Introduction - 9 people had signed up for the 5-day Glacier National Park Photography Workshop held from the 13th-17th of June, 2021, primarily staged on the east side of the Park principally in the St. Mary, Many Glacier and Two Medicine Lake locations. The event was led by professional photographers Sarah Ehlen and David Marx of Glacier Photo Guides, who are based out of Columbia Falls, MT. Activities included sunrise and early evening shoots at the Glacier National Park and at various off-road locations between locations with afternoon lectures and photography critiques interspersed between shooting sessions. The gravel entrance road in the Many Glacier northern section of the Park was being resurfaced, so the departure times had to be moved up for the one-way traffic delays at certain portions of the road. Car-pooling was recommended as parking was limited at most shooting locations. Highlights of the workshop included: Day 01 - Met at the Great Bear conference room at the St. Mary Lodge at 4:00 pm for group introductions, go over the scheduled events and get an overview of the planned workshop activities. After the lecture, the group met again at 7:00 pm in the parking lot and headed out to the nearby St. Mary River Bridge for an early evening shooting session of river views to check out all equipment before heading south to the Blackfeet Memorial Sculptures for a sunset shoot. Day 02 - It was an early morning departure drive north to the Many Glacier Lodge for a sunrise shoot from the bridge at the end of their parking lot that crosses Swiftcurrent Creek for views of the waterfall located just below the bridge. The rising sun reflects off the swirling waters and sidelights the towering mountain peaks in the background. The views from the back of the lodge were also spectacular with snow-draped peaks reflecting in the calm waters of Lake Josephine. After a short break at the Many Glacier Lodge, it was off to Fishercap Lake just a short distance along the Swiftcurrent Trail for great lake reflection shots, which ended the morning session. Day 03 - It was another early morning departure for a sunrise shoot at the Wild Goose Island Lookout located along the Going To The Sun Road. If you got below the lookout area amongst the trees, you could get some great panorama shots. After a short field snack breakfast provided by our instructors, it was off to the road bridge located at the Siyeh Pass Trailhead to Sunrift Gorge for some waterfall and rapid shots. That concluded the morning shoot and it was back to St. Mary Village to regroup. There were two optional photo shoots available for the rest of the day for those who wanted to do more sunset shots or late-night photography. A sudden rain storm cancelled both events, but it provided some time to catch up and work on photos and pre-pack for the planned relocation to East Glacier Lodge the next day. Day 04 - Today was a move day relocating to East Glacier and the Two Medicine Lake area. After check-out and settling bills, it was everyone caravan south along HW 89 turning onto HW 49, one of the roughest, narrowest, winding and steeper roads in the park. We briefly stopped at an overview point along the way for some scenery shots overlooking the two lakes. After checking in and a brief orientation lecture and photo critique session in the Feather Conference Room in the Lodge basement, it was off for a late afternoon shoot along HW 2 heading south from the town of East Glacier and the historic East Glacier Railroad Station. We first stopped at a Beaver Pond for some cattail reeds and waterfowl wildlife shots and then stopped at a secluded Aspen Grove for more wildflower and aspen tree shots, which ended the day.  Day 05 - Today was the last day of the workshop and it started with an early morning departure to the Two Medicine Lake Ranger Station picnic area located just beyond the east park entrance gate. We took a short hike to an overview point along the east shoreline of Two Medicine Lake for our sunrise shots, and we even got a group picture with the mountains and lake in the background, The day concluded after the shoot as many had to depart to local airports for return flights and turn in their rental cars. Day 06 - I stayed over a day after the workshop and I drove up to the Many Glacier Lodge after breakfast and hiked 2 miles along the Swiftcurrent Trail to Redrock Falls as Sarah and David said the views there were great and the water levels would be high for great soft-water shots. It was well worth the trip with great foreground shots of the wet red rocks and swift flowing current. I had packed a lunch and brought coffee in a thermos, and I had a great lunch sitting there on the rocks. Well, after 10:00 o’clock, the crowds showed up and I must have passed at least 150 people hiking in along the trail as I was heading out. Good thing I had got there early. I did see a female moose at Feathercap Lake with 2 calves on the other side of the lake, but too far away for any photos.

Event Summary - The gallery contains photographs taken each day of the event beginning with a schedule of that day’s activities, a map of where we went and photos of participants showing field conditions encountered, photographic equipment used and the instructors interfacing with the participants. The gallery provides a documentary of where we went, what we did and the photo opportunities each of us experienced during the event. All of us want to thank Sarah and David for their guidance, technical expertise and suggestions that allowed us to properly capture the magical moments we experienced during the workshop….JDT

2021 Glacier National Park Photo Workshop Daily Activities -

Gallery 46-03-Day 01 - Arrive St. Mary Village, Check-In, Group Meeting, Introductions, Schedule, Field Shoots River Footbridge & Blackfoot Indian Memorial - 100 photos