http://www.newwest.net/ Photography and Photoblogging in the Rocky Mountain West en chris@newwest.net Copyright 2008 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:00:04 MDT Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:00:04 MDT http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/the_2008_crow_fair_in_photos/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/the_2008_crow_fair_in_photos/ BozemanMissoulaMissoula LivingBoiseFeatured Essay Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:32:16 MDT Every third weekend in August thousands of people descend on the small Montana reservation town of Crow Agency to be a part of Crow Fair. Dubbed the Teepee Capital of the World, the Crow Fair Celebration has been an ongoing tradition for the Crow for the last 90 years attracting Natives and non-Natives alike. In addition to the dancing and singing, there's also an all-Indian rodeo, a 5k foot race, parades, and horse races. Crow photojournalist Adam Sings In The Timber documented the culture of the fair in this photo essay. Click here to view Adam's photo essay. http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/missoulas_urban_chicken_squabble/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/missoulas_urban_chicken_squabble/ MissoulaFeatured EssayNew West LivingThe Homestead Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:20:00 MDT No matter which way Missoula City Council votes on the controversial urban chicken ordinance, the decision will surely ruffle feathers. The debate over chickens in the city has been contentious -- and, inherently, comical. In this multimedia project, NewWest.Net/Missoula photographer and reporter Anne Medley teamed up with intern Jonathan Stumpf to explore the issue from both sides of the fence. Click the image to watch the video. http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/slideshow_missoulas_festival_of_the_dead/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/slideshow_missoulas_festival_of_the_dead/ BozemanMissoulaFeatured Essay Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:30:00 MDT Every year hordes of Missoulians gather in downtown Missoula to celebrate Missoula's Festival of the Dead. Flame jugglers, ghostly figures, drummers, skeletons, dancers and even dogs in skeleton costumes waltz down Higgins Avenue in a sea of light, color, motion and sound. Every year a pack of photojournalists from the university also marches in and out of the parade in search of photographs that capture the spirit of the festival. This year students from the advanced photojournalism classes at the School of Journalism at the University of Montana were put to the task of documenting Missoula's Festival of the Dead, not just with pictures but with sound too. Armed with cameras, flashes and a digital recorder and microphone, students produced this multimedia piece about the history of the holiday and the festival in Missoula. -Jeremy Lurgio is an instructor of photojournalism at the University of Montana's School of Journalism. Click the image above to launch the slideshow. http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/the_rocky_mountain_school_of_photography_student_show_2007/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/the_rocky_mountain_school_of_photography_student_show_2007/ MissoulaFeatured EssayArts, Film & Events Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:36:00 MDT If you've lived in Missoula for any length of time you may have noticed a peculiar seasonal phenomenon that occurs in early summer. Just as the university students ship out and the streets quiet down, the weather warms and the river is good for floating, a large flock of folks bearing all manner of photography gear fills our streets. They wander, they stare, they tilt their heads this way and that, and sometimes they ask you for a photograph. These wandering shutterbugs are the latest class of students attending the Rocky Mountain School of Photography's Summer Intensive program, an 11-week boot camp of sorts with the aim of refining raw photographic talent into the stuff of which art and careers are made.... http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/4_h_swine_project/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/4_h_swine_project/ MissoulaFeatured EssayNew West Living Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 MDT 4-H numbers are growing despite the rapidly changing fabric of the Montana rural landscape. At the Western Montana Fair, faced with fair politics and lower attendance, volunteers work hard to preserve the identity of the old-fashioned country fair and continue a program that teaches children life skills and fosters a sense of community. My interest in documenting the 4-H swine project was cemented by a conversation I had with Carol Graves, the grandmother of one of the 4-H participants at the Western Montana Fair last summer. It was the last day of the fair when the kids had to say goodbye to the pigs they had raised and intimately cared for over a period of four months. The swine superintendent was marking the backs of the pigs with a line of colored chalk while the kids began to dismantle their brightly decorated pigpens. The younger kids did not know that the different colors represented the various slaughterhouses where the pigs were to be taken while their wards went home with highly coveted ribbons and checks. Click here to view the 4-H Swine Project slideshow. http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/wildfire_photos_the_black_cat_fires_dramatic_run/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/wildfire_photos_the_black_cat_fires_dramatic_run/ BozemanMissoulaWildland FireFeatured EssayEnvironment Sat, 18 Aug 2007 15:00:00 MDT On Thursday, the Black Cat Fire northwest of Missoula made dramatic runs on two fronts, burning south and west through a mix of grass, brush, and timber and into residential neighborhoods. Firefighters worked through the night to slow the advancing flames and protect structures, but by morning, the fire had grown from an estimated 850 acres to 4,356 acres and one abandoned home, three garages, one shed, and three abandoned mobile homes were lost. New West photographer Anne Medley documented the day's events in pictures. Click the image to view her slideshow. http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/montana_fire_photos_jocko_lakes/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/montana_fire_photos_jocko_lakes/ MissoulaWildland FireFeatured EssayEnvironment Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:47:00 MDT The Jocko Lakes Fire, burning near Seeley Lake in northwestern Montana has been a dramatic show by all accounts. Saturday, Aug. 4, the fire ran from 800 to more than 14,200 acres, forcing the evacuation of 675 residences. Since then, the town of Seeley Lake has been living with a blooming fire in its backyard. In this photo gallery, photographer Anne Medley and some of our NewWest.Net readers show us what the fire looks like -- from inside the fire camp to the ridges across the lake. Click here, or on Anne's photo at right to see the gallery. If you're interested in sharing your photos of the Jocko Lakes Fire, or any other fire in Montana, with NewWest.Net readers, join our Flickr group devoted to Montana fires or email them to matt@newwest.net. http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/an_eye_on_the_rock_creek_fires/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/an_eye_on_the_rock_creek_fires/ MissoulaWildland FireFeatured EssayEnvironment Tue, 31 Jul 2007 17:06:01 MDT Sparked by lightning on July 15, the Sawmill Gulch Fire is burning in the Rock Creek area, about 22 miles southeast of Missoula. Due to potential dangers posed by the blaze, officials are recommending voluntary evacuations of several homes there. Meanwhile, the nearby Mile Marker 124 fire continues to blacken grass, open pine stands and mixed conifers along I-90 east of Clinton. To help fight these and other nearby fires, a helicopter base has been established along Rock Creek road where Type I and Type II firefighting helicopters are loading up on fire retardant for nearby drops. To see first-hand the effects the Sawmill Gulch and Mile Marker 124 fires are having on surrounding areas, click here for a slideshow, by Anne Medley. http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/photography_podcasts_improving_the_eye_by_way_of_the_ear/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/photography_podcasts_improving_the_eye_by_way_of_the_ear/ Photo Blog Thu, 26 Jul 2007 07:45:00 MDT Last autumn I had the opportunity to attend my first field photography workshop with a professional instructor. I spent several days tromping about Glacier National Park with Tim Cooper, an amazing digital nature photographer and an instructor with the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. The most instructive part of the workshop experience, by far, was the daily critique in which Cooper would gather a few photos taken by the students that day, project them onto a screen, and then, tactfully and kindly, rip the photography to shreds. As Cooper moved through each image responding to its best and worst qualities, tracing the lines of "movement" through the image and making suggestions for improvements, I gained my first glimpse into the workings of a talented and practiced photographic mind. Tim was teaching me how to think like a photographer. He expanded my conceptual vocabulary, giving me new tools with which I could critique my own work. I could have kept my camera in its bag the entire workshop and still come away a better photographer. I was delighted to find two web sites this week that offer something like my experience with professional instruction.... http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/an_interview_with_stephen_trimble/ http://www.newwest.net/gallery/article/an_interview_with_stephen_trimble/ ColoradoBozemanBooks & WritersNews & Author InterviewsVisual ArtsBoulderPhoto BlogArts Blog Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:00:00 MDT Utah-based writer and photographer Stephen Trimble's Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography (Northland Publishing) compiles dozens of the most memorable photographs of the Grand Canyon over the years, and pairs them with the stories of the photographers who took them and the history of photography in the Grand Canyon. The book won the 2007 Western Heritage Award in the photography book category. I recently interviewed Trimble via email about how he selected the photos for Lasting Light, how landscape photographers try to avoid clich;s and "eco-porn," and the millions of snapshots of the Grand Canyon in family photo albums across the world. New West: How did you select the photographers and specific photographs to include in Lasting Light? Stephen Trimble: Lasting Light began when three people working with Grand Canyon photographers realized that the tales from the field were as compelling as the pictures themselves. Richard Jackson, at Hance Partners in Flagstaff, Arizona, had been making large custom prints for professional Grand Canyon photographers for years. He loved hearing the stories behind the pictures told to him by the photographers. He realized that he even made better prints after he had heard the stories! Richard drove up to Grand Canyon National Park and proposed a major exhibit featuring not just the Canyon, not just photos as fine artbut, rather, an exhibit featuring the passion and dedication and stories of an entire generation of Grand Canyon photographers. The people. The experiences.