Glacier National Park
Photography Workshop

Maximum number of participants is 10 with two instructors.

This workshop includes both field and classroom instruction and is open to photographers of all experience levels.

The cost of the workshop is: $2,070.

Workshop tuition does not include your lodging, transportation to our group meeting locations, the Park entrance fee, or your meals.

A deposit is required to reserve your space in the workshop. The remaining balance is due 30 days before the start of this program. Please click here for our full cancellation and refund policy. Trip insurance is highly recommended to cover any unexpected circumstances.

All participants should be in good physical condition and able to negotiate stairs, walking paths, and uneven terrain.

Most of our shooting locations are easily accessible roadside locations. There will be some short, easy walks on well maintained paths with optional longer hikes of up to three miles round trip for those that would like. These hikes are optional, and if you prefer not to hike then you will be accompanied by an instructor to a road accessible shooting location instead.

OVERVIEW:
This workshop begins at the North Forty Resort in Columbia Falls, Montana at 9:00am on September 17 and ends on September 21 with a sunrise field shoot in the St Mary area. We will wrap up on the 21st with enough time to check out of your lodging if you would like to travel that day.

We will be staying in Columbia Falls and St Mary Village. Note that we will change locations once during this workshop. We recommend spending the nights of September 16 & 17 at the North Forty Resort. Once we move to St Mary, we recommend staying in St Mary Village the nights of September 18, 19, & 20.

FIELD SHOOTS:
We will time our field shoots to be out when the light is at its best, and we will make use of midday hours for discussion and lectures on various landscape photography topics.

We will be out photographing at sunrise and sunset every day throughout this program, weather permitting.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY:
This itinerary is subject to change based on weather and road conditions.

SEPT 17: WELCOME MEETING
Our workshop will begin at 9:00am at the North Forty Resort in Columbia Falls.

We will begin with a meet and greet session where we will also discuss logistics and our itinerary for the week.

After a break for lunch, we will head to Glacier National Park for our first field shoot.

Where to stay: North Forty Resort

SEPT 18:
Our day will start with sunrise on the shore of Lake McDonald. We will return to North Forty Resort by 10:00am for a break to check out of your cabin and get a meal.

We will reconvene in the afternoon to travel over to St Mary Village.

After checking in to your room we will head out to begin exploring this part of the Park.

Where to stay: St Mary (see lodging info)

SEPT 19 & 20:
We will be out each day from sunrise to sunset, exploring different parts of the Park including Many Glacier and the Going-to-the-Sun Road. There will be time in the middle of the day for a short break and brief classroom time to discuss photographic techniques.

Where to stay: St. Mary (see lodging info)

SEPT 21:
We will end the workshop on September 21 with a sunrise photo shoot near St Mary Village. We will wrap up with enough time to check out of your lodging if you would like to travel that day. It is a 2.5 hour drive back to the airport in Kalispell from St Mary Village.

Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from our workshop meeting locations. During the workshop, we encourage carpooling. You are welcome to ride with us in our minivan once the workshop begins or follow us in your own vehicle if you prefer.

Nearest Airport:
Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) in Kalispell. Car rentals are available at the airport if needed.

Participants should plan on arriving in Kalispell on September 16 as our workshop begins in Columbia Falls at 9:00am on September 17. The airport (FCA) is a 10 minute drive to our meeting point at the North Forty Resort.

Our workshop will end with a sunrise field shoot on September 21 in St Mary Village. We will wrap up with enough time to check out of your lodging if you would like to travel that day. St Mary Village is a 2.5 hour drive from the airport in Kalispell. Please plan on giving yourself some extra time when returning in case of road construction or other delays.

When making your travel plans, trip insurance is highly recommended to cover any unexpected circumstances.

Participants are responsible for booking their own accommodations.

Lodging is very limited in Glacier National Park and rooms tend to book up well in advance. We strongly recommend making your reservations as soon as possible.

Please let us know if you have a hard time getting lodging as we may be able to help.

NORTH FORTY RESORT
We recommend staying at the North Forty Resort the nights of September 16 & 17. The resort is offering a 10% discount for workshop participants. Contact us for more details.

ST MARY LODGING:
We will be staying in St Mary the nights of September 18, 19, & 20. (Checking out September 21.)

The closest lodging to our group meeting location is St Mary Village which is operated by Pursuit (Glacier Park Collection). They offer a range of rooms and small cabins which can be booked on their website here.

If you’d like more space than a basic motel room, the Cottages at Glacier are the nicest accommodations in the St. Mary area with both 2 and 3 bedroom houses available that include full kitchens, a living room, and a deck with an amazing view. If you choose to stay here then it will be a very short, 2 minute drive from the Cottages to our meeting space in St. Mary Village each day.

KOA of St Mary offers small cabins and RV sites about a 6 minute drive from St Mary Village.

We will plan our meal times around our field shoots and the probability of great light. There are several restaurants and options for grab-and-go items in the areas where we will be staying but selection may be limited, particularly in St Mary. Due to staffing shortages and supply chain issues, restaurants may have irregular hours and long wait times. We will do our best to consider restaurant hours in our schedule each day.

Bringing along your own snacks, a coffee mug, and a water bottle is strongly recommended.

If you wish to avoid restaurants and cook your own meals, there are lodging options that offer kitchenettes.

We will begin the workshop on September 17 at 9:00am at the North Forty Resort in Columbia Falls. We will meet at the Snowberry Event Center.

While we are in St Mary Village, our meeting space will be in the Great Bear Room at the Lodge in St Mary Village.

Phone & Internet: Wifi internet will be available, but expect connection speeds to be slow, especially at St Mary Village.

There is good cell coverage in Columbia Falls. St Mary Village has more limited cell service. Verizon tends to work better than other carriers in this area but please be aware that cell reception will be limited, or non-existent, at all of our field shoot locations within Glacier National Park.

We do not recommend bringing non-photographer companions along since this workshop occurs in a fairly remote part of Montana. In all honesty, there is not a lot to do in this area other than hiking and exploring the park. The east side of Glacier is particularly remote. Spouses / companions should be prepared to be solo for most of the day.

You will come away from this workshop with stronger landscape photography skills.

Here are just a few of the topics that will be covered:

• Capturing beautiful sunrise and sunset images over the mountains.


• Dealing with high contrast light.

• Techniques for photographing moving water and waterfalls.


• Getting sharp images with as much detail as possible.


• How to compose for dramatic alpine scenes.

• Tips for photographing fall color.


• Using blue hour light to capture unique landscapes.


• Adobe Lightroom image processing demonstrations.

• Sturdy Walking Shoes


• Headlamp or flashlight

• National Park Entrance Pass. This can be purchased at the entrance gate if needed on the first day.


• Cell phone charger


• Laptop, charger, and memory card reader


• Small umbrella


• Daypack that can hold camera gear and personal items


• Water Bottle


• Sunscreen


• Sunglasses


• Snacks for in between meals in the field


• Trekking poles (optional, but many people like them for taking pressure off the knees and feeling more steady on the trails.)


• Clothing Layers: synthetic hiking pants, waterproof jacket & pants, fleece, insulated vest or jacket, hat, & gloves.


Note: Weather in Glacier can be very unpredictable throughout the day. Layering is always a good idea to be prepared for all possible weather. It is best to avoid cotton in favor of wool or synthetic fabrics that will dry faster and keep you warmer if they get wet. It’s always better to bring too many warm clothes, rather than not enough.

September is a month that can bring everything from sunny days to frost at night.


• Camera with extra batteries & memory cards

• Lenses: We strongly recommend bringing a high-quality wide angle lens in the 16-35mm range and a mid-range telephoto such as a 24-105mm. A longer range telephoto lens in the 70-200mm range will also be very useful on this workshop. If you own additional lenses then please feel free to bring anything that you would like to use.


• Sturdy Tripod & camera quick release plate (Very useful!)

• Camera Battery Charger

• Circular Polarizing Filter (Essential)

• Neutral Density and Split Neutral Density Filters (Optional: Although not essential, neutral density filters are especially helpful with long exposure water photography. Split neutral density filters are also not required for this workshop but they are worth bringing if you already own them.)

• Camera Cable Release Trigger

• Camera Manual

• Lens Cleaning Cloths

• Kneepads or a small gardening pad from the hardware store (inexpensive kneepads are great for getting interesting, low angle shots in comfort.)

Click here to see our in-depth equipment list.

Please do not attend the workshop if you are experiencing symptoms of Covid-19, cold, or flu.

As a business we are required to comply with all federal, state, and local health regulations.

At this point Covid-19 is a known risk. We highly encourage you to purchase trip insurance to cover illness, travel delays, and other unforeseen circumstances.