Brian Bastinelli Photography

#509 Gallatin Valley Milling Company

2009-07-16T01:11:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Well I finally have made it back to York, PA. A bit under duress but I was excited to get to see my girls and Tehya. I got home last night around 7, which wasn't so bad.

But back to work today! I normally like to have a few days to get back on EST but sometimes that doesn't work out so great.

Today's image is of an old mill near the town of Choteau, MT. For those of you who might be familiar with the area this mill is near Priest Butte and can be seen from Hwy. 89 just south of town.

In the future I'll be sharing some images from a shoot that Bryan Allen and myself did here with my little cousins. It was really cool.

Have a great day!!

#508- The Long Road Home...

2009-07-13T04:44:00.002-02:00

Hi everybody-

Well today is the day that eventually had to come. I am departing Montana to head home. While I never like to leave here, in two more days I'll get to see my girls again. For that I am very excited.

So I leave here sad that it will be a few months until I can experience the views, watch the wildlife and visit with family and friends. But at the same time I have a few thousand images to go through and share. And each day I can relive the great moments we experienced on this trip.

I am really looking forward to getting home. I am missing my girls way to much!!

Have a great day!

#507 Learning Something Every Day...

2009-07-09T04:21:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Yesterday was a nearly perfect day here in Montana. The weather was cool and the sky was sunny. A few afternoon clouds and isolated storms created dramatic skies for a while. Then a cool evening with a nice sunset.

I picked up m friend Bryan (BA to some of you) at the airport in the late afternoon, we headed up to Choteau where got got situated and then had a nice dinner at the Elk Country Grill. After that we headed out towards the mountains for a drive to "see what we could see".

Along the way we stopped to check out an unobstructed view of the mountains. While we were there I saw this interesting looking fence set up. I have seen a ton of fences out here but never one that was like this.

Today we are heading up to Glacier National Park and will be shooting there for a few days as well as the North American Indian Days Powwow on the Blackfeet Nation. It should be a great time.

I'm not so sure of the Internet situation up there so I'll check it out and post if possible. If I can then the next post will be on Monday.

Have a great day!!

#506 Hangin' Tight

2009-07-08T05:25:00.004-02:00

HI everyone-

Did you ever think that you needed a vacation from vacation?? Well I am about there. Over the last few days I have been suffering from issue after issue after the crash of my main external hard drive.

On the night it happened I got about 2 hours of sleep (July 3). I spent every free second on the 4th trying to retrieve the data. And most of the 5th trying to make heads or tale of the salvaged data and trying to put it back into some semblance of order.

Well that has continued through today. I really started to make progress. I bought a new external hard drive. Started backing everything up to it. And even though the recovered files were a total mess and completely renamed I was happy to have them back.

Then tonight while i was editing and importing images in Lightroom, the power went out. Only enough to go completely off and then turn right back on. It was just enough time to shut off the power supply to the external hard drive. It was also enough to break the connection between Lightroom and that drive.

Well that was enough to completely screw up the catalog, to the point were I have deleted it and started a new one.

In both instances I lost data. What a huge pain in the butt. And we are talking thousands of images here. So you can understand the considerable amount of stress that this has created. Thus the vacation from the vacation thought.

Hopefully if I just hang on tight, use my head and think about where I am going and what is coming next I can work through this and move ahead. Much like the bull rider in the image.

I am picking up my friend and amazing photographer Bryan Allen tomorrow in Great Falls. Then we will spend the next few days in Glacier National Park and at the North American Indian Days in Browning, MT.

It should be a great time. Hope you enjoy today's photograph.

Have a great day!

#505- 4th of July Wrap-Up...

2009-07-07T03:52:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

We had a great 4th of July here in Choteau, Montana. The celebration starts here on the 3rd. The town has an art and craft show, called Art On The Green, Keg Hockey, Music In The Park, The Boxing Smoker and the Street Dance at the American Legion.

Also my cousins have a great family reunion picnic. That is the most fun part of the day because we have a lot of fun, get to see family from all over the country and of course eat a ton of great food.

On Saturday the day starts with a Run and Walk (we skipped that...lol) and then the parade. After the parade there is a Steak Fry in the park but we head to another cousins house for one more picnic. Then after that its off to the rodeo. That is always a great time.

The evening ended at another family gathering at my cousin Laura's house. There we made s'mores lit fireworks and of course ended the evening watching the towns fireworks display.

The weekend ended on Sunday with a majority of the immediate family departing for home. My girls, my sister and her son and my dad all headed home to PA to get back to the real world while my mom and I hang out for another week or so.

So here is are a few images from the weekend. There are tons more that will come out over the next year. Hope you had a great weekend and Independence Day!

Have a great day!

Waiting for the parade to get started...

Pony rides in the park...

My little 4th of July Princess...

Can't forget the great rodeo action...

#504 Nurturing and Protecting

2009-07-03T04:38:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone,

This image was shot back in May in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone. For those of you familiar with the park, it was directly across the road from the Trout Lake parking area/trail head.

I don't have first hand knowledge of the events that lead to the injury of the mother and the birth of the calf. I was told, however that wolves had made an attack on the mother prior to giving birth. I was also told that at the time these images were taken the calf was just over a day old.

The mother had injuries to both sides, her neck and rump area. Judging by the injuries she must have put up a good fight.To protect her calf she had it tucked up against the river behind it. The water was very high and running quite fast. I am sure none of the parks animals would have attempted to cross her nor would they have made it.

So it was a good choice for a location. She then only had to watch three sides. The last I heard or read these two were still alive. I would think that as long as they were in this area they were doing OK.

I just drove past this spot last week and they were gone. Obviously they couldn't stay there forever/ But this is wolf country so hopefully they were able to avoid being taken down once they ventured away from this spot.

I hope that you have a great weekend and 4Th of July holiday. Have fun and be safe!

Thanks for checking out the blog, have a great day!

#503 Freda and Bobby

2009-07-02T14:36:00.005-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today I am writing from the lobby of our hotel in Missoula, MT. We came down here yesterday for a fun day with the kids. Missoula is a great town and there are a ton of things to do with or without the kids.

But we hit a few kid friendly spots, had a great Mexican lunch and then after a much needed nap we hit the water slides.
They, well we all had a blast.

Today we are heading to the Elk Country Visitor Center to let them check out all the animals and displays. We secretly checked it out yesterday during nap time.

Then I am not sure where we will head after that. But we have to be at my cousin's house at 7 for a picnic.

So today's post was shot back in May while I was in Choteau, MT. In these images are my cousins Freda and Bobby. The images were shot on their property just after sunset.

They live in a very cool little spot at the mouth of a canyon leading back into the Bob Marshal Wilderness. It is surrounded by mountains and the Teton River. I am not sure it gets much better!!

Bobby owns and operates a masonry company that specializes in great (real) stone work. What they can do with stone is really amazing. Freda works in "guest services" for a local ranch.

I lit these images with a single softbox and a reflector to fill in the shadows a bit. The camera was a D700 with 70-200 2.8vr handheld. The strobe was tripped with pocket wizards.

I hope you enjoy them, have a great day!

Oh don't forgett o check out the skywatch blog by clicking here: skywatch

#502- Grizzlies, Guns and Gotchya's...

2009-07-01T04:35:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Wow what an exciting day yesterday was here in Choteau, MT. This is a normally quiet town with a population of somewhere over 1,000 people.

Well just after noon 15 agencies worth of Law Enforcement swooped into town conducting simultaneous raids on a drug operation they had been investigating for several years.

They conducted raids in two towns and the county. Interestingly one of the arrests happen to take place less than a block from our house. One of the suspects happened to be driving down main street when they law caught up with him. Out of an unmarked pickup jumped two officers, guns drawn. They quickly took him into custody and disappeared.

All the while a DHS helicopter with men hanging out the sides with automatic weapons hovered overhead.

The raids lasted about 2 hours. The helicopter circled overhead and occasionally seemed to swoop in low to block roads or escape routes for suspects.

At one point one of the helicopters took a path over our house and was just above the trees max height was 30-40 feet over the house. We were outside and had to quickly retreat into the house to avoid the debris what was blowing all over. The kids strollers were outside and were picked up and blown to the neighbors yard. Tree branches were blown down and dust was every where.

This caused quite a stir in this normally quite town. Here are a few pics of when they were hovering over the house at a bit higher altitude.

So I did have a regular post set up for today. But I thought the action deserved to be posted right away. I had about 5 shots of a Grizzly that I had shot in Yellowstone ready. I am going to save most of them for another day but I still wanted to share one today.

This guy was about a 1/4 mile from where I shot the wolf images and taken about 15 minutes later. He had just emerged from the river and was heading up into the hills for the day.

Have a great day!

#501- A Fun Day At The Park...

2009-06-30T12:40:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Yesterday we had a really fun family day. We basically just relaxed at the house. in the morning then headed to the park for a picnic lunch and a little playing in the Spring Creek. After that it was back home for naps, a little yard work a great dinner and then off to the movies to see UP.

All in all it was a great summer day. The weather was perfect. But what was the best part for me is to see my daughter playing and loving some of my favorite spots as a kid.

There are a few things here in Choteau, MT that I clearly remember as huge parts of my childhood. One of them was tubing on the Spring Creek. This is a little creek that meanders through town. Its not big, not deep and doesn't always have water in it.

But As a kid I spent hours and hours floating down the length of the creek that boarders the city park. We would float to one spot where it got a bit over grown and then we would get out very afraid to go any further, unsure of what might get us in there.

After that we'd walk back up to the bridge and do it all again. Cree loved it.

After our day in the park she took a much needed nap and then we played and she took a trip to the grocery store with grandma.

After dinner we headed to the Roxy Theater to see UP. I loved going to this theater as a kid and it hasn't changed one bit.

So al in all it was just a great family day. The ones that only summer can bring and there isn't a better place for that than Choteau, Montana.

Have a Great Day!

#500 - Milestone's and Greasy Grass

2009-06-29T13:19:00.005-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's post is a big one albeit a bit late for you guys on the east coast. We have some internet access issues right now that are causing me to seek out some wifi hot spots for access. So I am writing to you today from the sidewalk in front of the Choteau, MT Public Library.

It's not a bad spot to post from. The temps are in the mid 60's and town is starting to come alive. I am adjacent to the Teton County Court House which is a very cool old building sitting in the center of a circle that divides Main Street. I have been told but have no way of confirming that my grandfather is one of the men who planted the huge pine trees that dot the outline of the circle.

So today's post is a big one for me. It is my 500th post on this blog. Going into this blog project I wasn't sure what it would be like or what would come of it at all. So to make it to this point is pretty a pretty cool accomplishment I believe. I have been posting for almost 2 full years.

During the process I have meet and talked to many great folks from around the world and have struck up friendships that will last for many years to come.

Thank you to everyone who stops by each day, weekly or whenever you get a chance. Your viewership, support, feedback and friendship have made the work that goes into this blog worth every second.

I hope to continue the blog for many years to come. I have some plans for some upcoming changes that I think will improve the viewing and reading experience. But dont expect any of that until at least August. There is to much to be out seeing and photographing for the next month or so to be stuck inside re creating my blog...lol

So again thanks to everyone for everything. I really have enjoyed your company here.\

On to to today's images. We have been traveling around South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana for the last week all to take up some time before visiting the Little Bighorn National Monument and attending the Battle of the Little Bighorn re enactment near Hardin, MT.

Well we arrived just in time for the re enactment to begin. It was a great show as not only did they re enact the battle but created a narrated living history of the events leading up to that fateful day. From Lewis and Clark through the battle of the Greasy Grass and the Souix called it all the events played out before us.

I highly recomend checking out this re enactment. After is was over we went to the real battle field where we learned there was also another reenactmant that takes place in the area. So we will definitely be back to check out that as well. In a futur post I will provide some more information as to websites or numbers that you can get additional information if you want to.

These images are just a few of the many I shot during the show.

Have a great day!!

#499- Phantom Lake Great Grey

2009-06-26T15:19:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

A very quick update today... I finally got to shoot the Great Grey at Phantom Lake today. I have been looking for this owl since May and on my last day, last pass by the lake it was there.

Here is a quick shot from this morning.

Have a great day!

#498- #10 at Blacktail

2009-06-25T14:44:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today is day two for us in Yellowstone. The weather is perfect. Today it is only to be about 70. But it is very sunny and very comfortable. Yesterday we made our way into the park from Cody via the east entrance. Along the way we saw a fox, some bighorn sheep, two moose, elk and lots of bison.

Today's image was shot just east of the Blacktail Ponds area, very near the Lava Creek picnic area. I had seen three bulls in this general area a few weeks ago but a bit further east. As we traveled west I didn't think we were going to see them. But they were in their normal position, very near the road about 1/2 mile west of the ponds.

This big guy, one of the bigger ones I have seen this year in the park is tagged #10. I think that if I remember correct # 10 spent some time in Mammoth last fall.

Don't forget to check out the Skywatch blog today and tomorrow by clicking here: SKYWATCH

I know there is not a lot of sky in this image however it is pretty representative of the conditions we have had, severely clear. I am hoping to catch some great sunrises and sunsets on this trip to help with future Skywatch posts. Hopefully we'll get some weather moving in and some interesting clouds along the way.

Have a great day!

#497 Finally in Wyoming

2009-06-24T13:10:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

After two days of driving we have arrived at our first set of destinations. After leaving Rapid City we drive to Sundance, Wyoming where we had lunch and then headed out to the Jackpot Ranch to see Dallas and his family and deliver some images.

It was great to catch up with the family. While we were there Cree had a chance to check out the horses which see reeeeeaaaally enjoyed. She was less than happy when we had to get back on the road.

After a very pretty ride through the mountains we arrived in Cody, WY where we stayed at the Irma Hotel. This was Buffalo Bill's original hotel. Its a great place to stay if you make it through the area.

Today we are exploring Cody and then moving onto Yellowstone.

Have a great day!

#496

2009-06-23T03:19:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

Finally got to Rapid City, SD today. It was a long day of driving. But we have some fun stuff planned for the next few days so it was worth it.

Of course we had to stop in Wall, SD and have a quick bite to eat and look around at Wall Drug. Cree really enjoyed seeing some of the oddities they have there. And I got an audio book about Crazy Horse as well as a printed book by the same author also on Crazy Horse. I am hoping to listen to the whole book before we visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield and watch the reenactment on Saturday.

Tomorrow we'll make our way through the Black Hills, Sundance, WY and end up in Cody for the night.

So today's image was shot at the Jackpot ranch and it's of John who is Dallas' son in law. He was talking to Dallas when this image was shot from inside the barn. I know that he isn't looking at me but I thought is was a really cool image. I passed over it a few times but have kept coming back to it.

Have a great day!

#495 New Client Galleries...

2009-06-22T02:17:00.000-02:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend. We were in Pittsburgh for my cousin Erin's wedding.We hada great time.

While I'm on the road I occasionally do not have web access to make my daily posts and rarely do I make up a bunch of posts and have them auto post. It would make my life easier but I like to freshness of creating a new image and post each day.

So becuase I am posting from a little cabin in Wisconsin via my Blackberry I am unable to post a new image today.

But I wanted to take this opportunity to mention a new gallery sight that I am using for clients. It is set up so that you can either acess private galleries with a password or public galleries that I will soon be populating.

The cool part is you will be able to directly purchase images from the site. Check it out and let me know what you think. The adress is:

http://brianbastinelli.smugmug.com

Have a great day!!!

#494 Cool Morning Skies

2009-06-18T13:59:00.005-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's images were taken in eastern Wyoming last month while at about 0600 in the morning. We were on our way out for the big branding and the sky was amazing in every direction you looked. We were on a schedule so we couldn't really stop and shoot everything there was to shoot. However when we got to our destination I took the opportunity to shoot a few frames.

It has been a while since I participated in Skywatch so I thought these images might be kinda cool to start back up with. You can check out the Skywatch blog and cool images from skies around the world by clicking here ---> SKYWATCH

Have a great day!

#493- Yellowstone Wolf Drama

2009-06-17T10:45:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

As many of you know I was recently in Yellowstone for a few days. It was a quick trip but proved to be one of the better ones lately for action.

The images that I am posting today are a bit graphic so if your not down with that then you should probably move on. That being said, the images also depict the life and death struggle that goes on in Yellowstone every day.

One of the coolest parts of the park is that you really never know what is going to happen, when or where. You can increase your chances of getting good shots by learning about the animals and their habits, spending time in the park and by talking to other photographers, park visitors and guests. But sometimes you just need a little luck.

On the day that these images were shot I had a little of both going for me but mostly luck. I was in the right place at the right time and it payed off.

I had headed out to the Lamar Valley shortly before sunrise after getting up at 0400. There were plenty of other people around and I figured this was probably a better place than most to potentially see something play out.

Now my thoughts were with two animals, wolves and grizzlies. They usually seem to be the ones who can create drama where ever they go.

After driving around for a while I came upon a group of people pulled over, just by their actions I knew something was happening. They were rushing around, setting up cameras, and pointing.

Then I saw it. A large female elk (cow) was on her back and kicking wildly into the air. That could mean only one thing, she was fighting for her life. I quickly ditched the truck and made my way over to where the people where. I looked down and there was the former Slough pack alpha male wolf with the elk. He had single handily taken her down and was now finishing off the job. And he wasn't 75 yards from us.

I quickly shot a series of images and looked around for other wolves. But it was just him. Several bystanders mentioned up to two other wolves that might not have crossed the road earlier in the take down. But they were no where to be seen.

The wolf was now dragging the elk down over the hill. This took both out of everyone's view. Bystanders started to file away, either to continue their travels through the park or to look for a better vantage point.

At this moment I realized I could not find my wallet and set out retracing my steps to locate it. After looking for about 5 min thought it may have come out in my sleeping bag while I was changing. Sure enough in the back of my truck I found it in the bag.

So while I was kneeling on the tailgate of my truck I though now would be a good time to change out the batteries in my camera. As I was doing this I noticed something moving to my right. By this time I was completely alone along the road. Everyone else had moved on.

When I looked up there was the the black wolf heading in my direction and in its mouth was the fetus of the elk it had just taken down. I quickly re assembled the camera and began shooting hand held kneeling on my tailgate. Not the best shooting conditions but I had no time to do anything but that.

My heart was racing and I was really hoping that I was catching the images and that they would be good enough to share. Luckily the light had not changed to much and the settings were pretty close to what was needed and it all worked out.

The following images were shot with in the 30 second it took for the wolf to pass by. It was one of those amazing Yellowstone moments that could happen anywhere in the park at any time.

I hope you enjoy them, have a great day!

#492- Morning Details...

2009-06-14T23:55:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was pretty busy and lonely as the girls were away and I had to work. I was sure happy to see them come home. But I did get a bunch of stuff done so it wasn't all bad I suppose.

So today's images were shot within a few minutes of the images from last week. Interestingly they were all shot in the first hour of the first day at the ranch and are really a few of my favorite from the whole trip.

Today's shots were a few things that I noticed while we were talking with Dallas and his son in law John while they were getting the horses ready for the day.

I love old spurs so these are really up there as some of my favorite shots.

Have a great day!

#491- More Dallas Portraits

2009-06-12T09:54:00.002-02:00

HI everyone-

Here are a few more images of Dallas that I shot and have been playing around with over the last few days.

I would love to hear your feedback on what you like and don't like.

Have a great day!

#490 Riding Out...

2009-06-11T11:29:00.004-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's post is a bit late because I slept in a bit today after getting home from NYC after 2 am!! We had a great time though taking my cousins all over the city, seeing everything we could cram in!!

Today's image was shot during a branding on the ranch where over 400 head of cattle were branded, inoculated and tagged. In this image several of the large group of area ranchers who came to help are riding out towards the corral where the branding was to take place. It was probably about 6:30 in the morning and the sun was still very low in the sky making for some cool light.

The image is process the same way as yesterday's.

I hope you enjoy it. Have a great day!

#489 - Preparing For The Day...

2009-06-10T02:59:00.001-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today I am posting two images that were shot within a few minutes of each other. They are again of Dallas Rolf, this time while he was preparing his horse for a dive of moving some new cattle around the ranch.

One of the great things about Dallas, who on the surface seems to be a very quiet guy, is that he actually enjoys explaining the workings and history of the ranch and his family. He not only provided us with friendship but a great explanation of everything that we were witnessing.

He is also a great teacher, which came through when he was teaching us to use various types of rope and techniques to rope cattle. He showed me over and over the proper way to coil the rope for easy throwing.

Each image was color corrected to give them the same basic look. Then I added several layers of texture a few more color adjustments. Then blended it all together and there you have it...lol

Have a great day!

#488 Jackpot!!!

2009-06-09T11:14:00.002-02:00

Hi everybody-

You might remember a few months ago I posted an image I shot of Dallas Rolf a rancher from Wyoming. We had a brief meeting in Jackson Hole and I shot a few images of him.

Well he and his family invited me to shoot on their ranch earlier this year. So having some time available in May and being in the area we set up a time that would work well for both of us. I also invited my friend and fantastic photographer Moe Witschard to join me.

Well a week and a half ago we spent three days shooting at the Jackpot Ranch in Sundance Wyoming with Dallas, his family and their friends. We had a completely awesome time and not only came away with some fantastic images but some new good friends.

Over the next few days I will highlight some of the images taken while at the Jackpot. I have a few ideas for the future of these images and how I will present them but that is a bit down the road.

In the mean time i really hope you enjoy viewing these images as much as we did spending time with this great family and shooting the photographs.

Have a great day....

#487- Where In The World?

2009-06-08T02:02:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

I hope you had a great weekend. I think summer is fully settled in here in PA. Although it seems in Montana and Wyoming it's still trying to figure out if it wants to be spring. My cousins reported that they were getting snow on Saturday morning in Choteau, MT and I saw pictures of at least 3 inches in Yellowstone.

I wish I would have stayed just a few days more. I love when it snows in Yellowstone.

So today's images were taken at an undisclosed location the I visited this year. I am sure some of you will recognize this place right away while some may have to do a little thinking to figure it out.

Let me know if you get it!!

Have a great day!

Oh...here's a clue...

#486 Swan Lake Flats Black Bear...

2009-06-05T11:05:00.002-02:00

Hi everyone-

Today's images were shot in Yellowstone just south of Swan Lake Flats. This black bear had taken down an elk calf shortly before these images were shot. It had the calf hidden in the woods and when not eating it it kept a constant watch around the area.

During the times when the bear was looking around I was able to get these shots. I didn't stay very long because it was raining pretty hard and quite cold.

Have a great day and weekend!!!!

#485 Yellowstone Landscapes...

2009-06-04T02:14:00.003-02:00

Hi everyone-

I spent most of yesterday sorting images, deleting bad ones, processing the good ones etc., from my trip west.

Today I thought I would post some of my favorite landscape shots from the trip to Yellowstone. I hope you enjoy them!

Have a great day!

Yellowstone Lake...

Lamar Valley, Yellowstone...

This range is the Crazy Mountains just north of Livingston, MT...

Same image just processed differently...

I honestly don't remember where this image was shot...