Dates: June 6 - 12, 2010
Leaders: Moe Witschard and David Middleton
Location: Great Falls, Montana
Cost: $2495
About the Workshop
The Montana Rocky Mountain Front is an incredibly wild area where the towering, limestone flatirons of the east side of the Rocky Mountains literally rise up out of the grassy plains that extend to the east for hundreds and hundreds of miles. In June, the front is a sea of green with wild flowers everywhere, expansive vistas, mighty rivers, and very abundant wildlife. Minus the buffalo herds, this place looks very similar to when Lewis and Clark passed through here over two hundred years ago.
This part of the Rocky Mountain Front is the home of the Nature Conservancy’s Pine Butte Swamp Preserve. Attached to the preserve is the Pine Butte Guest Ranch, also owned and operated by the Nature Conservancy as a dude ranch. This workshop will base out of the Pine Butte Guest Ranch. We will have the opportunity to photograph big prairie and mountain landscapes, raging rivers, wildflowers, wildlife, cowboys and horses, old buildings and machinery, teepee rings, and many other great Montana subjects. Additionally, we will schedule a few shoots in neighboring rural communities where we will be able to observe and photograph life in rural Montana.
The Pine Butte Guest Ranch employs two full time naturalists for their summer programs. Most of our shoots will have a naturalist along to answer questions and to help provide context for the landscapes, flora, and fauna that we are photographing. Partnering up with the Nature Conservancy on this workshop allows us to provide a very unique Montana photographic experience that has great depth. If you are interested in experiencing one of the most spectacular and inspiring landscapes in Montana as well as the human element of those who live and work here, as well as those who homesteaded it, then this workshop is for you.
This workshop presents the unique opportunity to bring along a family member or friend who is interested in the regular summer dude ranch program of horse back riding, hiking, fishing, wildlife watching, and natural history. While our photography workshop is limited to 12 participants, the ranch can accommodate many more so we are offering a limited number of spots to family members or friends of workshop participants who would like to come along and participate in the regular guest ranch program that will run concurrently with the workshop. We will all eat meals together. Family members and friends not participating in the photo workshop pay a lower non-workshop rate.
Gallery
Included in the Workshop
The workshop fee includes 6 days of workshop instruction, lodging, all gourmet meals, all transportation, including pickup and drop off in Great Falls ,and of course many, many great picture taking opportunities. You are responsible for your round-trip transportation to Great Falls. Lodging will be in small cabins that house 2-4 people. A limited number of single-supplement lodging options are available.
Needless to say, your fees include the professional instruction of a PAW leader. All workshops have leaders, however a PAW leader is an expert on the location and has proven skills as a workshop instructor. Our instructors are there to help you make better images and fill your portfolios, not theirs. PAW leaders don’t photograph on our workshops; they teach.
This workshop will allow a maximum of 12 participants. To make sure that everyone gets the help and attention they deserve, we include a qualified assistant on all full workshops. A minimum of 8 participants are required for this workshop.
PAW workshops: the best leaders, locations, and instruction.
Transportation and Lodging
Airports
Great Falls International Airport (GTF)
2800 Terminal Drive
Great Falls, MT 59404
Lodging
Accommodations are included in the workshop price and will be provided by the Pine Butte Guest Ranch. Accommodations will be in cabins with 2 to 4 beds. A limited number of single supplements are available.
We will utilize the meeting space in the guest ranch lodge for presentations and critiques.
Getting to the Pine Butte Guest Ranch
For those flying, the nearest airport is Great Falls International Airport in Great Falls, Montana, located approximately 75 miles from the ranch. We will pick you up in Great Falls between 12:30 and 1:30 pm. on June 6th and transport you directly to the ranch. We will pick up at the airport or at your hotel if you arrived the day before. Please email Moe ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) to let him know your arrival details. If you are arriving on the 6th, you must arrive at Great Falls Airport before 12:30 on June 6th!
Schedule
Upon arrival at the Pine Butte Guest Ranch, we will show you to your accommodations for the workshop and then we’ll meet for an orientation in the lodge.
Subsequent days will see us rising early to be at the morning shooting site well before dawn. We will return to the ranch for breakfast and then mid-morning will see us in the lodge looking at and critiquing the photos we just shot, as well as discussing photographic techniques that we will practice in later shoots. Each afternoon and/or evening will see us heading back into the field to sample the magic of a new location during some of the best light of the day.
Workshop instruction will finish around noon on Friday, June 11. This will give us a final afternoon at the ranch to relax, reflect and hike or trail ride for those who are interested.
After breakfast on June 12th, we’ll load up into the vans for one last time and drive to Great Falls where we’ll drop you at the airport or your destination in town.
Equipment and Gear
We recommend that you bring the following gear with you on our Rocky Mountain Front workshop:
Digital SLR with back up camera that will fit your lenses
- Battery charger
- A few extra batteries
- Memory cards (bring plenty!!!)
- Sensor cleaning supplies
Lenses
- 12-24mm (for the 1.5x sensor size cameras)
- or 17-35mm (full frame)
- 28-105mm lens or similar
- 70-200mm , 100-400 or similar
- Polarizing filter(s)
- Lens hoods for all lenses
- Lint-free cloth to clean lenses and air blower for dust
- Lensbaby if you have one or else you can try mine!
Computer / Digital Accessories
- Laptop with charger and photo editing software (Photoshop or Lightroom preferred)
- Portable hard drive as backup.
- Card Reader
- Small jump drive (thumb drive) for transferring images for critique.
- All cables for drives, computer, card readers, storage devices, etc.
Other
- Tripod
- Cable release
- Small headlamp or flashlight
- Photo backpack or bag
- Camera manual
Other Accessories & Clothing
- Hiking Shoes/Comfortable walking shoes
- Sun hat/Baseball cap
-
Warm layers, jacket, hat, and gloves. Some fall mornings can get very chilly. The average high temperature is mid 70s with a low in the 40s.
Be sure to let Moe know of any special needs that you may have so that we can try to accommodate them.
The Leader
Moe Witschard is a commercial and editorial photographer specializing in adventure/outdoor lifestyle, travel, and landscape images. His adventure and travel images celebrate people living in, traveling through, and recreating in beautiful and inspiring places. Landscape photography was the magnet that drew him to this field and it continues to form the core of his fine art work. Moe’s photographic travels have taken him all over western North America from Baja to Alaska, to the Canadian Arctic, Patagonia, Ecuador, East Africa, Thailand, and most recently to the Himalayan country of Bhutan.
Moe loves teaching and working with groups. Prior to his career in photography, a 20 year career in outdoor education gave Moe extensive experience working with enthusiastic learners of all ages. In addition to doing private photography instruction, Moe has instructed photography workshops in Death Valley, Alaska, the Tetons, Glacier National Park, the Smokies, and several other locations. He is known for his contagious enthusiasm and his ability to explain concepts clearly and simply.
Contact:
Moe Witschard
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.moephotography.com
Skype: paworkshops
General Info: 877.384.PAWS(7297)
Cell Phone: 406.570.3505
Final Thoughts
My first shoot at Pine Butte was one of my most memorable. The sun had just set and a full moon was rising off of the horizon. The ridge I was standing on gave me a wide vantage of the surrounding prairie and mountains and the landscape was bathed in beautiful soft light. I could hear sandhill cranes nearby and I could see a moose in the flats at the foot of Pine Butte. It was wild and wonderful and I will never forget the feeling I had. I felt so excited to be there. I think that you will too!
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