2020 "Snaps" Around Glacier National Park

[Jay w]

I hear ya brother. Lots of photos means lots of work.

Jay

[calicotraveler]

Pete, I often check your photos and do not always have time to comment on them. However, that is not to say that I don't enjoy them. I thought that the aspens were lovely (I think that was what the trees with the yellow leaves are). Please keep on posting!

[PeteE]

Jay, Michele, and Craig:

Thanks, sometimes it's just f'ing annoying to "hear crickets" day after day after posting pics and information.
That said, Y'all don't need to post something every time I put something up.
And yeah Jay, you know how much is involved with photos.
I've been trying to do a better job and it's a lot more labor intensive both in the field making the pics and then the post processing work.

Maybe it's the weather. It's been sucking the last few days and will be lousy for a few more.
Plus my back is screwed up causing me to have a pronounced limp since last Friday
I may hike up to Huckleberry lookout Thursday if the weather breaks and I can walk properly.
We'll see. Huckleberry has been getting snow and I'm sure it'll get more over the next few days.
That part of the trail after the saddle might get a little sketchy if the snow freezes up.

The GTTS road will remained closed from Avalanche to Logan until next year.
LOTs of snow has fallen the last few days and looks like another foot is coming.
It usually stays open to Avalanche until it's snow covered which could be December...or next week. hard to say.

Thank's y'all
pete

The GTTS road is closed at Avalanche, and I doubt it will reopen to Logan this year.
Here's a few shots from the GTTS road from October 7.











These are from the North Fork area yesterday October 11.
The weather coming in this week should end "fall color" except for the western larches.

Windy and intermittent rain yesterday at Lake McDonald. The crowds have yet to abate. Crazy!
So I went to Polebridge where it was still crowded--for Polebridge.
The kids working there told me it's been a good year for the Mercantile financially.


Huckleberry Mt. near the Camas bridge


The light wasn't good when I drove by this spot.
Later, on the way home, two groups were stopped here taking photos in much better light.


The Mercantile was slammed with a "masked mob of social distancers" lined up outside when I got there.
I sat in Jaybird reading my Kindle till it calmed down.


The foil packet on the counter is my Polebridge "pig in a blanket"--a quite good brat in their home baked pastry.


Along the Polebridge road.


Big Praire on the way to Kintla Lake. I liked this shot ok, but the following photo is a much better image imo.


The light changed rapidly as the gusty wind brought in clouds and rain showers off and on.
I moved closer to the Aspens for this shot.

[PeteE]

This is an image I'm made to practice focus stacking using the Helicon Focus app. Photoshop is a pain in the ass--for me.
Two images. One focused on the pine tree which was about 2-3 feet away from the camera, and one focused on the aspens about 100 yards away.
The aspens were way out of focus on the pine tree shot and pine was blurred on the aspen shot.
Both at ISO 100, f8 and 1/60 second. So it worked pretty well imo.
The aspens were blowing a little because another rain shower and wind came in just as I made the shots.

[Jay w]

When you posted these before, the sunset caught my eye, but I was literally scrolling through, not stopping and not reading. Hence, no comment. Some of the other photos have what I’d call subtle beauty. So you could stare for a while at a big pic, but the web is not made for those images. Still nice stuff and your skill has improved over the years.

Beautiful weekend last weekend. It was probably my last real mt bike of the season and I ended up with some slightly sore legs. Lots of leaf peepers out and groups stopped on the mt bike trail. Then here comes Jay bashing the bike through the trail trying to set a new segment record. Had to be careful with leaves on the ground.

Camper is winterized.

You’ll have to get the bike out on a nice day and venture up to the tunnel. Might be nice with a little ice.

Jay

[indiana hiker]

Pete those pictures are great. Love the colors, especially on the road to Kintla. Hope you get to Huckleberry. The webcams of Logan look like there is a lot of snow for this time of year. Stay safe when you venture out.

[ND]

Ya Pete,
Looked at your pics and they are so, so........

















NICE!!! You have taken your photography to another level! Congratulations, all your hard work is really paying off )

[calicotraveler]

The pic of the interior of the Polebridge Merc was interesting! I can remember when there was a small area in the back where there were post office boxes for the people living in the area. That was removed several years ago.

The baked goods are wonderful! All made from scratch.
We started going to Glacier in 2000 and have gone back nearly every year. Lots of changes!

[PeteE]

Thank you Jay, Barb, Michele, Ken, and all you lurkers too.!
I really do appreciate the support, especially on a chilly, dark morning.
I'm all layered up, dosed with ibuprofen, and ready to get on up Huckleberry Mt.
12 miles RT and +- ~2700ft. is a long day anymore for me.
Let's hope the weather holds up as forecast. I should then be able to get some good photos.
The forecast called for a hard frost all over the area so maybe some good pics at sunrise too.
Later

pete

[TnTammy]

Pete,
I have Really Enjoyed your pictures this year!! In the last many months they've taken on very special qualities that transition toward art, from my eyes.
Some Examples:
There's an 'otherworldliness' about your clouds....especially in that St. Mary Lake photo that was so wonderfully moody. In this recent garden wall with fall color taken from Sun road, the clouds almost jump off the page at you. My other favorites involve your water shots. Those at Avalanche capture the rich colors and textures of the stones underneath while still giving a great feel of the water's flow. I don't know anything about photography but my guess is that this doesn't happen by accident!
As you know from my many comments over the years, I'm a sucker for reflection shots and the one on McDonald Creek? manages to have the beautiful reflection of golden trees while still getting to see the rock colors under the water.

I often don't just look at your photos once....I enjoy them many times over and just wish i could be there to see that gorgeous place in all its seasons.
The Bearhat shot in snow killed me!!

Apologize for not sharing my impressions more often....since i Really know nothing about photography, i don't have feedback other than the OOOHS and AAAAHs that i feel.
Nonetheless, I appreciate you so much Pete! In this Covid year, i couldn't get to GNP or GCNP and its really been helpful to take in other's stories and photos.
Thanks for sharing, sincerely....your pics have been terrific this year!!
Oh, did i mention that i loved your sunrise pink clouds over GTTS Mountain from a few months back??
Your stuff is becoming memorable. As an old friend would say, "Good-On-Ya!"
Tam

BTW, finally gettin' to go somewhere. Utah bound for 10 days, can't wait!

[calicotraveler]

TnTammy your input I’m sure is appreciated by Pete. You don’t have to know a lot about photography to enjoy good photographs. You have an artistic eye and have mentioned some of the best ones recently in this thread.

Enjoy your Utah trip!

[PeteE]

TnTammy your input I’m sure is appreciated by Pete.

Believe me Michele, you have NO idea, none...on how much I appreciate Tammy's kind words.


You don’t have to know a lot about photography to enjoy good photographs. You have an artistic eye and have mentioned some of the best ones recently in this thread.

Thank you Michele. Compliments from you, Tammy and everyone else keep me trying ever harder to make better photos.
And, this is no small thing....help motivate me to not quit when doing tough hikes(for me) like today.
It was a pretty brutal day for the old geezer getting to Huckleberry lookout for pics. Up at 5:00AM, hitting the trail at sunrise-7:45AM.
12 miles(RT) and +-2700feet of elev. change. The last 3 miles on the way up were in 6-12'' of snow---and of course the first 3 miles coming down .
COLD, it was below freezing, and it got a little windy at the lookout. I tended to rush a bit since I was freezing my ass off up on the lookout.
All the more frustrating because I'm not sure yet if I got anything worth mentioning.
That said, if ya don't get ur ass up there, you ain't got nothin'

More clouds than I would have preferred and the sky was a bit "dull" in the northern half. It may look better when I do the post processing.
I'll work on the pics tomorrow. Need to get some sleep. I'm beat.

Enjoy your Utah trip!
Yeah Tammy! Get out there and have a great time. Screw the Covid-19

[PeteE]

I lied ...here's one pano from today that came out better than I expected.
The only editing done to this image is a moderate "haze removal". That tends to increase the contrast in the sky and clouds.
There's more that could be done to improve it.
Too much haze removal(and I'm guilty of it) can make the sky and clouds look to "overworked".
So I've toned it down in recently.

See what I mean about the clouds? Too many...obscuring the sky behind the mountains
The original is 14 images stitched to make an image 24,000 x 6000 pixels and would print up to 24" high by 9 feet long

The Livingston Range as seen from Huckleberry Lookout

[MarxMN]

Pete,

You have a lot of great pictures here. I like the aspens along the Polebridge Road. The aspens provide incredible contrast to the other colors. However, I really like your "practice" image of the pine tree and aspens. The detail is great. I particularly like the pine cones and pine needles in the foreground. Then the green pine on the right is great contrast to the yellow aspens. And that tree and the aspens are very much in focus too.

Bill

[PeteE]

Pete,

You have a lot of great pictures here. I like the aspens along the Polebridge Road. The aspens provide incredible contrast to the other colors. However, I really like your "practice" image of the pine tree and aspens. The detail is great. I particularly like the pine cones and pine needles in the foreground. Then the green pine on the right is great contrast to the yellow aspens. And that tree and the aspens are very much in focus too.

Bill

Thank you Bill!
I like the focus stacking idea. It works great in certain applications.
I'll be using it more when I find compositions where it'll work.

pete