Glacier at a Gallop celebrates 60 years of photography

Glacier at a Gallop, a new coffee-table book that celebrates 60 years of favorites, outtakes and final edits from the photographers of the Hungry Horse News is now available.

The book features photos from Mel Ruder, Brian Kennedy, Tom Ulrich and Chris Peterson.

Many of the photos have never been published.

"I spent months digging through our archives looking for unique photos of Glacier National Park. With the help of former editor Brian Kennedy and Patsi Morton (Ruder's daughter) I was able to come up with a truly unique book. Some of these gems haven't seen print in 60 years. Some were never published at all. This book was a lot of fun to put together," said editor Chris Peterson. "About half of the photos in the book are from the Ruder era, which only makes sense, since Ruder, the founder of the Hungry Horse News owned the newspaper for more than half of its 60 years."

The book features everything from Glacier's grand vistas to its most humble beasts. It also has some rare animal photographs, including wolverines and wolves, owls and nesting hummingbirds - all in Glacier National Park.

The book also traces the history of photography at the Hungry Horse News. Ruder, for example, took almost all his photos with a Crown Speed Graphic - a beast of a camera that made a huge, and fantastic negative - 4-by-5 inches.

"Those big negatives make fantastic prints," Peterson noted.

Later in the book, it follows the transition to 35 mm film and finally, the digital era, which has allowed photographers here at the newspaper to capture images that would have been nearly impossible to pull off just a few years ago.

The book is also giving back to the Park. A portion of the proceeds go to benefit the Glacier Natural History Association - a nonprofit agency that funds several Park projects.

The books are hardcover, 160 pages and published by Hungry Horse News Books, a division of the Hungry Horse News.

The book is available at the Hungry Horse News offices and local bookstores for $29.95. To have one mailed, they are $32.95 postpaid. Call the Hungry Horse News offices at (406) 892-2151 to order. Signed copies are available upon request.