Fall in Glacier National Park, Big Sky Journal Interviews Tony Bynum

Glacier National Park is a paradise. People often emerge from their first visit to the Park and feel like their lives have been forever fundamentally changed. At the very least, no one ever forgets their first visit to Glacier National Park.

A cow moose wanders across a small pond in Glacier National Park, Montana. © Tony Bynum
This and other images of Glacier National Park are for sale on Tony's website. 

People often return to take more photographs, smell the flowers, hike and climbed the peaks and raft the rivers. So when the Editors of the Big Sky Journal called Tony to talk to him about fall wildlife photography in Glacier, he was happy to talk.

Big Sky Journal Interview

Tony Bynum talks about photography in Glacier National Park in this interview published in the Big Sky Journal. You'll also find two other interviews one from a bird photographer, the other about photographing in Yellowstone.

You can find the entire article online here at this link Tony Bynum Interview - Big Sky Journal

Or, you can purchase the Magazine, either by subscription, or the newsstand in Montana.

UPDATE ON FALL CONDITIONS

As of September 6, 2017, fall colors are outstanding on the west-side, but fading on the east. A recent cold snap and snow froze the much of the remaining foliage slowing its transformation from green to brilliant orange and yellow. Many areas still have green leaf's next to trees with no leaf's left.

The following day, stiff winds stripped away a lot of the ripe leaves. There still are pockets of color, and it's still worth a trip. I predict however that after next week, the color will be mostly gone from the east side.

"Sunrise sun on Rising Wolf" Rising Wolf Mountain, Two Medicine Vally, Glacier National Park, Montana. © Tony Bynum

Go Photograph the Larch 

That's not all bad because just as we lose all the color on the east side, the larch begins to go crazy on the west. I recommend you check them out too.

Larch trees in Glacier National Park, Montana 

Colorful larch trees layered in front of green fir trees and a snow covered hill in Glacier National Park, Montana 

Stong contrast from the bright orange of the fall larch creates a nice visual. 

A larch fired ridgeline descends down into Kintla Lake on Glacier Natioanl Park's West Side. The fall larch is a sight to behold. 

Colorful Larch trees reflect in ripply waters of the Flathead River, Glacier National Park, Montana 

Click here for more photographs of fall trees

Have a great fall!

Glacier National Park Summer Fires

Glacier National Park summer fires sparked by recent storms.

CRITICAL UPDATE!!!! 

Photograph of a storm over Glacier National Park, Montana. Recent lightning strikes in Glacier National Park have started a number of small fires.  © tonybynum.com 

This is a press release from the NPS.  This post is a public service to help spread the word to visitors and those planning to visit.

August 11, 2017

Media Inquiries Only:

Lauren Alley 406-888-5838

Kelly Stevens 406-888-7895

MEDIA17-39

Multiple Fires in Park Following Storm

Some backcountry campgrounds and trails are closed. All roads remain open.

WEST GLACIER, MT. – A storm that moved through the park late yesterday afternoon triggered approximately 150 lightning strikes throughout the park. Multiple fires have been reported.

Fires are suspected or known in the Apgar Lookout area, the Nyack area, Sprague drainage, and Camas drainage. Visit the following website for estimated fire sizes: http://www.wildcad.net/WCMT-KIC.htm 

The following trails are closed: Apgar Lookout Trail, Howe Ridge Trail, Camas Trail, Trout Lake Trail, the Sperry Trail from Lake McDonald to Sperry Chalet (including all secondary trails such as Synder Trail), John’s Lake Trail, and Lincoln Lake Trail.

Backcountry campgrounds in the areas listed above are closed and backcountry users in those areas are being walked out. Those include Arrow, Camas, Snyder, Sperry, and Lincoln Backcountry Campgrounds.

Other backcountry areas in the park are still open for day use. No new overnight backcountry permits will be issued today to reduce the number of people overnighting in the backcountry while the park assesses the impacts from last night’s storm.

Sperry Chalet guests will either hike out via the Gunsight Pass Trail or remain in place while the Sprague fire is being assessed. Guests with reservations for tonight will not be able to access the chalet. Additional updates will be available as the fire is further evaluated. The structures in the Sperry Chalet complex are not immediately threatened, however, the main trail accessing the chalet may be impacted by the fire.

No horseback rides will depart from the Lake McDonald Corral today.

A Type III incident commander has been assigned and additional resources are being ordered. The initial attack for these fires is being managed with park and Flathead National Forest fire management staff and law enforcement, including air support.

Most areas of the park remain open including all areas of the North Fork (all closures have been lifted from earlier this week), Apgar Village, the Going-to-the-Sun Road, Granite Park Chalet, Two Medicine, St. Mary, and Many Glacier.

Fire managers expect hot and dry conditions to persist through the weekend. Additional trail closures are possible as conditions change or new fires are detected. Visitors should check the park’s trail status page for the most current closure information. https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/trailstatusreports.htm

The park is currently experiencing a power outage on the west side of the park unrelated to the fires. The outage extends beyond the park boundary. This may impact the park’s ability to provide up to the minute fire updates.

This is a press release from Glacier National Park. 

Thank you, and be safe out there. 

Tony Bynum. 

Glacier National Park - Black and White and Uncommon Views

The leaves have fallen. Glacier Park's fall colors came about two weeks early this year. As quickly as they came, they disappeared - it all happened pretty quickly this year. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best fall colors I've ever seen, I'd say this fall was about a 6 or 7 on the east side.

Black Bear in fall colors, Glacier National Park, Montana. Nikon D4, Nikon 200-400 f4, a-fs VR II. 1/500th @ f5 iso 400.       © tonybynum.com 

Generally, fall colors on the west side of Glacier National Park are fantastic - they're also more predictable. You can almost always find good color someplace. On the east side, it's always different from year-to-year and you never really know what you're going to get - it's very unpredictable.

But how important is color? We’ve seen a lot of saturated photographs of Glacier National Park. I’ve created a few colorful photographs of Glacier National Park myself.  I’m sure some of you have also seen black and whites of Glacier too.

When the color goes away, or when I feel a need to put energy into my photography, I create black and white images. They are much harder to create, take more time and a lot more attention. Color can carry the image but black and whites are about shadows, lines, and composition.

Chief Mountain, Black and White - part of Chief Mountain is on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and part is within the boundaries of Glacier National Park. The leaves have all dropped and winter is on its way in Northwest Montana. Notice that this composition breaks the rules. The subject is in the center. I find that my images are often better (more appealing to me) when I can break at least one rule.  Nikon D810, Nikon 50mm 1.8, 1/125th @f8 iso 100. ©tonybynum.com  

I’m often asked, “how many keepers do you get in a day?” It’s a hard question to answer.

Sometimes it’s one, maybe two. Other times none. On this day, I did okay. I think keepers are a matter of taste but I find that I do my best work when I’m stressed but able to remove myself from it and go to places where there’s solitude. This time of year, after all the tourists have left the Park, solitude abounds.  

Two cow moose feed in a small pond in Glacier National Park. Nikon d810, 24-120, f4 af-s, 1/500th @f6.3, iso 100. ©tonybynum.com   

While I’m creating images, I’m completely lost in the moment. Somehow I'm able to let the presence of time and the abundance of solitude take over. I create better images when there are fewer modern, mechanical noises. Fewer cars, and no people.

I allow things to flow. I seldom shoot with a tripod for this reason. A tripod limits my creativity. For me, the time it takes to set up a tripod boots me out of my flow. Sadly, I've never learned how to incorporate a tripod into my landscape photographs without disrupting the flow. Most of the time, I just need to shoot and not worry about composition and tripod placement. I allow myself to just see arrangements, lines, darks, and lights, and go, as they say, with the flow.  

A stream leading to Rising Wolf Mountain, Glacier National Park. Nikon d810, Nikon 12-24 af-s 2.8, 1/125 sec @f11, iso 64. ©tonybynum.com 

Don't get me wrong, I love photographing humans in their element, but sometimes I prefer to craft images when the world around me is calm. I mentioned stress. I find that when my mind is spinning with the news of the day or the stresses of life, when I leave it all behind, for just a morning, I create better photographs.

On this day I discovered that what caught my attention most were the shadows, not the usual bountiful colors we so often experience in such magical places.

Here're a few keepers from today. How many, I did not count them, you can if you like.

Rising Wolf and Sinopah in the distance, Glacier National Park, Montana. Nikon d810, Nikon 24mm f1.4, 1/2500 @ f4, 64. ©tonybynum.com 

Sinopah Mountain, Glacier National Park, Montana. Nikon d810, Nikon 24mm af-s f1.4, 1/250 @ f8 iso 64. ©tonybynum.com 

My favorite capture of the day. I particularly like this photograph. It has all of the elements that I look for in a good quality image. Shadows, clouds, a strong subject, and a broken rule - the subject is centered. Nikon d810, Nikon 24-120 af-s f4, 1/640 @ f6.3 iso 200. ©tonybynum.com 

There's only one thing better than bringing a little bit of glacier home with you, and that's actually being here in the flesh. Click this hyperlinked text for more Glacier National Park Photographs.The link is safe, it will take you to more of my photographs of Glacier National Park.

Tony

Glacier National Park - Summer 2015

Glacier is, well, Glacier! How can you beat this place? I don't want to sound like a worried farmer, but it is dry this year. We should expect quite a fire year in Glacier Park. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't wind up with a catastrophic fire!

Here's a quick photo I grabbed this morning (June 28, 2015). What a pleasure it is to live and work in such an amazing place. #blessed  Tony Bynum

Sinopah Mountain, Two Medicine Valley, Glacier National Park, Montana. ©tonybynum.com 

Dead Grizzly in the Paola Creek Area -

Information Sought on Dead Grizzly in the Paola Creek Area

Contacts:

John Fraley, 406-751-4564; jfraley@mt.gov  

Ryan Moehring, 303-236-0345; ryan_moehring@fws.gov

Grizzly Bear Sow with two cubs. ©tonybynum.com 

KALISPELL, Mont. — On May 20, 2015 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) grizzly bear biologists and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Special Agent investigated and retrieved the carcass of an adult female grizzly bear from the Paola Creek area of the Middle Fork of the Flathead Drainage located on the Flathead National Forest in northwest Montana.

The carcass was transported to the FWP lab in Bozeman where examination revealed that the grizzly bear had been shot.

There was evidence of additional bears at the site and a remote camera photographed two yearling grizzly bears that were orphaned due to the death of the adult female. The young bears are about 15 months old and looked to be in good condition. The decision was made to leave the young bears in the wild.

FWP and the Service are asking for anyone with any information on this case to call 1-800-TIP MONT. Callers do not have to identify themselves and a reward of up to $2,000 may be available for information leading to a conviction.