My wife and I recently took a 10 day trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. The following few photographs were selected from over 3500 pictures that we took in the first 4 days alone. We are both amateur nature photographers. We took along two camera bodies (
Canon 6D and
Canon T4i), three lenses (a
12-24mm wide angle zoom, a
50mm prime, and a
100-400mm telephoto zoom), a
tripod, a panoramic head
base and
nodal slide, and lots of enthusiasm! To carry all of this equipment we used the
Lowepro Flipside 300 DSLR Camera Backpack. I would highly recommend nature lovers and photographers to take a trip to Glacier National Park. Just be sure to go in the summer. During the winter they get so much snow that the Going-to-The-Sun road (the main road, and the only way to get from one side of the park to the other) is actually closed for months at a time.
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A pretty bird we saw on our way into Glacier National Park in Montana. We chose a wide aperture for this shot to reduce the depth of field, which blurs the background, to really make the bird stand out in the photo.
Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 310mm Focal Length / ISO 800 / 1/400 sec @F/5.6
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 14mm Focal Length / ISO 400 / Multiple Exposures at F/11
A dramatic river scene on the way to historic Lake McDonald Lodge. This is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image made from combining five different exposures to capture the full range of lights and darks in this scene. Wherever you see my camera data say “Multiple Exposures” you can be sure it is an HDR picture.” src=”http://www.paulsenappliance.com/media/members-hes/vsec1-securenet/img_02_thumb.jpg”> - <img
data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 21mm Focal Length / ISO 1600 / Multiple Exposures at F/9
Another HDR image of the clouds rolling in over Lake McDonald. This was taken from the deck area of historic Lake McDonald Lodge. We could actually see the clouds sliding down the mountainside and thought it played well with the serene boats at the dock.
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data-caption=” Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 100mm Focal Length / ISO 400 / 1/500 sec @F/5.6
Haystack Creek cascading down to and under the world famous Going-To-The-Sun road. It is the only road that traverses the park, crossing the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. The road spans 53 miles across the width of the park and is the only road to be named a National Historic Landmark and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
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data-caption=” Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 100mm Focal Length / ISO 400 / 1/500 sec @F/5.6
Here is a closeup crop of the Haystack Creek cascade, being crossed by a “Jammer” – the park’s fleet of 1930s red buses which offer tours on the Going-To-The-Sun road.
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data-caption=”Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 100mm Focal Length / ISO 400 / 1/1250 sec @F/4
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Here is a picture of the symbol of the park – The Mountain Goat. We chose the widest aperture this lens offered (F/4.5) to help blur the background behind the goat and make the goat stand out in the photo.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Canon 50mm F/1.4 USM Lens / 50mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / 1/125 sec @ F/11
This is extremely beautiful country. There are wonderful photographic opportunities everywhere. As an example of that, this photo shows what was across the street from the next waterfall picture. I went to get a photo of the waterfall. When I turned around from the waterfall, this was what I saw.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Canon 50mm F/1.4 USM Lens / 50mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / 1/4 sec @ F/22
This waterfall was alongside the road next to where the goats were hanging out (just east of Logan Pass). This was a tripod mounted shot and I used a long exposure to get the “milky water” effect.
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data-caption=”Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 100mm Focal Length / ISO 160 / 1/125 sec @F/5.0
This is another iconic symbol of the park. It is called Bear Grass. Again, we chose a wide aperture for this shot to help blur the background. It really makes the tall bear grass stand out in the photo.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Canon 50mm F/1.4 USM Lens / 50mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / many exposures @ F/11
This is Goose Island, one of the most photographed locations in the park. This is a tripod+pano head HDR panoramic photo, which is made by combining multiple exposures in the computer to get an image wider than is possible with a single shot. This photo actually took forty separate images to create!
” src=”http://www.paulsenappliance.com/media/members-hes/vsec1-securenet/img_10_thumb.jpg”> - <img
data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Canon 50mm F/1.4 USM Lens / 50mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / many exposures @ F/11This is the Saint Mary River at the Eastern end of the park. This is another tripod+pano head HDR panoramic shot. This photo only took twenty eight separate images to create.
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data-caption=”Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 400mm Focal Length / ISO 200 / 1/500 sec @F/9
This is a close-up of a little chipmunk outside the Rising Sun Motor Inn. We used the big 100mm-400mm zoom lens, zoomed all of the way in, to get an image that would fill the frame.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 12mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / Multiple Exposures at F/11
This is looking at Goose Island from the water’s edge. It is another tripod mounted HDR shot. The colors were spectacular that day.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Canon 50mm F/1.4 USM Lens / 50mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / many exposures @ F/11
This is the roadside on the way to Many Glacier Hotel. It is a tripod mounted HDR Panorama. This took around 60 shots and 15 minutes to capture (not including the merging and processing time on the computer), but we thought it was worth it. We are pleased with the result of this image, but it is HUGE!
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data-caption=”Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 100mm Focal Length / ISO 1600 / 1/1000 sec @F/5
A baby calf moose almost walked right into our motel room! This large animal (with the much larger mother right behind it) was only 10-15 feet away from us.
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data-caption=” Canon 6D Camera / Canon 50mm F/1.4 USM Lens / 50mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / 1/2 sec @ F/22.
This is Red Rock Falls. It is about an hour’s hike on the Fishercap Lake Trail from the Swift Current Motor Lodge. I used a slow shutter speed again to give the water a “dreamy” texture.
” src=”http://www.paulsenappliance.com/media/members-hes/vsec1-securenet/img_16_thumb.jpg”> - <img
data-caption=”Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 100mm Focal Length / ISO 160 / 1/125 sec @F/5Sometimes you have to climb a bit to get the shot you want. This is me with my gear in the middle of Red Rock Falls. You can see the rock I’m standing on in the previous picture of the falls.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 12mm Focal Length / ISO 400 / 1/2000 sec @ at F/11
But sometimes the climb is worth it!
” src=”http://www.paulsenappliance.com/media/members-hes/vsec1-securenet/img_18_thumb.jpg”> - <img
data-caption=”Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 180mm Focal Length / ISO 320 / 1/250 sec @F/5On the way back to Fishercap Lake we ran into a Mama Grizzly Bear and her two cubs! We immediately retreated. The only reason we got this picture was that my wife heard something in the brush and focused the camera there, hoping to get a picture of a deer or sheep. The bear was only around 100’ from us and when she saw what it was, she snapped the picture, and then backed away as soon as possible. The bears were making their way to the lake. They actually crossed the path in front of us!
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 16mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / 1/40 sec @ at F/11
Fishercap Lake – where the Moose hang out.
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data-caption=”Canon T4i Camera / Canon 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens / 100mm Focal Length / ISO 1000 / 1/1000 sec @F/5
Like right here – three moose, one bull (in the middle) and two cows.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 12mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / Multiple Exposures @ at F/11
On the way to Iceberg Lake. We hiked five miles (one way) to get to the lake. This was taken with the widest angle lens (non-fisheye) that is made in order to try to capture the grandeur. The photo is a poor substitute for being there.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 12mm Focal Length / ISO 400 / Multiple Exposures @ at F/11
Looking back over our shoulders. Yes, those are rain clouds. It rained on us for about 30 minutes, but when we got to Iceberg Lake, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and it was beautiful.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 15mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / Multiple Exposures @ at F/11
This photo is of Iceberg Lake from the top of the trail. There is ice in the lake in July! But it was about 70 degrees air temperature that day. There were people paddle boarding in the lake. Well worth the 5 mile hike.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Sigma 12-24mm Wide Angle Lens / 12mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / Multiple Exposures @ at F/11
Iceberg Lake from the water’s surface
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Canon 50mm F/1.4 USM Lens / 50mm Focal Length / ISO 100 / 1/100 sec @ F/11
An alpine flower meadow, alpine forest, aquamarine lake, towering mountains, and glacier snow all in one picture. What a beautiful place to visit.
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data-caption=”Canon 6D Camera / Canon 50mm F/1.4 USM Lens / 50mm Focal Length / ISO 400 / Multiple Exposures @ F/11
A view of the scenery on the hike back from the lake.
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If you can believe it, this only covers 4 days of our 10 day trip. Stay tuned for part 2!
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