Photography During Family Vacation In Glacier

Going on family vacations can be one of the best experiences in the world. You get to spend time with people you love in incredible places. Being a photographer while on vacations can sometimes be a difficult task.

As many of you know the best light happens before anyone really wants to be out of bed, and around dinner time when everyones stomachs are grumbling for food. This makes for some interesting and unique challenges when wanting to photograph locations during your trip.

I recently spent a week in Glacier National Park with my wife, parents, sister and brother-in-law, and ran into some of these challenges. I had planned to visit a lot of spots while everyone else was still waking up for the morning, then return (1+ hrs) to pick them up for the days adventures. I did a pretty good job planning and balancing the overall shooting and family time, but for the first half of our trip I was stuck in Canada for sunrises because the border didn’t open until 7AM. Because of this I spent a good amount of time at Waterton Lakes National Park instead of within Glacier.

I started off the adventure at a place called Driftwood Bay, and I soon learned the nickname “Windy Waterton” was well coined. Sustained 20-30 mph winds greeted me on that first day and it was hard to stand let alone get an image. My wife and my father tagged along for the 4am journey and their company was much appreciated in grizzly country. I managed to capture a few images I was happy with as the sun began to rise.

My favorite image from this first morning came when I inserted myself into the image. My wife had to hold the tripod steady while I got into position because the wind had already attempted to throw it from the cliff twice.

With the sun well risen, it was time to go get the family and head into Glacier for the day.

Even though it was middle of the day , there were pocket of good light that I was able to take advantage of during our hike.

I was surprised to find wildflowers still in bloom and it made the hike for me! The views along this hike were incredible, but seeing the delicate flowers, glacial waters and sheer cliffs in this rugged basin was was the icing on the cake.

The following day we hiked around Waterton Lakes and rested our legs a bit. We made the hike to this small waterfall and I got creative to capture this shot.

Sometimes you find yourself twisted like a pretzel just to find the right composition. I had to use my shirt to screen the lens between shots so water didn’t splash onto the glass. Its a good thing I didn’t skip leg day!

On our way back to the rental apartment, we spotted a deer drinking from one of the lakes with the perfect backdrop. I couldn’t resist getting the shot.

Day 3 was a productive day. We finally saw mountain goats along the cliffs of Glacier National Park, got great light at St. Mary’s Falls, and ended the day at the Wild Goose Island Overlook for sunset. I had pre made chili to eat so we could stay out for sunset as a family.

On day four I returned to a composition I had seen a few days before and hoped for a sunrise. I usually check the weather and cloud cover at the locations I visit, however my phone had decided to putz out on me while in Glacier. So, I went in blind so to say and hoped for the right conditions. Instead I got some serious cloud cover and very chilly temps, so I decided to work with what I had and produced a moody long exposure thanks to my Lee 6 stop ND Filter.

Despite the weather being cold and miserable in Waterton, by midday in Glacier we had blue skies and beautiful mountain views.

The place I was most surprised by was Avalanche Gorge. A short hike in along a boardwalk makes this spot an easy venture for anyone. When I first arrived the light was not very good and by waiting about 4 hours I found myself looking into one of the prettiest places I have ever seen!

The last stop was Lake McDonald and I thought it was going to be a wash. We made sure to eat near the lake so we could make it to sunset. the amount of cloud cover made for a nerve racking hour and a half, but right as the sun set some very red light filtered through to the peaks. It was a great way to end our stay in Glacier. We got to see many new and incredible places, and it is a location I would definitely love to return to.

Light and Landscapes

A landscape photography blog by Andrew Lockwood

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