"Public Lands Protection Act" for Glacier Park - Total Farce!

"Stripping all regulations from federal public lands within 100 miles of the Canada, in order to protect us from terrorism, is like grabbing the shotgun and a box of number 7's when you hear a fly buzzing around your head." - Tony Bynum October 28, 2011


The phone in my office rang a couple days ago, "hey Tony, how would you like to get some aerial photos of the Rocky Mountain Front and talk about H.B. 1505, and 1581," "the federal lands protection act," and the "road-less release act" respectively. I paused for about a millisecond and replied, "let me think-about-it-yes."  Of course I want to fly the Rocky Mountain Front - who wouldn't   

Some are calling these bills land grabs by the federal government and a complete over reach. H.B. 1581 is meant to roll back the protections on millions of un-roaded federal lands and turn back the clock to a time when people were making their own roads with wood wagon wheels across unsettled land. Just so you understand, that era close officially in 1976 with, the "federal land policy and management act," or FLMPA.  

Aerial Photograph of the Rocky Mountain Front and the Walling Reef as seen from 10,000 feet. This area would be open to the boarder patrol to access for any reason, including building roads and building forward operating stations. ©tonybynum
All images are protected by copyright, unauthorized use is prohibited. Please contact Tony Bynum for licensing. 

Anyhow, it made sense for me fly since I've been doing a lot of it lately documenting the development of the industrial oil complex on the Blackfeet Reservation on Glacier National Parks east side. But back to the subject. Both bills are horrible and if passed could mean serious impacts to our wildlife, land, and our own public health. H.B. 1505 (how ironic that the framers chose to call it the, "federal lands protection act." I'm guessing that means, "federal lands" and "protection act" put together into one title - it certainly is misleading if you just read the title). 

Oil drilling on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier National Park, Rising Wolf Mountain in the back ground. All images are protected by copyright, unauthorized use is prohibited. Please contact Tony Bynum for licensing. ©tonybynum 

1505 would allow U.S. Border Patrol to operate in any fashion it wants within Glacier National Park, including building roads and forward operating stations without any consultation with anyone, heck, they would not even have to pick up the phone and call the national park service. When glacier was named the crown of the continent I'm sure no one intended that to mean managed by the big "C" Crown!

After the flights I had some time to answer a few more questions and give my opinion about what these bills mean to me. Here's the CBS news broadcast that aired wednesday night on CBS in Montana.  

It is hard for me to imagine, in this time of our country's history, there are people who are praying upon our weakness in order to push their land grab agenda.  Along with 1505 there's 1581, again another bill that would open lands that have been manage for their wilderness characteristics for 20 years. If passed it would open millions of acres to roading and ultimately destruction.  

People, if there is one thing only that you take away from this, hear me when I remind you that there is NOT more wild space. We should expect more people, but there are NO more wild places, unless of course your definition of wild places includes bourbon street in New Orleans.  Once you wreck a place there's no going back. It is far better to protect and manage wisely than it is to destroy it and rebuild it later. 

Stripping all regulations from federal public lands within 100 miles of the Canada, in order to protect us from terrorism, is like grabbing the shotgun and a box of number 7's when you hear a fly buzzing around your head. The sponsors are telling us that the federal government does not have enough authorization to control federal lands, and that it is just trying to level the playing field with the authority homeland security now has over state and even private land.  Jed Link, a spokesman for Congressman Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., said the border protection legislation, which Rehberg supports, is limited in scope.

"It gives the Border Patrol the same access to the border on federal lands they currently have on state and private lands," Link said. Huh, what access does the Boarder Patrol already have over my private land - is this really coming from a republican constitutionalists - allow boarder patrol access to my private land - what! I’m confused folks . . .  Is Rehberg a conservative, sounds more Meo-inian than conservative to me. . . Mr Rehberg, what happened to less government? Where have your conservative values gone? Or is this the one area where you believe it's okay to be big government? 
Did you know that homeland security has the right to search your house if you live near the boarder - huh?  Orwellian - who said that?

What we need is a fly swatter, not a shotgun. The people proposing this bill need to calm down and realize that creating a panic now is not the way to manage our Nation. Let’s look at the issues we have and build a sound plan to address them. Throwing up our hands and rolling back over 40 years of environmental protection in order to protect ourselves from our Canadian brothers to the north is just plain silly-talk . . .   

Please let your representative know that we are smart people who can find simple solutions and are meant to solve specific problems. We don't need our local federal lands taken over by the border patrol and homeland security. . .  

The news story featuring views about the Heritage Act, from Tony Bynum, Bill Cunninghan, and others. 

glacier national park, tony bynum, east glacier park, montana photographs, best glacier park photographs, glacier park art, commercial outdoor photography, the rocky mountain front, crown of the continent 

What Makes Me Creative - I'm an Explorer - Grizzly Bears

Montana, A Huge Breath of Fresh Air!  

What makes one creative? Is it place, is it age, is it genetics, experience . . ? As I crossed back into Montana from Idaho along I-90, returning from a recent trip to the Pacific Northwest, I felt like I was back home. Immediately after passing the "welcome to Montana" billboard, I rolled down the window, even while the snow was clipping by at 50 mph, and snatched a gulp of cold, clean, crisp Montana air. Next, I happily pushed the clock ahead one hour, to catch up to the mountain time zone - just being in the mountain time zone makes me feel more at home.

Do you have a place that makes you feel like you're at home? Does your soul know when it's connected to the earth and the air?  Where on this planet do you feel most connected, balanced and at home?  For me it's Montana and the Rocky Mountains, particularly the eastern slopes where it's cold, windy, and the sky's are as large as my imagination with boundaries set only by the rugged cliffs, endless sky and my ability to navigate the terrain.

Being in a place that makes me feel like I'm at home is what allows me to be creative.  This does not mean I dont travel or that I'm not creative when I'm shooting on the road, quite the contrary.  It means that place is important to me and it's important to have a place that allows you to feel at home. For me that's Glacier Country in Montana.  It's beautiful, remote, timeless, rugged, hard, clean, and free. There are no Starbuck's, no Costco's, no traffic and few people.  It does get lonely at times, cell service often sucks, there are fewer job opportunities and housing is marginal, and I have to work harder than most of my colleagues, but the quality of life that it all brings and the creativity that it allows me to generate makes it all seem like the right place at the right time!  Are you living in your creative place?       

Spring In East Glacier and Grizzly Bears

It's spring in East Glacier, a good deal of local snow pack left last week, but there's still mountains in my yard, and today it's cold and the forecast is for more winter like weather. It's almost May so it can't be long now until we see more dirt, grass and soil than ice and snow! Already we are only 50 days from the longest day of the year, the trees are budding in places, all a sure signs of spring. It also means the bears are out and lurking around. Be sure to give yourself a bear spray refresher (know how it works) and above all, be sure you have a fresh can on you and ready for use when you're out!  

More on Grizzly Bears. I'm often asked where to find bears, how to photograph them, how close do I get and so on.  I always remark, "grizzly bears are where you find them, they are anywhere and everywhere at any time. You have to be on guard and alert at all times. Don't approach them, and for heavens sake, don't try to track them down." I very much enjoy a good photograph of a grizzly bear but I do not seek the critters out, instead I use opportunity and seize it when it presents itself and without danger.  

To me there's something magical and invigorating about living and working in a landscape where a bear is on top of the pyramid, but I also give them respect, their space, and do whatever I can to avoid encounters with them while in the back-country.    

On that note, this is the time of year that I pay special attention to what's going on around me when I'm outside. Since I like to roam widely and make my own path - trails and obvious routs are not my style - trails are for hikers, and I'm an explorer - in the spring I try to be more visible and less quite than ever.  The bears like brush, creek bottoms and places where's there's lush green forbs growing. And soon, the boars will be chasing the sow's around which makes their exact locations unpredictable!    

I dont recommend people set out in search of bears to photograph, at least not in Glacier National Park.  The grizzly bears around here are well known for their aggressive and "territorial" behavior. If you want really to photography grizzly bears there are lots of great places in Alaska where you can get all the pictures you want and remain relatively safe doing it.

As a closing note, I'd like to thank the dedicated members of the Professional Outdoor Media Association for all the their generous support in electing me to the Board of Directors.  I was honored to receive the nomination and now I'm very happy to accept the position!  Thank you POMA!  

Tony   

 

PS

COME TO MISSOULA, MT on May 3rd for a great presentation!  

If you need something to do next Tuesday, come the University of Montana on May 3rd, where at 6:30 PM I'll be showing on the big screen, some of my images of the Rocky Mountain Front, and Ben Lamb of the Montana Wildlife Federation will be speaking about the Rocky Mountain Front - check it out here: http://bit.ly/muA4aL

Happy New Year - shoot the weather!

Happy New Year! 
It's the first day of 2011 and I'm excited about the new photographic opportunities this year will bring!  I'm going  keep expanding on the things that people want to know more about i.e., gear, places to shoot, and timing. So in this post I'll touch a bit on all three. . .

The new year as kicked off with fantastic weather.  Here in Glacier Park, its 4 degrees and blowing 30 with 40 mph gusts, the drifts are in feet with bare ground in some places!  Perfect for getting outside -- for about a minute!  LOL  Really, the sky's are clear, the wind is blowing and its cold, but that's what it's suposto be doing here and that's part of the reason we live in this place - extreme weather - if you don't love it you don't last.

Place's to Shoot
I'm excited to get out and shoot.  The days are getting longer and it wont be long till the canada geese, snow geese and pintail ducks show up.  Before that however there's lots of winter scenes to capture.  On a given day you can go out and photograph what's right in front of your face, no matter where you live.  With just a little persistence and some focus you'll find that there's a lot of opportunity right under your nose.  If you're here in Glacier Park, or you're planing a trip out, be sure to take some time along the middle fork of the Flathead River. From West Glacier and the Flathead Valley, just go east along highway two toward Essex, along the south boundary of the Park.  There are several great locations along the middle fork from which to capture some wonderful winter landscape photos of Glacier Park.

Assignment 
If you're at home and need some inspiration why not watch the weather and over the course of the next month or two, shoot one or two different weather related theme images every week. Have your camera ready (this usually is one big difference between people who capture stunning images and those that take snap shots, they use use their cameras) and when you see something weather related, it could be the sky, an icicle hanging off the rain gutter of the house, rain coming down sideways, wind blowing trees down or water so hard it's clearing out a pond, and one of my favorites, trees!  Use your senses and if you see weather, shoot it! You'll be surprised at how interesting your images will be if you just focus on a theme, like weather, and shoot it.

Tips
Here's a tip, clear your mind and just let your emotions and feelings direct your hands to aim the camera. In today's hustle and bustle life - fast and relentless - you need to take a break.  Photographing themes like weather can be a great way to give your brain and body a break. For me, when I'm in the "zone" there's nothing else in my mind; it goes dark and dense except for my vision and my focus. It's almost like my mind is floating by itself but it's directing my hands and eyes. . .  It's automatic when you can clear your mind and let your emotions focus your photography.

I have to mention again the weather. They say that an army fights on its stomach.  Well, a winter outdoor photographers shoots on the temperature of her/his body.  If the fingers and hands get cold it's all over.  So, i like to use hand warmers.  I buy a new case every year.  For about a buck each (two per pack) you can have warm hands all day long.  I slip them into my mittens (they have a clove that covers my hand and fingers and the mitten folds over the fingers and is also where the hand warmer pouch is located) but if you don't have that kind of equipment, just put them inside your gloves or in you pockets and use them to warm your fingers when necessary.

It's still blowing here in Glacier Park, but it's time for me to go outside and get a whiff of it!

Cheers, and happy new year to you all!

Click here and see some new wildlife images from tonybynum.com 

Glacier Park Birthday, Empire Builder Cover, Help, Grizzly Bears, Construction, Great Clouds!

Happy Birthday Glacier Park! 
Yesterday was the official Glacier National Park 100 year birthday.  Jaida and I attend the celebration and had a great time!  The weather was great and the people were fantastic!


Glacier National Park Cover
the magazine "Empire Builder" picked up one of my images for the cover of its summer 2010 issue. Here's what it looks like. . .

Help Me Shoot You!
I'm looking for models to help me create images of people recreating and living in Montana and specifically glacier national park. I'd like to shoot hiking and biking. I'd also like to do some exploring around eastern Montana to so if youre from that part of the country and have an interest in making images of you doing something fun, please let me know! tony@tonybynum.com

Grizzly's and a Wolf
Check out this great footage of a grizzly sow and two cubs taking on a lone wolf - nothing gory, it's fun to watch!  http://bit.ly/d5hCcg

We're Getting New Pavement!
That's right, the underpass to the lodge on hwy 49 is being redone, and boy is it time. The guys with the state highway department are digging up the underpass hopefully this time the problems will be solved. This road is constantly being torn up and in the past one could lose an entire wheel into one of the potholes, particularly if you come here driving one of those new cars that runs on peddle power a or a plug in! Thanks Montana highway department!

Great Clouds Lately!
This spring has been a bit cold lately but that made for some outstanding clouds and micro-storms over Glacier National Park!

 Until next time, keep shooting!

Tony Bynum

Glacier Park 100 Yrs Old, A New Treat at the Grill, Glacier Impressions.

Glacier Park 100 Yrs Old on Tuesday!
There's only a couple more days to make your plans to share cake at the Parks 100 year birthday party!  Tuesday's the day!  Head on over to West Glacier to join the festivities.  For more information go directly to the Parks site.  http://bit.ly/Glacier100years

I shot the cover for this book . . .


Two Medicine Grill
Everyone knows that Two Medicine Grill, and Ramsey's Fire Brand are the only two restaurants open year around and they are where the locals eat. The Two Medicine Grill is now serving a cheesecake to drive across the Rockies in the blizzard to eat - it's a home made huckleberry cheesecake made by Colleen, the wife of the duo that owns the Grill. Stop in at the Grill and have a slice or if you're a ice cream fan, try a scoop or suck down one of their world class milkshakes.

Ramsey's Fire Brand
What can we say about Ramsey's other than, "go eat there." Basically they make great Montana style food and do it at a reasonable price. When I take people there I always tell them the same think, "everything on the dinner menu is good!" They generally have a special and it's always worth a try. . .

Glacier Impressions Fine Art
Were continuing to make progress on the new digs. The weather has been less that helpful. It's hard to paint and mud when it's so cold, the paint dries slow, and the "mud" is more like rock, making it hard to apply . . . in any event, we are making progress and plan to have a "soft" opening on May 28, 2010 and a "grand" opening later in July. I'll keep you posted on those details in case you're interested in attending or if you just want to keep track of our progress.

My "Wild Montana" Collection
Here's a link to the images shown at the "Wild Montana" benefit show for Headwaters Montana, a non profit working to protect the North Fork of the Flathead River Watershed. This collection, like all my images, are for sale as prints, canvases, aluminum prints or framed art. 

 Sinopah, Glacier National Park


Have a great weekend! 

Snow Geese, Freezeout Lake & Rocky Mountain Front

Well a couple weeks ago I mentioned waterfowl. I went to Freezeout Lake south of Choteau, MT, and about 90 miles south of Glacier Park just out from the base of the mountains, but failed to produce due to poor light, and lack of birds. This time out I did much better.

I arrived well before sun up in order to find the birds. The white masses, often numbering in the 10’s of thousands, are easely spotted on the lake(s) even when it’s dark and the nearly full moon offered plenty of light. I found a few birds and decided to sneak in on them to catch them leaving for breakfast, which happens just before the sun hits them when they are on the water.

All images were shot with 500mm Nikon f-4 VR AF-S.  The shooting data for the above images is as follows, pattern metering mode, aperture priority, 1/60th @ f5,   -2/3 ev, vr ON, ISO 800 (no noise reduction) gitzo carbon tripod, Kirk King Cobra head on leveling base. RAW NEF file processed in Lightroom, saturation, sharpening, WB adjusted . . . exported as JPG for the web.


Once they “lift-off” the birds head for one or more the many grain fields located on the Fairfiled Bench, just east of the Lakes. The birds feed there untill about 9:30 AM and then return to roost on the water for the remainder of the day. The birds are at their peak now, and will be present for a few more days, maybe a week but with all the open water to the north, they are not sticking around Freezeout very much longer.

                      Looking west while the snow geese feed on the Fairfield bench, rocky mountains in the background.

            Close up of snow geese taking off from feeding and heading back to the lake, rocky mountains in the background.

The weather around East Glacier Park, has been unusually warm.  So much so that the snow is gone from yard which historically has not completely melted until mid May. . .  Saw some green plans which was nice, but I'm not naive, snow is no the way!

Have a great day,

Tony

Glacier National Park Early Spring Photography and Great Light

After 10 winters living on the eastern flanks of the crown of the continent and Glacier National Park, I've discovered that "warm" weather in the early spring equates to dramatic light and great clouds.  When it's cold here the light is dull and gray, when it's warm, say freezing or above, the light improves.  

If it's not already apperent, light is the single most important property in photography.  Light is everything and in Glacier National Park and the Rock Mountain Front of Montana, you can be sure that the light will change with the seasons.

Early warmth in the spring often leads to dramatic light reflecting off of long, stratified clouds that parallel the mountain front.  This is shot was taken just before the sun went away for the evening - it was captured from just north of East Glacier Park, Montana.

Shot handheld, f8@125th iso 200 @ 50mm.  I expect more light like this in the weeks ahead.  The last time we saw this early warm weather and snow melted by April I captured this image and many more. . .

The next image of Sinopah, was captured at sunrise, it was shot at 1/8th @ f16 iso 100, gitzo tripod, Kiser ball head, and a one stop split ND grad handheld to cut down the sky (it is not a HDR, i processes all my images in Lightroom).  Remember to use the filters with caution, the reflection should always be darker than the subject.  This image framed @ 18x36" is available in my gallery  "Glacier Impressions," East Glacier Park, MT.

I have not seen a year with that kind of regular dramatic light before or since, till now.  While I cant predict the future and I dont know what the weather will be like in the May and June, but if I had to guess I'd say this will be a great year for light, plan your trips!

BTW, if you're an American Idol fan, how about that Crystal Bowerstox singing  Bobby Megee - Wow, she's the real deal!