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Big Sky wedding at the 320 Ranch

Personally I can’t get enough of the 320 Ranch in Big Sky and I love making images in this luscious mountain valley. This spring I’m thrilled to be returning for another wedding!

Holden and Greg convened with their family and friends for this splendid wedding day. The weather was wonderful and they were spared the afternoon showers that had been the normal course of events on the ranch this summer.

Abundant and beautiful flowers were produced by the talented Katalin Green. The wedding arbor was simply gorgeous. Thanks to Carlie Breen Auger for joining me as second camera. Many of the photos in this collection were captured by her adept perception and eye for beauty! AND once again Carlie will be my partner in image making! I’m stoked!

Enjoy the view

Yellowstone Park proposal

Harsh Vedant Kumar contacted me on short notice to see if I could meet he and his ‘wife to be’ unbeknownst to her, in the Lamar Valley. They were traveling here from Atlanta to see Yellowstone Park in the winter and Harsh was planning a GRAND SURPRISE! So I made a plan and pinpointed some scenic places we could potentially meet, then spoke with Harsh upon his arrival in Bozeman to coordinate our location and timing.

At this time of year many of the visitors to the park are photographers that are hoping to capture images of the wolfs and other wildlife. That made me a fairly normal person to see hanging around with cameras around my neck, and etc.

When I arrived they had gotten to the designated location a bit earlier than planned. So I grabbed my cameras and wondered out onto the snow covered boardwalk taking in the view and made some friendly ‘stranger’ small talk. Then Harsh pull the ring box out of his heavy coat and knelt before his lovely companion. Niru was overcome with tears of joy and then quick and repetitive “Yes, yes, yes, yes!!!” filled the air. ANOTHER GREAT SURPRISE IN YELLOWSONE PARK!

As the sun appeared and disappeared from behind the low lying clouds we drove to a few scenic places and captured some magical memories.

And one more detail, Harsh was so thoughtful that he secreted a few dresses from Niru’s bag at the hotel knowing that she might want some images in other than winter coats and snow pants. Good work Harsh!!!

Enjoy the view!

And then I pulled some well chilled bubbly out of my trunk and toasted to their long and happy life together. In Mason jars… of course!

Surprise Proposal at the B Bar Ranch

Right after Christmas I received an inquiry from a young gentleman that was planning a trip with his girl friend Emily to the gorgeous B Bar Ranch in Tom Miner Basin. The B Bar Ranch has been the favorite vacation place of Emily’s family for nearly 30 years. I spoke to Jose shortly after his first inquiry and we created a master plan for the surprise proposal on the cross country ski area at the ranch.

A few weeks ago I took a drive to the ranch to check out the lay of the land and find the most scenic place for the proposal. I found an overlook where skiers and hikers often stop to take in the magnificent view of the valley below and the peaks that rise upward to the sky. STUNNING! I sent images to Jose for approval and we had ourselves a plan!

I was to pretend to be a magazine photographer on the property making images for an upcoming piece. That’s the best excuse I could come up with! Working with Trina the resident manager, we crafted the ruse.

Yesterday was sunny and cold with just a slight breeze. I hiked in about a mile and set up in my position, shooting a bit and taking in the view while lying in wait of my subjects. Soon they came down the hill to the look out. As they skied by, I made friendly small talk about the moose that I had been watching below (which was true). I think she bought that for about the first 5 minutes and then Jose made his move. It was very, very sweet!

Afterwards, we ran around the ranch a bit making images in places meaningful to Emily. Then sunset found us in a field above Paradise Valley with their dog Myka… soon to be unexpectedly joined by the resident herd of horses for the grand finale images.

At that point the sub freezing temps took their toll… I could no longer feel my fingers and called it a day. A really good day!!!

God knows, I love this job! Enjoy the view.

Cheers to the newly engaged Jose, Emily and Myka!

This is me, loving every minute of this magical day!

Back country wedding Yellowstone National Park

Take your elopement wedding to the next level! Yellowstone National Park has some of the most powerful scenic views on earth. What better place to exchange vows and promise a life time commitment to your soul mate. I’m surprised more couples don’t choose this place to marry. Shar and Jessica did just that and it was spectacular! Jessica’s father presided and I was photographer and witness. Our small group was guided by two very competent back country outfitters. They coached us in climbing rocky hills, crossing streams and descend down narrow trails on horseback. At one point, we came upon a fallen tree across the trail and we dismounted and climbed over the tree while the ranglers navigated the steep hill side with all of the horses and mules. It was a tricky situation getting the team up and down through the obstacles.

After riding for a couple of hours we came to an overlook above the second mountain meadow in Slough Creek. In a word… breathtaking!. Then preparations were made, a location was chosen and the couple dresses by a nearby tree. Quietly, thoughtfully and with reverence these two were married by Vernon in a very holy place. The moments arose, one by one with the powerful forces of nature impacting thought and feeling. BREATHTAKING

If you are interested in a wedding like this, just me know. I would love help you put this together and capture every magical moment.

enjoy the view!

Yellowstone National Park Wedding

There is nothing like photographing a Yellowstone National Park Wedding during the celebration of the National Park Service Centennial! The traffic was wild! The sky was painted with plumes of smoke from a few nearby fires and Emily, Sean, their immediate family and a few close friends were wonderful!

We drove around for a few hours making images in just a few of the scenic wonders of Yellowstone National Park. Everywhere we went dozens of people form all over the world were stopping to take a picture of the couple and conveying their congratulations and well wishes. It was very cool!

The Ceremony took place at one of the colorful pools for an intimate and moving ceremony officiated by the brides father. And then after Old Faithful performed on time, Emily and Sean slipped into their sleek Tesla Model S for some photos!
Enjoy the view!

LSP_3811 — Oh, by the way, I had some unexpected competition, this is the officiant and Father of the Bride putting his camera to work.

This year brings different challenges. However I’m hopeful and I’m excited to see what the future holds.

Studio Portraits and beauty

I had the pleasure of shooting for a beautiful friend and client of 13 years. Brett called a few weeks back and was looking to freshen up her modeling portfolio photos. After many emails back and forth, and a couple of phone calls we put the project into motion. She and her husband Sean came over to the studio on a Saturday and we had a great time burning up 4 solid hours of work. It was the best studio workout I’ve had recently and I loved every minute of it!

After many months of outdoor weddings, engagement photos and surprise proposals in Yellowstone and around Montana it was great to get back into the studio and tap into my years of studio work.

Next please! smiles… Larry