It was sunset on June 30 in Glacier National Park – 9:42 p.m., to be precise. A man dove into the calm waters of Lake McDonald.
“Can you do that again?” Whitefish high schooler Ellie Foley asked the stranger when he climbed back onto the Apgar boat launch dock. “I want to get your picture.” He declined, shivering.
Ellie, clutching her smartphone, stood at the end of the dock with her friend Caroline LeCompte, who held a Sony RX-10. Both had come to the park hoping to capture photographic moments like the one they just missed.
Back on the beach, Ranger Tim – Tim Rains, who is the park’s Exhibit Specialist – waved goodnight to some of the other attendees of the evening’s InstaMeet, a new Glacier National Park program he leads with photographer Jacob Frank, the park’s visual information specialist.
“I used to lead hikes as a ranger, and inevitably there was always somebody who wanted to take a lot of pictures at the back of the line,” said Frank. “So the idea was, let’s create a program designed for those people, the people who want to focus on pictures… We see photography as a way of storytelling and we want to help people tell the story of Glacier when they leave the park.”
InstaMeets are designated times for amateur and professional photographers to gather, meet, share tips, and photograph the park’s beautiful scenes together. Other national parks, including Rocky Mountain, Smoky Mountains, and New Bedford, have also hosted InstaMeets.
“Park rangers give interpretation to what people are seeing,” said Katie Liming, a Glacier public affairs assistant. “They help facilitate dialogue among the people there – create conversations about photography, the landscape. But it’s really become the visitors who create the program. They have so much to share. It’s really about the social aspect.”
The first InstaMeet, sunrise four days previous at the Swiftcurrent Lake boat dock in Many Glacier, attracted about 10 photographers. Over 50 photographers turned out to the recent Lake McDonald event, and hundreds lamented on a Glacier National Park Facebook post announcing the event that they wouldn’t be able to make it.
At 8 p.m. sharp, Ranger Tim gathered the participants in a circle. His first view of the park was from this spot, he told them. He has since photographed the sun setting and rising here many, many times. “I wanted to share it with you,” he said. “The light is perfect tonight.”
The group spread out along the beach and the dock. Standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder, about half of the photographers set up tripods and staked claim to their spots. The others roamed along the water and down the dock.
One attendee, hanging back with his camera, remarked to the woman next to him, “Sometimes it’s more amusing to watch the photographers.”
Many sat in dedicated silence, watching for fleeting changes in the light. Some discussed strategy. “I want to take a vacuum and suck all that out,” one woman said, gesturing to the clouds.
Others mingled, sharing stories and trade secrets. Two photographers discussed the advantages of the FujiFilm 7,000 over the 700, and vice versa. Ranger Tim wound through the crowd, offering tips and reviewing photographs.
By 9:40 p.m., the sun had almost dropped fully below the peaks bordering the western side of the lake. The clouds weren’t performing – the low-angle sunset light often illuminate them in tones of neon pink – but the valley settled into a quiet violet dusk, softening the lines of Heavens Peak and Mount Brown.
“It’s easy to take pictures of these mountains,” Lisa Bartholomew of Columbia Falls said. Balancing her 13-month-old son Ethan on her hip, she scrolled through her shots. “I think I took too many— but is there any such…?” She trailed off, engrossed in the images.
She tilted the screen out. “That’s my favorite.” It was a picture of her 10-year-old daughter, Kaera, laughing after wading waist-deep into the water that evening.
Kaera’s a photographer, too. “I love rocks,” she said while showing off her own photos, a great many of which were of the beach’s smooth stones.
After almost two hours on the beach, the steadfast, satisfied photographers began to pack up.
Above the road heading away from the boat launch, a near-full silver dollar moon was slowly rising. No stars shone yet, and the scene was simple and stark—the moon radiant against the dusty navy sky. It was beautiful, and it had been at the photographer’s backs the whole evening.
It’s likely, though, that more than a few cars than usual pulled over that night to capture the moment on the way home.
The next InstaMeet is on Thursday, July 23, at 8 p.m. at the Apgar Village boat dock. For a complete schedule of InstaMeets and Photo Hikes, visit www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/instameet.htm.