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Delurking...from the Big Sky State

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Dennis Dorr

New member
Actually, that's the OTHER part of the state...I live in the NW corner of Montana. The Flathead Valley to be precise. We are the part everyone wants to live in :)

It seems I’ve always had a camera at hand, even at a young age. The first camera I remember using was a Kodak Brownie 127 handed down from my parents. From that point I had a succession of film cameras until I began digital photography in autumn of 2000, when my oldest son married. I found a whole new world; one that complimented my interest in computers and digital imaging.

I've always had a need to express myself creatively and I’ve had several other hobbies but I've chosen photography as the way to show others what I see in the world. Living in the northwest corner of Montana, has afforded me a privilege that few ever receive…photographic opportunities are around every corner and the scenery and wildlife is abundant. Some of my favorite haunts are Glacier National Park (the inside North Fork Road...not many know about this road) the National Bison Range, and an awesome mountain bluebird trail not far from here. When it is cloudy and rainy / snowy, I shoot inside...flowers and still life become my pursuit. And occasionally I shoot anyone who will model for me.

You will notice I have a wide range of photographed subjects because… I like to shoot it all: Wildlife, Landscape, Macro, Nature, Fashion / Glamour, Weddings and Still Life.

I've lurked on this site for several weeks, brought here by a post by Nill Toulme (Fred Miranda I think). As I look around I see a lot of familiar 'faces' from other forums. I've lurked on most of them as is my habit...tending toward the social background. I like watching and learning. I like what I see thus far, I think I'll hang around for a while.

A side note: if anyone plans on visiting this great state and I can help with information or my personal knowledge please feel free to get in touch. It really IS a great place to shoot!
 
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Nill Toulme

New member
Welcome Dennis! I love your great state, although it's the part down around West Yellowstone that I'm becoming familiar with. My best friend has a cabin there — hard to beat a free place to stay!

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was scheduled to fly home from Calgary, Alberta having just finished up a few days fishing the Bow River. We ended up not getting out till the following Sunday and then only by renting a car and driving nine hours across the prairie to Missoula. We cut right through Glacier and your neck of the woods. A memorable trip for any number of reasons!

Do you do any fishing yourself?

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net
 
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Dennis Dorr

New member
Nill,
I haven't fished for years (but could be persuaded to start again), but the best fishing (when I did fish) I ever had was in Wyoming where my wife and I lived for a short period prior to moving here. It was the Arapahoe Basin, the Worland area...EXCELLENT fishing.
Several local streams and the Bighorn River.

I grew up in Great Falls and hated the prairie, but now I find myself drawn to it. Why did you go to Missoula? Was that the only way to fly out?

I haven't shot Yellowstone yet, even though I live nearby (if you call 400 miles nearby...Montana is a HUGE state). You should try our part of the state.
 
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Joel Slack

New member
Hi Dennis. I'm still new here myself and have found the atmosphere a breath of fresh air compared to some other photography boards which shall remain nameless. You won't find open antagonism and hostility here.

As luck has it (MY luck!), my wife and I are moving to Great Falls in a little under six months. I can't tell you how excited I am. I try to remain calm, thinking about the unbelievable cornucopia of opportunites awaiting me, but I usually fail miserably. Glacier is one of my all-time favorite places, but I think Yellowstone is probably better for wildlife (which I love to shoot). The Tetons are pretty great, too, but if you don't get there just after sunrise you can pretty much forget it (in my experience). Still beautiful to see, though, even if you can't shoot it...

Say, do you guys ever get any auroras up there? I imagine it would be rare-ish, and not spectacular like they get further north. I'd love to get some good shots of a rip-roaring aurora.

Anyway, we are barely able to sit still with excitement. You have a great location! I've got a thousand questions, but I'll not monopolize the proceedings. Welcome aboard, hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
 
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Nill Toulme

New member
Dennis, yes, we couldn't get a flight out of Canada, and Missoula was the nearest U.S. airport. I didn't have a passport or birth certificate with me (those were the days...), and had my wife fax me a copy of my birth certificate. The U.S. border guards seemed mostly concerned with the apples we were bringing with us. ;-)

Nill
~~
www.toulme.net
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Dennis,

A great welcome to you! Thanks for removing yiur cloaking device. I hopw we can see some of your work. Casual goes to Layback Cafe and we have fora for everything else!

Again, glad to greet you finally,

Asher
 
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Dennis Dorr

New member
Joel: I remember reading your intro several days back. Why is it you're moving to Great Falls? Is it the base? I have family in Great Falls and visit occasionally.
Nill: That sounds just like bureaucracy at work...worried about apples when there are more important things to worry about.
Asher: Thanks for the welcome. Perhaps I will post something, but with my varied interests I have to decide which one to post first. Ugh.
 
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Rodney Sheldon

New member
Dennis Dorr said:
Actually, that's the OTHER part of the state...I live in the NW corner of Montana. The Flathead Valley to be precise. We are the part everyone wants to live in :)

It seems I’ve always had a camera at hand, even at a young age. The first camera I remember using was a Kodak Brownie 127 handed down from my parents. From that point I had a succession of film cameras until I began digital photography in autumn of 2000, when my oldest son married. I found a whole new world; one that complimented my interest in computers and digital imaging.

I've always had a need to express myself creatively and I’ve had several other hobbies but I've chosen photography as the way to show others what I see in the world. Living in the northwest corner of Montana, has afforded me a privilege that few ever receive…photographic opportunities are around every corner and the scenery and wildlife is abundant. Some of my favorite haunts are Glacier National Park (the inside North Fork Road...not many know about this road) the National Bison Range, and an awesome mountain bluebird trail not far from here. When it is cloudy and rainy / snowy, I shoot inside...flowers and still life become my pursuit. And occasionally I shoot anyone who will model for me.

You will notice I have a wide range of photographed subjects because… I like to shoot it all: Wildlife, Landscape, Macro, Nature, Fashion / Glamour, Weddings and Still Life.

I've lurked on this site for several weeks, brought here by a post by Nill Toulme (Fred Miranda I think). As I look around I see a lot of familiar 'faces' from other forums. I've lurked on most of them as is my habit...tending toward the social background. I like watching and learning. I like what I see thus far, I think I'll hang around for a while.

A side note: if anyone plans on visiting this great state and I can help with information or my personal knowledge please feel free to get in touch. It really IS a great place to shoot!
Click to expand...
Over the last twenty-five years I have spent quite a bit of time in Hope, Idaho, a very small community thity miles north of Sand Point, in Northern Idaho, less than twenty miles from the Montana border. And yet as soon as one crosses that border the topography and ones feeling of being dranstically change. Big, very big, private and insignificant are words that comes to mind as I think of the sensory effects that overcome me everytime I have crossed that border. If you ever want a lesson in humility, come to Montana via Northern Idaho and I promise you that within a five minute drive north your ego will shrink.
 
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Dennis Dorr

New member
Rodney:
Exactly seven years ago my oldest son took a job in Davenport, Iowa with Lee Enterprises in their Internet division. We packed him up and I drove with him all the way. We drove from the NW corner of the state to the SE corner and it was almost half the trip. The trip was just over 1600 miles! Yup, it's BIG.
 
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Joel Slack

New member
Dennis Dorr said:
Joel: I remember reading your intro several days back. Why is it you're moving to Great Falls? Is it the base? I have family in Great Falls and visit occasionally.
Nill: That sounds just like bureaucracy at work...worried about apples when there are more important things to worry about.
Asher: Thanks for the welcome. Perhaps I will post something, but with my varied interests I have to decide which one to post first. Ugh.
Click to expand...

My wife and I are both native Texans, but find the climate and terrain to lack a certain appeal, though we love the people here. We want 4 whole seasons and some topographical variety, while not sacrificing the friendliness of local residents. We lived in Vermont for a year, which was beautiful, but we just really didn't fit in. I've been to Montana enough to know that the people there are more "down home," and few places in the US offer as much natural beauty. It's a bonanza of photographic opportunity.

On a lesser-important note, I also hope to stake a little claim on public land (on an old, already-dredged streambed) and be a weekend-warrior placer monkey. Always been a dream, not for the riches (haha), but for the connection to the land and to have a place to do some mindless work and camp out. Gold bum photography hobbyist, that's me. No better place I can think of than Montana.

We chose the dry side so we can have the clear nights for telescopic diversions and perhaps some astrophotography, and it makes for a good base of operations. Five months and counting!
 
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Joel Slack

New member
Hey Asher.

It's easy! $170 worth of fees to the Bureau of Land Management and a little records research as to whether the land in question is free of claims, and you're all set. After that, you make (and then report) at least $100 of "improvements" per year, then pay another $125 fee per year and you can stay on it indefinitely. You can't use it as a "homesite," but there are no restrictions I know of as to how long you can physically stay on the land (i.e., in a tent or shelter) when you're actually working and looking for that elusive gold.

I admit it's kind of a childish fantasy, but it's legal and sounds like a fun way to while away some weekend time, work with my hands, and who knows? Maybe find some dust. I don't go into it expecting to make money on the deal, though, and certainly not to "get rich quick." During the gold rush days, massive dredgers came through and dug up streambeds for miles, leaving massive mounds of tailings in their wake. My understanding is that the operation was so big that the smaller bits of gold weren't even factored into the equation, much less dust. Lots of folks dig into those tailing piles and run 5 gallon buckets of earth through a little sluice box, hoping to score a little color.

Anyway, it sounds interesting and fun, even if I've maybe over-romanticized it all these years. I'm very much looking forwad to it.
 
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Duke Beattie

Member
Dennis Dorr said:
The Flathead Valley to be precise. We are the part everyone wants to live in :)
Click to expand...
Love it... I really like the ones who visit Glacier in the summer and decide to move to Montana because it's so pretty.. They move up in the spring from California and about 90% move back during the first thaw the next spring. I guess -20 deg and 20 ft. of snow turns them off. :)
I was stationed in Lakeside from 65-68. Lived in Kalispell off and on since then. In about 6yrs (I hope) I will retire from my present job and be back again for good. I have a couple of acres in 'Many Lakes' and hope to build a small cabin and write manifestos...... :) I get over there every year around July. I have friends just outside of Somers. Wonderful place!! Kalispell is getting pretty crowded though..
 
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Dennis Dorr

New member
Duke:
Yes, there are a lot of people who fall in love with Montana at first sight. Unfortunately...or maybe fortunately, there are the seasons. We ARE over half way to the North Pole and the Flathead Valley, specifically Kalispell, only has 79 days of full sun (average). Winters can be gray and lifeless.

You were stationed at the Radar station on Blacktail? There is now a ski area there.

You are correct in your statement that is getting crowded. We are one of the fastest, if not THE fastest, growing area in Montana. That means higher prices, thicker traffic, and slower service where ever you go.

It's still a nice place to live.

Keep in touch...
 
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