At long last I’ve found a few minutes to get a post out about my stay at The Ranch At Rock Creek.  I was brought on last week for a two part mission.  Assignment 1 was to get some images for the Ranch’s marketing materials and Assignment 2 was to capture documentary pictures of the corporate group of 30 or so that were there for the week as an incentive reward for their performance.  The tricky part was that all of this was to go down simultaneously.  I arrived on Tuesday and left on Friday evening (technically on Saturday since I missed my Friday evening flight out of Missoula, but that’s another story for another post).

My days started at 5:30 am with landscapes and exterior pictures of the cabins and houses.  The Montana light around 6-8 am was amazing.

Around 9 I’d stop for a quick 15 minute breakfast prepared by the amazing Kelley in the Lodge.  I had lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberries one morning that were like nothing I’ve ever had.  I don’t even have the vocabulary to describe what they were like.  They were like no other pancake I’ve ever had, and stand in a class of their own (which you come to expect at the Ranch).  I am currently attempting to recreate them at home. Today was trial one, and although they were good, they weren’t quite there yet.

Between 9 and noon I’d run around what seemed like the entire 10 square miles of ranch land to photograph different activities the group was participating in.  They were broken into different groups doing fly fishing, skeet shooting, 44 cal pistol shooting, archery, jeep tours and other outdoor activities.  I think a few even took in the world class spa at the Lodge.

For lunch one day was an amazing bison burger cooked to perfection, prepared by chef Josh.  The next day was the chili cook-off for lunch.

In the evenings was another session of activities (it’s like summer camp for adults) until dinner.  I would catch up with one group then try to find the next, all while sneaking in for interior cabin shots and outside pictures as well when the light was right.  It was the most intensive photography work I’ve done to date.  By the time dinner rolled around I was exhausted.  Too bad, I wasn’t done yet.  Dinner and a cold beer or two and I was back at it.

Wednesday night Josh prepared an amazing four course meal for the whole group which included fresh fried trout and another dish with bison.  Every course was to die for.  Josh really is a world class chef and he is a perfect fit with the Ranch.  Josh was nice enough to let me come back in the kitchen to photograph the whole session from prep to completion.  I set up an off camera speedlite in a softbox and snapped away.  The pace was mind-blowing and the work was that of an artist.  I haven’t been in an restaurant kitchen in years and it brought back many memories.  Reminded me I once contemplated culinary school.

After dinner we went on to the Ranch Saloon (all drinks and the amazing food, as well as all the activities I mentioned before are inclusive in your stay at the Ranch) and mingled with and photographed the group having a great time.  In the Saloon there is of course a bar, complete with saddle bar stools, as well as shuffleboard, pingpong, a big screen movie screen, billiards, and four lanes of state of the art bowling.  I’m telling you, they’ve thought of it all.

More to follow in another post soon.  Stay tuned.

Don’t miss the “more” link below the first couple of picutres

Read More→