#findyourpark | A QUICK INTRO TO GLACIER

One of America’s most spectacular parks is without a doubt, Glacier. Now, you may have heard me say that I have been making plans to visit this park every year for nearly 10 years, and every year the plans fall through. Well… it finally happened. And it was worth the wait.

This post will not be my typical #FindYourPark post, full of info, locations, tips, etc. Since it was my first visit, I had to stumble around a bit, explore, and figure things out for myself. When I have the chance to return, I will be on a mission: to gather all of the most relevant information for all of you to have an epic experience in Glacier National Park!

So for now, please enjoy my thoughts, reflections, and images from my long awaited first visit to Glacier….

I always do a decent bit of research before I head out to any new park, so Glacier was no exception. So there were a few “must sees” and “must dos” that I knew about, and of course at the top of the list was Going-To-The-Sun-Road.

It was the first thing we did when we got to the park. Spectacular.

The next morning, I decided to try my luck at Lake McDonald, another very famous area for landscape shooters.

After a beautiful sunrise, we decided to check out one of the park’s most popular short hikes, Hidden Lake. It is the shortest hike to get up into the high country and experience the vibrant blue mountain lakes. It’s also a great place to see the park’s most quirky residents up close and personal… mountain goats.

Unfortunately it was the wrong time of day to get the shot I wanted, but I’m sure it won’t be the last time I hike to Hidden Lake.

On a particularly cloudy day, I decided to take advantage of the soft, even light, and do some creek and waterfall shots. McDonald Creek was the perfect candidate.

Rolling steadily through hemlock forests, eventually cascading over water-worn rocks, McDonald was never visually disappointing.

And of course it was back to Lake McDonald to see how afternoon/ evening light would paint this landscape.

I took a few mornings to explore the far West and Northwest of the park. Definitely needed more time up at Bowman and Kintla.

Up and over Going-to-the-sun-road a few more times…

Then, but not soon enough, it was on to the East side of the park.

St. Mary’s Lake, Two Medicine, and of course, Many Glacier.

Many Glacier provided the much desired cloud/ peak drama I was really wanting to capture. All of Glacier has this potential, but on my short visit, Many Glacier was the sweet spot.

So after an inaugural trip like this, I certainly have favorite spots, locations that I know I want to revisit… now with the much needed knowledge that comes from experience. But there were also so many places that I just did’t have time to see/ check out.

It is a vast wilderness. With so many hidden visual treasures lurking around every bend in the road, trail, river.

It’s now a forgone conclusion that I will be back… I hope sooner rather than later.

— Andrew

Ellen and I have hit the road full-time! Help us on our mission to inspire and educate everyone on the importance of getting outside by checking out my workshops and my prints, made #ontheroad in my mobile print studio. The revenue will help propel us further and further on this great adventure. Enrich yourself and others… and feel great about it too as you’re helping to ensure our wild lands are cherished and to keep the wild spirit of the American Dream alive. Our goal is to visit all 59 National Parks in 2-4 years. LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT WE’RE DOING HERE

Want to learn photography and enjoy a guided experience? Check out my exciting, NEW workshop dates:

TELLURIDE // LANDSCAPE + MOUNTAIN LIGHT // 2016 – SOLD OUT

TELLURIDE // LANDSCAPE + MOUNTAIN LIGHT (Trip 2) // 2016 – ONLY 2 SPOTS AVAILABLE

LOCAL + PRIVATE WORKSHOP // 2016 – AFFORDABLE RATES FOR ME TO COME TO YOU

BIG BEND // LANDSCAPE + NIGHT SKY // 2017 – MOST POPULAR! 6 SPOTS AVAILABLE

LEARN PHOTO + CAMERA BASICS // DALLAS // 2016 – 20 SPOTS!

I’m excited to announce my “The Photographic Guide to Our National Parks” series of eBooks:

See what’s NEW

If you are interested in purchasing a “print from the road”, please check my prints for sale, or email me directly for a custom request:

Andrew R. Slaton | photographer // prints

If you are interested in licensing any of the images/ video from this post, please visit my stock agency:

Tandem Stills + Motion // Andrew R. Slaton

Image Brief // Andrew R. Slaton

For assignment work requests, please email me: andrew@andrewslatonphoto.com

Thanks for visiting AndrewSlatonBlog.com!

all images and content © ARS Media, LLC 2016

art, landscape, photography, random thought, travel, workshop, writing

big bend // revisited… part 2

Once again, I woke up before the sun…

And witnessed a spectacular sunrise over the Chihuahuan Desert, with both Texas and Mexico in view.

Everything in the desert seems to want to hurt you. It’s an amazingly inhospitable place.

Maybe that’s why I love it. It continually screams at me to leave, and I, unrepentantly scream back at it, “no!”

Mariscal mine settlement. When you visit this small village (seriously) in the middle of nowhere… it really does make you think about how beautifully tough our forefathers must have been.

This place is so difficult to get to and remote, that few people even nowadays visit. What with our air conditioned cars and four wheel drive.

So I finnally exited the River Road and hit pavement. It’s funny the feeling you get when you’ve only felt super bumpy, unimproved dirt tracks underneath you for two days – driving 20 miles an hour, because if you drove any faster you’d surely bottom out or receive a flat for your insolence and disrespect to the road – finally being lifted up on to the smooth ride of a highway, and potential speed of 65. I love it. Kinda feels like you just won the lottery. Undeserved and glorious. Thankful you made it off that God-forsaken death trap of a road. The reverse can also be true. I LOVE THE RIVER ROAD!!

So I spent the next several hours scouting a few different locations. The first being my evening “epic” Big Bend landscape, that attempts to sum up the place. Tough indeed, if you’ve ever been to BBNP.

The second shot was a night, road photograph I’ve had in my mind on this trip. I got one in RMNP, but really wanted to try one here. I had several nice spots from which to choose.

The third and fourth theoretically could be the same spot. One shot would be in the very early morning hours… a star picture. And the other was a morning “epic” Big Bend landscape.

I finished my scouting with several hours to spare, so I decided to hike to one of my favorite little spots in the park, Cattail Falls.

I always go when water is scarce, so I’ve never come away with the waterfall picture I want, but it’s a great little hike and the only place I’ve ever seen a bear in the park.

By the time I got back, it was late afternoon… time to begin my work for the evening.

I ended up with a few shots I like, so I called it a night… at least get a few hours of sleep. Back up at 4 a.m. to shoot the stars and catch what would be a gorgeous sunrise.

That morning was a sunrise-to-end-all-sunrises. At this point, it was as good a time as any to quit while I felt ahead.

And besides, I was into my third week of being on the road…. living out of my Subaru, eating lots of peanut butter and honey, sleeping alone (an activity I used to love – that I am now quite weary of) on the hard ground.

It was time to go home. Hard to leave, but definitely time.

So I composed my last shots of the desert and mountains of Big Bend National Park, and bid it farewell… this time thankfully, it won’t be so long between visits…

If you are interested in learning more about photography, taking your art to a new level, and/ or Big Bend photography tours and workshops, please check out my new workshop dates:

B ig Bend Photographic Tour/ Workshops 2013-2014

More Destination Photo Tours/ Workshops 2013-2014

If you are interested in licensing any of the images/ video from this post, please visit my stock agency:

Tandem Stills + Motion // andrew r. slaton

If you are interested in purchasing prints from this post, please check my prints for sale, or email me directly for a custom request:

andrew r. slaton // photographer // prints

For assignment work requests, please email me: andrew@andrewslatonphoto.com

Thanks for visiting AndrewSlatonBlog.com!

all images + content © andrew r. slaton | photographer 2013

art, landscape, photography, random thought, travel, workshop, writing

big bend // revisited

It didn’t take long to get back into the rhythm of Big Bend.

After all, it had only been 18 or so months.

But this lesser-known National Park, in the middle-of-freaking-nowehere on the border of Texas and Mexico, has been a refuge for me for the last 10 years.

In many senses of the word, I found myself in Big Bend.

I’ve found myself lost in the middle of the desert in 110 degree heat.

I’ve found myself 18 miles from any person or paved road in a almost completely submerged truck… in 110 degree heat.

I’ve found myself purposefully leaving civilization and humanity.

I’ve found myself at the top of the world on the South Rim looking out on the expanse of the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Mexico, in awe.

I’ve found myself coming to terms with my insecurities and problems.

I’ve found myself watching a total lunar eclipse from the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains.

I’ve found myself spending New Years Eve alone atop the Dodson Trail, happy as a clam.

I’ve found myself sharing my alone time for the first time with my (then) future wife.

I’ve found myself kissing said future wife in Boot Canyon in the fall with the maple leaves ablaze around us.

I’ve found myself returning annually to celebrate her birthday.

I’ve found myself pushing the limits on how many miles I can hike in 1 day… turns out, it’s at least 18 miles… done on two different trips :)

I’ve found myself chasing a black bear in a desert oasis.

I’ve found myself standing in the middle of the Rio Grande alone at 4 o’clock in the morning to get a star picture of Santa Elena Canyon.

I’ve found myself (more times than I can remember) talking with the God of the universe in all the glory of His creation.

I’ve found myself entering the park ill, leaving well… entering heavy hearted, leaving renewed… entering empty, leaving full.

Big Bend is a very special place to me.

I arrived in the middle of the day, so no sweeping, epic landscapes available to shoot.

I set up camp and focused on the details.

I decided to start with Santa Elena that evening, so I hiked out to scout my location.

Done. That was quick.

I then went to Mule Ears overlook to hike the desert a bit.

Made friends with a black-tailed jackrabbit, then headed off to catch the sun going down at Santa Elena Canyon.

I went back to camp to shoot a few desert star pictures.

Got up well before the sun (4am) to shoot a star picture of Santa Elena.

Bats flew all around me as I stood in the middle of the Rio Grande until sunrise.

The sun rose high quickly. So I moved on and headed for the infamous River Road.

Prickly Pear Cactus flowering late.

I hiked Pine Canyon.

After driving several hours on the River Road (where I drowned my truck a few years ago), I arrived at one of my old favorite campsites, Jewels Camp.

It overlooks the Rio Grande, Mexico, and the Chisos Mountains.

I would come to learn (the next day on my way out) by a border patrol agent who searched my car, that it also happens to be a favorite spot for the cartels to smuggle drugs into the U.S.

Good thing I slept that night with my .45.

On a serious note though, I have NEVER had any problems in Mexico, Big Bend, or on the River Road. I think it’s important to draw from experience rather than fear.

Okay, so back to my trip….

Evening at Jewels was gorgeous, as it always seems to be. The colors of the desert come alive at dusk.

I read a little that evening, and then crashed. All this getting up at 4 a.m., hiking all day, then going to bed at 10 p.m. was truly exhausting.

But I was there to work… so before I could go to bed for the night, I had a few star pics I wanted to capture…

I slept SO well that night, once I actually went to sleep. And I would need it… the rest of the trip would be jam-packed and one of the most productive adventures in Big Bend yet!

Stay tuned for the second (and possibly) third part of Big Bend // revisited!!

If you are interested in learning more about photography, taking your art to a new level, and/ or Big Bend photography tours and workshops, please check out my new workshop dates:

B ig Bend Photographic Tour/ Workshops 2013-2014

More Destination Photo Tours/ Workshops 2013-2014

If you are interested in licensing any of the images/ video from this post, please visit my stock agency:

Tandem Stills + Motion // andrew r. slaton

If you are interested in purchasing prints from this post, please check my prints for sale, or email me directly for a custom request:

andrew r. slaton // photographer // prints

For assignment work requests, please email me: andrew@andrewslatonphoto.com

Thanks for visiting AndrewSlatonBlog.com!

andrew slaton | blog

travelogue and visual catharsis of a nomadic photographer

Tag Archives: road

#findyourpark | A QUICK INTRO TO GLACIER

big bend // revisited… part 2

big bend // revisited

Rate this:

Share this:

Like this:

Rate this:

Share this:

Like this:

Rate this:

Share this:

Like this: