On The Road ~ Montana Dog & Fine Art Photography

Taking a trip back in time here as I finally had a moment to edit the photos I took with my real camera on my journey in April from NJ to MT (see the cell phone camera images of the trip here). As usual I enjoyed observing Sugar but I did stop to visit and photograph Beardstown, Illinois, a small river town. I lived there for 6 weeks as a student in 1989 while participating on an archeological dig. I had photographed it extensively back then, some of which are on laurengrabelle.com in the "earth & its people" portfolios (see info links at bottom of each page) and was sad to see the state of town in 2010. For a place that had a lot of small town pride 21 years ago it now seems sad and bit lost.

Sugar & The Goats ~ Montana Dog Photography

Sugar is definitely adjusting to the Montana way of life: sharing one's life and space with all creatures great and small. Here she is completely ignoring Frida & Pinky who are trying to stay out of the rain. Luckily for her they have no interest in her ball. It took a few days to get to this state of peace however. At first there was lots of barking and head butting but they seem to have worked it out - luckily. Pardon the low quality: these were shot with my camera phone.

The Dream Continues - Montana Landscape Photography

1/2 mile from me on the north shore of Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, where it looks like whale bones rise from the sand and Giger-like aliens scurry across it.

Not in NJ anymore ~ Montana Fine Art Photography

Must have had some bad dreams last night that left me in a certain space. While walking around my neighbors's today everything that I had been ignoring for not having time to contemplate (hunting for meat that I would buy in a grocery store) suddenly was screaming out at me to be photographed. Not my normal happy dog photography. Even Sugar looked evil in the bright sunshine...

Glacier Symphony After Party @ The Hockaday: Montana Event Photography

After their final Masterworks program performed at the Flathead High School Performance Hall the Glacier Symphony gathered at the Hockaday Museum of Art in downtown Kalispell on a recent Saturday evening. Photographed for their newsletters are the Symphony's musicians; John Zoltek, the Music Director & Conductor; and the Symphony's executive director, Alan Satterlee enjoying the party along with Liz Moss, the Hockaday's Executive Director and Curator.

Sugar on The Road 2010 ~ Montana Dog & Fine Art Photography

Inspired by a recent article on the NY Times' website about books featuring animals on journeys I thought it would be fun to show some images I took on my cross-country journey to my new home in Montana last month. All the images were shot with my very bad phone camera but with the purpose of letting close friends and family know via picture text where we were visually through Sugar's experiences on the road. The files/images were so bad in fact that I had a little fun trying to improve them with lots of post-production manipulation. Enjoy!

Enjoying the landscapes...



Passing time...


Running in the rain...


Getting treats for sitting...


Rest areas...


Borrowing a child to tire Sugar out...


Waiting, not driving...


Finally sitting when she's not supposed to along the Illinois River...


Refusing to get back in the car...

Now Scheduling Dog Portrait Sessions in NJ/NY area

I will be returning to the NJ/NYC area the first and last weekends of June. If you and your dogs are ready for a photo session with me please let me know and I can schedule you in either Sunday, June 6th or Monday June 7th or the 25th, 27th or 28th. Please call me to ask any questions about the process or just to chat. Looking forward to possibly meeting you and your dog/s!

Men & Their Pets ~ Montana Dog & Pet Photography

While getting ready for the art walk this weekend my neighbor and his friend were showing off their affection for their animals for me to photograph. NOT an example of how people stay clean in Montana but truly the largest cat I've ever seen...

You're Invited: Bigfork Spring Art Walk ~ Montana Dog & Fine Art Photography

I'm excited to be part of the Bigfork Montana Spring Art Walk this Saturday, May 8th from 1-7pm.

Located on the shore of Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, Bigfork has been chosen as "One of the 50 Great Towns of the West" and designated as "One of the 100 Best Small Art Towns of the Nation."

Please be sure to stop in and say hello.

Below on right: view of back of gallery from hillside with Mission & Swan Mountains visible to the east