2025 MONTANA SUMMER ADVENTURE

A summer photography tour and workshop in Glacier National Park.

JULY 12 - 16, 2025

Glacier National Park in Montana is known as the Crown of the Continent and offers ample and diverse photographic subjects to challenge every photographer's creativity. From glacier carved majestic mountain peaks and turquoise alpine lakes to wildfire ravaged forests with fresh wildflowers bringing new life, there are opportunities for unique compositions around every turn! On this 5 day Summer Photography Workshop you will immerse yourself in some of the Rocky Mountains most scenic locations. With any luck we will also be able to photograph some of the the famous wildlife in Glacier National Park! You will be guided you to some of the most beautiful spots in the park including some off the beaten path, and provided with expert instruction on how best to capture the light and interesting compositions. The goal of the workshop is to give you the ability to explore, learn, and fine tune your photography skills both in the field as well in post processing development to bring your images to life. Helping clients create a portfolio of images they are excited and proud of is priority number one on all of our workshops (along with having a good time).              

INSTRUCTORS: Chris Byrne and Shane Kalyn             

 GROUP SIZE: 10 Participants

COST: $3450 (No Lodging) / $3950 (Single Room Lodging Included)

DEPOSIT: A 50% deposit is required to secure a spot, with the balance due 90 days prior to workshop

ITINERARY

We will meet in the afternoon of Saturday July 12 (day 1) in St. Mary for introductions and an early dinner before heading into the park for the late afternoon and into sunset. After the first day, we will meet well before sunrise to get to the best possible locations to chase the morning light and continue shooting until the sun is too high and light too harsh. The goal of each day is to find the best photo locations in Glacier National Park, including its beautiful wildlife when possible. We will break each day in the late morning until mid afternoon to eat and rest up for our afternoon/evening photography session. This will also be the time dedicated for post processing instruction in both Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for those that are interested. We will gather a several hours before sunset to take advantage of the late afternoon sun and mountain shadows and continue photographing until the last of the evening light fades. We will also dedicate one evening for shooting the night sky.  Being far away from any city lights, Glacier is a wonderful location for photographing the Milky Way, shooting stars, star trails, and even the rare northern lights. This recipe calls for early mornings and late nights, which is why it's important we rest up in the middle of the day (if we do have a star photography session the next day we will sleep in!) The workshop will end after sunset on Wednesday July 16.

USEFUL INFO / PHYSICAL DIFFICULTY

The sun rises at approximately 5:30 am and sets at 9:30 pm during this time of the year in northern Montana. Add in driving time to and from locations and this will make for very early mornings and late nights. Temperatures can range from 40 degrees at night to 90 degrees during the day.

Physical difficulty of the locations will be easy to strenuous. It is important for participants to be in good physical health. While many locations will be a short distance from a parking lot, there will be a couple more strenuous hikes of up to 6 miles roundtrip with elevation gains up to 1000 ft and some short but steep sections. We will not be doing very much hiking off trail and all of the trails in the park are well maintained, however some are more difficult than others. 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

An adventure packed week in one of the most beautiful national parks in America! We will find the best photo spots in Glacier National Park as we travel around the area. Photography locations will take us to nearly every corner of the park including Two Medicine, Lake McDonald, Logan Pass and Many Glacier. As stated previously there will be early mornings and late evenings but the days are structured to not wear anyone out and get the most enjoyment of the surroundings and scenery. I will provide tips in the field to capture images correctly "in camera" with the goal being that part becomes second nature and students can then focus on the creative aspects of landscape and nature photography. Post processing instruction will run the gamut of importing and organizing files into Lightroom to processing images in Lightroom and Photoshop and finally prepping images for the internet or for print. I am an open book and willing to share any tips or tricks I’ve learned to help you turn your photos into art!

MEET THE INSTRUCTORS

CHRIS BYRNE

Hello there! I’m Chris and I spent way too many years aimlessly wandering the earth and working for the man before finding my true passion in nature and landscape photography. My love of nature started very early in life as I would study the photographs in my dad’s huge collection of National Geographics, and also spend as much time as I could out exploring in the woods with my younger brother. Fast forward many years and after getting a finance degree in college I went to work in the stock market for over fifteen years (and didn’t get rich). During my time, I saw first hand two of the most devastating financial crises in our country’s history, and after the second go around I completely lost interest in my profession and desperately needed something more. I found myself in a place in life without any inspiration or excitement for what I was doing.

Then on a trip to Glacier, Montana I rediscovered my love of nature. However, the photographs I was trying to get just didn’t do the place any justice. It was then that I decided to get serious about photography and quickly poured all of myself into the craft, learning as much as possible as quickly as I could. I was a super sponge and had a new passion for life! As soon as I became proficient in my skills, I wanted to share my knowledge and began teaching others. Now I lead workshops to some of the best places on the globe. I am proud to be able to inspire others and spend as much time as I possibly can with each person in helping them connect with nature while teaching the techniques to capture the images that they want to create. Seeing people make breakthroughs in their art is something that I cherish. I truly believe that nature is good for the soul. The more you explore, the more you will be inspired. Join us on an unforgettable photography adventure! www.chrisbyrnephotography.com

SHANE KALYN

It all started with an old Nikon camera. A young Shane Kalyn picked up his father’s manual camera, and an interest bloomed. He shot on film, on slides. Then, he went to university, where he studied fish and wildlife management, and started traveling — and his world exploded. “From leopards and lions in Africa to Arctic foxes and puffins in Iceland to giant tortoises in Seychelles, I have been so fortunate to see and photograph some truly amazing things,” says Kalyn, an award-winning nature, wildlife and landscape photographer. He has been recognized by Canadian Geographic, National Geographic, the U.K. Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and the Audubon Photography Awards.

Shane is a proud member of The Canid Project, a non-profit that spreads awareness of the world’s canids to promote human-wildlife co-existence. “Photographing any species of wildlife, from sparrows to elephants, truly brings me joy. But I have a real soft spot for wild canids such as foxes and coyotes.  I would love to travel the world and photograph all of the amazing canid species out there”. 

Currently residing in Vancouver, BC but never content to sit still, Shane has also travelled to just shy of 50 countries, and his job as a fisheries technician takes him to some of the most remote and beautiful corners of his home province of British Columbia — but some of Shane’s favourite moments in photography often happen when he stumbles across urban wildlife close to home. “I am fascinated by urban wildlife and their ability to adapt and live alongside the human world, this coexistence is both essential and beautiful.  For me, it is the connection to the wildlife I photograph that I cherish the most. Feeling that connection to the natural world grounds me, and it is by far where I am most comfortable.”  Shane is also a proud member of the Canadian Conservation Photographers Collective, a group that promotes conservation and science education through the production of strong, thought-provoking visual content and he is also the founder of Canadian Conservation – a collective of Canadian nature photographers who use their art to raise funds to protect Canadian wildlife and conserve Canada’s wild spaces. www.4elementphotos.com

CANCELLATION POLICY & TRAVEL INSURANCE - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

We reserve the right to cancel the workshop if minimum participants are not met or in the event of an emergency. In the event that a specific guide cannot personally attend, then a replacement guide will be the first option. If a cancellation does occur, participants may either use the fee towards a future workshop or receive a full refund. We are not responsible for travel expenses incurred and therefore strongly recommend travel insurance to cover such costs.

A $200 change fee will be charged for changes or cancellations. Participants who cancel prior to 90 days before the workshop will receive either a full refund or credit to a future workshop minus the change fee. Any cancellations within 90 days of the workshop cannot be refunded under any circumstances. Only if we are able to fill the vacancy, will the participant will receive a credit to a future workshop minus the change fee. Workshop credits are good for one calendar year from the date of the missed workshop.

Any cancellations within 30 days of the workshop (for any reason) will forfeit their entire registration fee as it is extremely difficult to fill the space on that short of notice. If a true emergency arises last minute we will do our best to work with you granting a partial credit towards a future workshop, but this is not guaranteed. Again travel insurance is strongly recommended.