Montana has been very fortunate this year in the low amount of fires we’ve had in the Gallatin area, especially with how dry everything has been. Over the last week the smoke has slowly cleared out of the valley in part due to the number of storms that have come through. This past weekend we had a great storm come through and Saturday was a great evening to head out.
With the potential of some great light I headed over to a local marsh outside of Manhattan where the birding has been good in the past. When it comes to chasing storms knowing where the best light will be hitting is essential in order to get the best shot. Often times knowing this comes from a lot of time spent exploring the local areas so that when one of those mornings or evenings comes up you’ll now where to go. While it was somewhat of a gamble going to the marsh, having been out there before I knew that it would be good one way or another. Well for birding it wasn’t as good but the sky did open up right above me.
This is one of those times when it’s all about having fun. With the D4 and 18mm all I did was point and click. Being able to shoot and just enjoy is rare treat in the photography realm and is easy to forget about after all the time spent planning out schedules. The sky was great for a while but in the bottom image looking out west, the clouds were rolling in fast stopping that last breath of light from emerging. Still was a great evening to be out.