"The Upper Sun River" - Augusta, MT

The Upper Sun River

Location: Augusta, MT

I had driven 3 hours for just one afternoon and a night of shooting on the Sun River in the Rocky Mountain Front near Augusta. The weather forecast was supposed to be clear, however the clouds stuck around to stay completely overcast throughout the afternoon and into the evening. And to top it off the wind was gusting to 60+ mph making it almost impossible to get a tripod steady for long exposures....The shoot seemed doomed.

I contemplated heading up to the the Sun River Canyon Cafe for a giant grass fed burger and a cold beer and calling it quits. But I had that feeling, that feeling of luck and being in the right place and the right time. Fighting the urge, I knew that I should just hold out a bit longer. Previously locating the spot I wanted to shoot for the night, I hung out for another hour or so waiting for the post-sunset to hopefully break through. When it did, I was barely ready for it. A tiny glimpse of a huge reflected window of the atmosphere painted by the sky appeared. High whispy clouds pulled by overbearing winds, and saturated with the low angle of the sun, the clouds appeared as a huge pillow of color over the reflective river and quaking aspens.....And then just like that, it was over in a matter of a minute...

Later in the evening, I set up for a long night of shooting with with a couple lanterns, a time lapse controller, and a rough idea of the star and moon patterns that night. My hope was that when combined with the right angle and composition, it just might reveal a little bit of the soul of this place.

Here is a short video: