Well, back from a very long road trip that included a total of about 1300 images taken between a wedding I had to shoot, and a too brief foray into GNP. The weather was challenging at times,but I was lucky to get a couple days with nice clouds. The wildflowers were also quite amazing.
I have to spend all my time working on the wedding shots, but I figured I'd post a shot from my last morning in the park for fun. I didn't have much time to work on this, so it may need some adjustments. This is from the Wild Goose Island overlook on Lake St Mary -- truly an iconic view of the park.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on July 31, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Iconic and spectacular!
Good stuff Paul. I don't envy you for the wedding work. I tried that and didn't like it at all, especially the post processing.
Posted by Jack Garrett on July 31, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Very nice image. I really like the light on the peaks. Nice subtle foreground light as well.
Nice image, there may be a little to do as far as processsing but not a great deal. It is a very nice shot. When where you in the park? I live about 130 miles from GNP and was up there last saturday (7/26/08). There was a pretty bad haze in the air from a fire near by and was wondering if this was the same time period you were there and if so how you got rid of it to sharpen up the mountains in the distance. Anyway, nice shot from close to my home, next time you will have to spend some more time; its a beautiful park.
Posted by Jamie Botdorf on July 31, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Very nice, Paul! I like this view a lot. I'm headed up there next week (first time visitor, long time admirer)...any other locations you'd suggest? How were the crowds?
Posted by Scott Bacon on July 31, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Beauty! That is some spectacular light. Give us more!!
Very nice, I vowed to head back to GNP sometime in the near future. Was out there a few years back and the weather was terrible. Rained everyday, solid overcast skies, and half the park was still closed from the snow.
Kenny, I was in the park until Thursday the 24th - when I got there earlier in the week there was some pretty bad haze as well but the wind and rain cleared up the atmosphere pretty well.
It was most crowded at Logan Pass and the Going-to-the-Sun Road -- as a result I didn't spend much time there. It was also mildly crowded at Many Glacier -- but I'd still recommend going up there -- the campground up there fills up first so make sure to get a spot there early in the day. The trails up there also tend to fill up as the day goes on, but are empty before about 8. I spent some time in the NW corner of the park which is reached only by dirt road, there are a series of lakes up there with potential -- I spent time at Bowman which was nice an much less crowded. There are also some other nice lakes on that side as well if you are looking to get off the beaten path. I personally liked what I saw on the Lake St. Mary side of "the Road" (ie the East side of the park) better than the Lake McDonald side -- plus all of the construction and resulting delays are on that side as well. Of course showing up at these places early is the key -- Logan Pass in the early morning would be great and likely uncrowded. The overlook for Wild Goose Island is probably one of the most frequented by photographers and right off the main road, but even at that there were only about 6 or 7 other guys out there -- so not too bad.
Waterton Lakes on the Canada side seemed to be less crowded, and mostly with Canadians. The town of Waterton was interesting, and full like Estes Park but the other areas of the park weren't crowded at all. I only spent an afternoon up there, but from what I saw it looked like there could be some great potential images up there in the AM as well. In fact the road up to Waterton from Glacier is extremely scenic.
Thanks for all the comments guys, I'll try and work on a few more images between Bride and Groom...
Posted by Kalin Wilson on July 31, 2008 at 6:49 PM
I love that location and the park in general. I wish I could get up there more often. This looks really nice - tranquil.
Good luck with the wedding shots.
Gorgeous work, Paul. The light is fantastic, and I love the comp. It feels like the whole scene is being cradled in the foreground greenery. Regarding your comment about additional adjustments, I can't think of anything that's needed. The foreground is just a bit dark, but there's plenty of detail and nothing there that's nearly as interesting as what's beyond it, so no sense calling more attention to it.
Discussion
17 repliesI have to spend all my time working on the wedding shots, but I figured I'd post a shot from my last morning in the park for fun. I didn't have much time to work on this, so it may need some adjustments. This is from the Wild Goose Island overlook on Lake St Mary -- truly an iconic view of the park.
Good stuff Paul. I don't envy you for the wedding work. I tried that and didn't like it at all, especially the post processing.
Jack
Nice image, there may be a little to do as far as processsing but not a great deal. It is a very nice shot. When where you in the park? I live about 130 miles from GNP and was up there last saturday (7/26/08). There was a pretty bad haze in the air from a fire near by and was wondering if this was the same time period you were there and if so how you got rid of it to sharpen up the mountains in the distance. Anyway, nice shot from close to my home, next time you will have to spend some more time; its a beautiful park.
Very nice, I vowed to head back to GNP sometime in the near future. Was out there a few years back and the weather was terrible. Rained everyday, solid overcast skies, and half the park was still closed from the snow.
It is definitely a beautiful place!!
It was most crowded at Logan Pass and the Going-to-the-Sun Road -- as a result I didn't spend much time there. It was also mildly crowded at Many Glacier -- but I'd still recommend going up there -- the campground up there fills up first so make sure to get a spot there early in the day. The trails up there also tend to fill up as the day goes on, but are empty before about 8. I spent some time in the NW corner of the park which is reached only by dirt road, there are a series of lakes up there with potential -- I spent time at Bowman which was nice an much less crowded. There are also some other nice lakes on that side as well if you are looking to get off the beaten path. I personally liked what I saw on the Lake St. Mary side of "the Road" (ie the East side of the park) better than the Lake McDonald side -- plus all of the construction and resulting delays are on that side as well. Of course showing up at these places early is the key -- Logan Pass in the early morning would be great and likely uncrowded. The overlook for Wild Goose Island is probably one of the most frequented by photographers and right off the main road, but even at that there were only about 6 or 7 other guys out there -- so not too bad.
Waterton Lakes on the Canada side seemed to be less crowded, and mostly with Canadians. The town of Waterton was interesting, and full like Estes Park but the other areas of the park weren't crowded at all. I only spent an afternoon up there, but from what I saw it looked like there could be some great potential images up there in the AM as well. In fact the road up to Waterton from Glacier is extremely scenic.
Thanks for all the comments guys, I'll try and work on a few more images between Bride and Groom...
Good luck with the wedding shots.