Glacier National Park Photography Workshop

Workshop location; Lake Josephine is a blue green jewel surrounded by pristine forest and the towering snow capped peaks of Glacier National Park, Montana.

June 22nd - 27th, 2025

Space Available

$1740 USD

Instructor: Andy Cook

DESCRIPTION

Feel the imposing presence of majestic mountains, photograph lakes and cascades swollen with melt water. Pause in a meadow and enjoy the wildflowers of this special place. Glacier National Park is a landscape photographer's paradise.

FOCUS: Photograph lower elevation, early summer scenes against a back drop of dramatic mountains.

ADDITIONAL: Photograph lakes and streams of the park and wildflowers when they are present. Photograph wildlife, if appropriate opportunities arise.

Aqua colored glacial water flows through red, sculpted rocks and a green forest in Avalanche Gorge, Glacier National Park, Montana. — Avalanche Gorge

Photography location; Vertical, wide-angle, black and white photo of a small cove on St Mary Lake. The bottom of the image reveals shoreline rocks with linear cracks that create powerful leading lines bringing the viewer into and across the water, to the opposite shore, where the eye tracks the shoreline until it reaches two tall, long dead, spruce trees whose bare limbs stretch skyward to fill the top third of the image. Behind the trees the sky is filled with streaking puffy clouds. — St Mary Lake

ITINERARY

The workshop starts on Sunday, June 22nd, 2025 at 6:15 pm. We meet outside, in front of the instructor's hotel office (Village Inn at Apgar). After introductions and a discussion we go to our first shooting location.

LODGING LOCATION: Village Inn at Apgar, Glacier Nat'l Park (west side). 855-733-4522
Or, at the adjacent lodging.
Apgar Village Lodge and Cabins, Glacier Nat'l Park (west side). 844-868-7474
Nearby alternate lodging: West Glacier Motel. 844-868-7474
Check-in Sunday, June 22, 2025; Check-out Monday, June 23, 2025.

Relocate to
Many Glacier Hotel or the nearby Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. 855-733-4522 or 303-265-7010
Check-in Monday, June 23, 2025; Check-out Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

Relocate to
East Glacier Lodge, 499 MT-49, East Glacier; 844-868-7474. Note: 3 floors, no elevator.
Check-in Wednesday, June 25, 2025; Check-out Thursday, June 26, 2025.

Relocate to
Rising Sun Motor Inn, 855-733-4522 or 303-265-7010
Check-in Thursday, June 26, 2025; Check-out Friday, June 27, 2025.

WORKSHOP ENDS after shooting sunrise on Friday, June 27, 2025. We will be done with photography no later than 9:00 am. It is 2 hours and 30 minutes to Kalispell, MT. Do not schedule early flights.

Except for the evening of June 25th, 2025 (in East Glacier), all of the lodging mentioned above is located inside the park boundaries surrounded by spectacular scenery. The rustic rooms are clean and tidy, but do not have telephones, TVs or internet access.

Lodging in the park is very popular and starts to fill one year in advance. Participants should arrange their lodging using the information above as soon as possible.

We have several rooms reserved in most locations. If you're having difficulty securing reservations, please contact us For details.

Photography location; The unusual, tall, oblong flower of bear grass populates the foreground meadow while snow capped peaks hint their presence through thin broken clouds high above. — Bear Grass

DAILY ROUTINE

MORNING: We'll be at a photography location for the start of civil twilight and we'll stay at that location through sunrise. Sometimes we relocate to another photo location before going to a late breakfast.

MIDDAY: Typically, when not relocating, we will hike to a photo location or provide post processing assistance.

EVENING: Dinner in a restaurant is scheduled each day. After dinner activities may inclued one or more of the following: Location preview for the next morning, pre sunset photography, sunset photography.

NOTE: When on the east side of the park we believe photographing sunset (approximately 9:42 pm) should be viewed as optional. Why? We are very close to the mountains, the sun will disappear behind them well in advance of actual sunset. Dramatic sunsets from the east side are unpredictable and infrequent as they require clouds to liven the back lit mountains. Due to the length of this workshop and the very short nights we recommend some participants, those who are tired or require more sleep, consider skipping sunset unless there are clouds with good potential.

POST PROCESSING: Because we stay at four different hotels and relocate during the midday, there is limited time available for processing assistance.

Photography location; The sky was a mix of clouds that had been bluish gray. Now, the first light of day catches the lowest hanging and they begin to glow a pinkish orange revealing their linear and curving geometry. Thrust into these clouds are three pyramid shaped peaks perched high above Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park. Scanning down this vertical image one sees the color of the clouds dancing in the rippled lake water and stretching toward the viewer and to the collection of partially submerged, colorful, red, green and orange rocks of the shoreline. — Two Medicine Lake

REGISTRATION / DEPOSIT $300 USD

TERMS-CONDITIONS CANCELLATION POLICY

DEPOSIT or FULL

Registration / Payment

BALANCE

Pay Balance

REPEAT BALANCE

Pay Repeat Balance

Workshop location; Close-up photo of a well worn, amber hued piece of driftwood partially buried and surrounded by nicely contrasting, smooth, blue, green and occasionally red stones on the shore of Saint Mary Lake in Glacier National Park. — Driftwood & Pebbles

DETAILS

EXPERIENCE: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.

GROUP SIZE: Target number of participants is 8.

EFFORT: Fair to heavy depending upon one's condition. Some photography locations will be just beyond the parking lot while others will require trail hiking. Our longer trails range between 2 and 3 miles each way, but none have significant elevation gain.

CONDITIONS: Be prepared for changes in weather. Mornings can be very chilly.

ELEVATION: The elevation range of our shooting locations is 3,250 to 7,500 ft. Proper hydration is a must at higher elevations.

Workshop location; A long exposure creates silky, smooth water and streaking, puffy clouds surrounded by blue sky in this vertical composition of Swiftcurrent Falls in Glacier National Park, MT. The powerful river cascades through the scene initially surrounded by forest, then as it draws closer, warm hued rocks and cliffs bind the aqua blue water as it flows out the bottom right corner of the frame. Above, in the upper part of the image, two snow capped peaks stretch toward the sky. — Swiftcurrent Falls

TRANSPORTATION

AIR TRAVEL: Most people flying to this workshop will find flying into Kalispell, MT to be the best choice. Additional options include Spokane, WA, Great Falls, Helena, Butte or Billings MT.

Driving time from Spokane, WA is about 5 hours. Be aware that the road through Glacier National Park (Going-To-The-Sun Road) is slow and may suffer closures. Provide ample time to return to airport. During the workshop we move east further away from Kalispell.

DRIVING CONDITIONS: Driving conditions will consist of mainly paved roads. When possible we prefer that participants car pool with each other to help limit our impact and get to know one another. A standard rental car will be sufficient.

Photo locations are spread out in this large national park so we relocate hotels to keep driving to a minimum.

MORE WORKSHOP INFORMATION

Workshop location; A boat dock, criss crossed with small row boats, juts into the calm lake from the bottom right corner of the frame. Above, warm sunset colors dance on a patchwork of clouds, while in the middle of the frame, looming back in the distance are the mountains of Glacier National Park. — Lake McDonald

EQUIPMENT

RECOMMENDATIONS: MORE WORKSHOP INFORMATION

FOR GLACIER NATIONAL PARK: A lens range from at least 16mm to 200mm after the lens multiplication factor is recommended for landscape photography. 300mm or longer for wildlife.

PEPPER SPRAY: This is grizzly country, participants may carry spray if it makes them feel comfortable, one may not be able to fly with this.

NOTE: Photographing in Avalanche Gorge is not part of workshop, if desired, participants should photograph here before or after the workshop.