins.

I am here conducting a workshop this coming weekend and spent today scouting. The light was not great, the crowds were a bit less than I expected but the majesty of this park was something to behold. For those that have never been here, Glacier is about 40 minutes out of Kalispell Mt. (You can fly into Kalispell). There is one main road that runs basically from the west side to the east side. (Called “Going to the Sun Road, for good reason–GTTSR). Though about50 miles from end to end, it takes about 1.5 hr plus these days due to the  of the road itself, that being extremely windy in many spots, looking down from over 6000’ in spots, with the guardrail only inches away.  

 

 

There is still some construction going on before Logan Pass.  The road just opened for its entirety last week after snow removal was completed.  Snow is still on the ground above 5700”or so.

The less difficult driving areas of the GTTSR are filled with scenic overlooks of Lakes Mc Donald and St. Mary as well as rivers, streams, waterfalls, wildflowers, and wildlife.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lake Mc Donald, right off the road

Like Yosemite, which features two diverse parts of the park, Glacier is much the same. When you cross the continental divide the topography changes offering a different feeling. The west side gets a lot more precipitation and is lusher, but the east side is a bit less crowded this time of year, and is also filled with photographic possibilities.

 

                                                                                                                        Mountain Goat……..  this is one big animal

 

Glacier isn’t the easiest park to get too, but is well worth it.

I’ll try and update this blog with some other images shot while I am here.

All of the images were taken today, with the Canon G10, which continues to amaze me. They were all shot RAW Aperture Priority ISO 200. These are basically snapshots. Photographers here at Glacier, like many of the other parks must not try and write a novel in their images. There is so much and everything is so big right in front of you, the tendency is to shoot snapshots like these rather than make quality images. Photographers should slow down and take in what’s in front of them and think about making an artistic image, not a postcard.

 

Glacier Lilys at Logan Pass  6200′ or so                                  Just another pullout……  I was about 4500′ when I shot this.

Photographing in Glacier NP isn’t as easy as you may think. Most of the better areas are well off the road and require some hiking. Gorges and waterfalls with swift moving water is all over the place. Tomorrow I’ll break out the Nikon cameras & lenses and try and post some tomorrow night if I can. The weather forecast is for more clouds through the week with thunderstorms on Sunday. Those of you, who know me, know I hope we get some dramatic skies and light.

What a place!

JG

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