Local photographer captures Park's vistas

Whitefish photographer Chuck Haney has made a career out of capturing iconic images of Glacier Park’s rugged landscapes.

This month, Haney releases his second Glacier Park-themed book, “Glacier Unforgettable,” published by Farcountry Press. The 120-page hardcover album spans Haney’s career in the Park dating back to the early 1990s. Hungry Horse News photographer Chris Peterson penned the book’s foreword.

“Haney’s photographs capture the sensibility of this place,” Peterson wrote, “and remind you again and again why you came here — and more importantly, why you’re sure to come back.”

Haney admits he’s addicted to the “rush” that ensues when the Park’s mountains are lit with an almost magical light. He works the scene up and down with his camera lens, rattling off dozens of frames before the often fleeting moment passes.

The rush is what inspires him to wake from camp at dawn on a frosty late-summer morning with hope of capturing a sunrise. Haney says he never uses an alarm clock while on photo assignments — the anticipation of the moment is enough to get him out of a sleeping bag before the sun breaks the horizon.

Being patient, he says, is key to good photography. Haney will find a perch and wait hours for the light to move into position — and oftentimes, it never does. He’ll revisit a site, sometimes for years, before capturing the image he’s after.

Photography can be rewarding, he says, but it takes a lot of work to accumulate enough images to carry an entire book. He submitted more than 500 photos to the Farcountry editors for “Glacier Unforgettable.”

“People say to me all the time that they would love to have my job,” Haney said, “but it can be a lot of work.”

He recalled a time when he fell into McDonald Creek in mid-winter when temperatures dipped to minus 20 degrees. He had rappelled into the canyon near a waterfall in an attempt to get an interesting angle.

“The light wasn’t even that good,” he remembered.

While maneuvering around, he slipped on an icy ledge and fell chest deep into the creek. Like any good photographer, he sacrificed his body to keep his camera dry. He eventually climbed out of the creek and ran all the way back to his car.

Haney visits the Park in all conditions. Winter, he says, offers a pristine and clean canvas, while summer and fall offer a bounty of colors. Spring is the most difficult time to shoot, he said, with dangerous avalanche conditions and treacherous access.

Many of the shots in his new book are of familiar landscapes. Images of Logan Pass, Going-to-the-Sun Road and Avalanche Creek are easily recognizable, even by those who’ve only passed through the Park. Still, some shots are far off the beaten path, taken from places such as Triple Divide Pass or the summit of Mount Reynolds.

There’s still more to shoot in the Park, Haney says. A few landscapes have escaped his lens, and he’d like to capture each of the Park’s glaciers before they melt away.

“Glacier Unforgettable” is available at local book stores and online at www.farcountrypress.com.