I had the pleasure of photographing Margaret and Grant’s wedding last summer, so I knew we’d have a blast again this spring making their Seeley Lake Montana family portraits, this time with their puppy, Teddy the St. Bernard in tow! (Though he’s already a very big boy!)

I met up with them at their family cabin on a (chilly!) spring day in June, and, as it happens in Montana, we got a little bit of everything as far as weather goes – but the best thing is that Margaret, Grant and Teddy were totally open to making it work and going with the flow.

We began our session in the woods outside their cabin, and were serenaded by some chatty Sandhill Cranes as Margaret and Grant strolled along the pathways around the property. As we headed to a spot where massive numbers of lupine were in bloom (and I mean massive – it was a sea of purple!), the sky became a little darker, the wind picked up, and just as they stepped out into the field, Mother Nature unleashed a sky-full of graupel on us.

But instead of being forlorn at the change in the weather, we all just laughed our heads off and went with it – which is always the best way to be, in my opinion. And what fun images we made because of that! Margaret’s hair and dress were catching the wind with great, dramatic flair, Grant was laughing at his hands full of graupel, and my hair was totally covered in it. Hilarious!

As is the saying in Montana: “Don’t like the weather? Wait five minutes.” And sure enough, as we chased the nearest opening in the clouds we were treated to faint rainbows and beautiful light peeking through the gray.

Soon the sun began to sink and turn the sky a pinky-purple, so we decided to make some portraits of Teddy on his own. And oh my gosh – I laughed so. dang. HARD. Turns out Teddy loves a little keep-away game with the camera and he made a series of THE most hilarious faces as he ran circles around me. What a hoot! It’s moments like these that I absolutely love, and I swear, all our faces were a little sore after that episode because we had all been smiling and laughing so hard.

Margaret, Grant and Teddy! What an evening! Thank you so much (as always) for being so completely wonderful to work with – and ohmygosh, Teddy – what a little (wait a second – big!) sweetheart! I’m so happy we got to make these images for you all, and thank you again for the Coldsmoke surprise (so thoughtful of you!). Always love me some good Kettlehouse beer. :) Cheers to you all!

On the docket:

Weddings and elopements and portraits! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine