Stephen W. Oachs

I arrived in Kalispell, Montana to visit the Triple "D" game farm, owned and operated by Jay Deist and his wife Kim. Their farm hosts a vast collection of wild animals. I spent four days at their various compounds around Kalispell photographing a variety of animals. Each day we would typically leave for the countryside at 6:30am and would start the photo shoots around 7:30am, depending on the location's light and the animal behavior.

What I really enjoyed about this trip was the opportunity to get extremely close to the animals, in their natural environments, and to capture behavior you would never see from animals in captivity. I learned a lot about the animals we photographed and it was clear that Jay and his staff took great care to ensure the safety and well-being of the wildlife.

On one particular day, once the pristine morning light was gone, I headed into Glacier National Park where I saw an abundance of wildlife, including a black bear. That encounter I won't soon forget! I hiked into Hidden Lake and Avalanche Lake, both of which provide incredible scenery. The smoke from the fires created a heavy haze in the sky which didn't make for very photographic moments. However, one evening on the drive back to Kalispell I did manage to capture a nice sunset. The heavy smoke soaked up the setting sun making for a bright orange sky -- it looked like the entire sky was on fire.

Glacier National Park and Triple "D" Farm make for an excellent opportunity to get up close and personal with nature. If you're a photographer, or just love animals, I highly recommend a visit to Kalispell!