Helena Montana Engagement Portraits of Marissa and Tyler

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    A few weeks back I drove out to create a Helena Montana Couples Portrait Photographic Experience of Marissa and Tyler, my wedding clients. With the building excitement of their fast approaching wedding day in Virginia City, Montana, we wanted to create fun photographs of them and their life in Helena that meant a lot to them.

A few weeks back I photographed the Helena Montana engagement portraits of my wedding clients, Marissa and Tyler.

With their fast-approaching wedding in Virginia City, Montana, this couple’s excitement was growing. We decided to create a fun engagement portraits session for them, highlighting their outdoor lifestyle in their Helena home together.

This couple works hard and plays hard.

In between their busy jobs working at our state capital directly for the governor of Montana, this couple loves to frequently takes walks around the various trail systems around Helena together with their dog during their downtime. For them, the south hills trail system offers a place to decompress and reconnect with each other. Marissa and Tyler wanted to have their Helena Montana Engagement Portraits experience in one of their favorite outdoor settings. We decided to check out the Old Shooting Range Trailhead just outside of town.

We spent a couple of hours exploring the hillside trails, playing fetch with their dog, and making some fun photos of them in the beautiful wooded mountainous scenery in the south hills of Helena.

Here are a few of my favorite photographs from our time together. I can not wait to celebrate these two in August. -M

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Missouri Headwaters State Park Portrait Photographic Experience of Dani and John

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Missouri Breaks State Park Engagement Photo Session
  • Missouri Breaks State Park Engagement Photo Session

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of heading over to the Three Forks, Montana area to create the Missouri Headwaters State Park Portrait Photographic Experience of Dani and John.

These two were the winning recipients of my Portrait Photographic Experience contest at this year’s 2017 A Montana Wedding Event at The Commons in Bozeman Montana. After learning more about them and their relationship together, we decided to have their portrait experience at one of their favorite places to hike.

It’s a beautiful spot with a mixture of rocky cliffs and grasslands that overlook the confluence of the Jefferson and Madison Rivers where they form the mighty Missouri River.

These two are all set to be married in the summer of 2018 and I couldn’t be more excited for them.

Here are some of my favorites from our time together. -M

 

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Rocky Creek Farm Styled Wedding Shoot

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Rocky Creek Farm Styled Wedding Photo Session of Tara and Sky
  • Rocky Creek Farm Styled Wedding Photo Session of Tara and Sky

With the help of fellow wedding vendors, I photographed a Rocky Creek Farm Styled Wedding Shoot in under 24 hours’ time.

The idea for a Rocky Creek Farm Styled Wedding Shoot sprouted last Tuesday as I was talking on the phone with my friends Jacy and Matt, owners of Gallatin Valley Botanical. For the last couple of years,  I’ve been photographing and supporting their local Bozeman organic farm here in Gallatin Valley.

They mentioned that they would soon be taking over management of the popular Rocky Creek Farm just down the road from theirs. In addition to farming the increased acreage of land, they would also be pushing to make Rocky Creek Farm a successful new farm wedding venue. While gathering material together for their wedding advertisement for this past weekend’s Bozeman Bridal Walk, they realized they would need some wedding photography to showcase their new venue to prospective wedding clients. They didn’t have much time.

I told them I could help. The answer…

We decided to have a Rocky Creek Farm Styled Wedding Session. The next day.

Our time was short. We set our photo shoot time for 2 pm the following afternoon and let them know I would take care of everything. After hanging up the phone, I sprung into action. First and foremost, we would need models. I decided to get in touch with my engaged friends Sky and Tara and invited them to be my models for the afternoon. Thankfully, they agreed.

If we were going to have a properly styled wedding photo shoot, we would need to make our volunteer wedding models look amazing.

We were in need of a fine suit and beautiful wedding dress for my models to flaunt. I called upon the talents of Persnickety Formal Wear owner Anne Porter. In between all of her fittings for the busy prom season, she happily agreed to help. Sky and Tara were outfitted with some classy wedding attire that looked incredible.

For Tara’s hair and makeup, I stopped into Indulgence. My friend, the lovely owner Deirdre Quinn, saw to it that Tara looked radiant as a bride for our Rocky Creek Farm Styled shoot

It all came together so well. In all, we organized our impromptu wedding photo shoot in under 24 hours.

Our styled wedding photography shoot turned out awesome.

The Wednesday morning rain clouds had subsided by the time our two-hour afternoon photo shoot commenced. We were given a nice, calm weather window to utilize and we made the most of it.

It turns out Rocky Creek Farms has a lot to offer both in capacity and scenery.

I photographed Sky and Tara against various canvases found on the farm. We made good use of Rocky Creek Farm’s old barn wood backdrops, apple orchards, and open farmland under the views of the nearby Bridger Mountains. We even took photo opportunities along the on-property spring creek.

I could have photographed there for hours.

We even utilized a few baby lambs and my new labrador puppy, Tippet, to be featured in our photo shoot.

It was a perfect way to spend a Montana afternoon. The styled wedding shoot could not have happened without the hustle and team effort of my fellow vendors. At a moment’s notice, everyone worked together to make something special happen on such short notice. I’m so grateful for their willingness, enthusiasm, and professionalism.

Congrats to Sky and Tara on their engagement! Well wishes to Matt and Jacy as they grow their new wedding venue out at Rocky Creek Farms! -M

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Ennis Montana Engagement Photos session of Kim and Preston

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    Last week I met up with Kim and Preston at the Lark Hotel in downtown Bozeman where we loaded up into my subaru and headed for the mountains to photograph their engagement photos. These two both work and live in Washington D.C. but were in town to finish up their destination wedding planning details and to do their engagement photo session with me. These two were up for an adventure.

Last week I photographed the Ennis Montana Engagement Photos session of Kim and Preston.

I met up with Kim and Preston at the Lark Hotel in downtown Bozeman where we loaded up into my Subaru and headed west for the mountains to photograph their engagement photos along the river in the Madison Valley.

These two both work and live in Washington D.C. but were in town to finish up their destination wedding planning details and to do their Ennis Montana engagement photos session with me. These two were up for a road trip adventure.

We drove through the small fly fishing town of Ennis, Montana and we took advantage of the open space south of town where the sunset and the scenic views of the Madison River valley collide in a fantastic Montana river landscape.

We explored old bridges at fishing access sites and hiked around the rolling grassy hills with gorgeous snow-capped mountains in the distance. These two had great attitudes and laughed often despite the consistently strong winds blowing through the valley.

Here are some of my favorites from our time together. I’ll be photographing their wedding at the Big Yellow Barn this May. I am looking forward to it. -M

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Downtown Bozeman Montana Engagement Photo Session of Kiera and Collin

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Downtown Bozeman Montana Engagement Photo Session of Kiera and Collin
  • Downtown Bozeman Montana Engagement Photo Session of Kiera and Collin

Last week I photographed the Downtown Bozeman Montana Engagement Photo Session of my wedding clients Kiera and Collin.

I’ll be kicking off my 2016 wedding photography season when I get to document their wedding celebration in early January at the Gallatin River Lodge here in Bozeman, Montana. I’m so excited!

For their downtown Bozeman Montana engagement session, this couple wanted to highlight the downtown area where they love to go on dates with one another. We decided to explore some of the more colorful exteriors of the downtown Bozeman business scene. Cool temperatures and good light made for some lovely settings and nice portraits. When out photographing, I’m always looking for clean backgrounds that keep the attention on my clients in the camera frame. On this outing, we found numerous options that yielded great results. It was clear that Collin and Kiera were just smitten with one another and they both brought great energy and attitudes to our photo session. We spent most of the time laughing and cracking jokes with one another.

Here are some of my favorite photos from our session. I’m looking forward to Kiera and Collin’s wedding day this January at the Gallatin River Lodge! -Mike Greener

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Hyalite Winter Engagement Photos Session of Heather & Andrew

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Hyalite Canyon Winter Engagement Photo Session of Heather & Andrew

A few weeks back I got to photograph Heather & Andrew for their Hyalite Winter Engagement Photos Session outside Bozeman, Montana.

I’ll be photographing their 2016 wedding day at Chico Hot Springs next April. While they were in town for Thanksgiving with family, we found a window of time to drive to the nearby majestic rocky mountain canyon. The snow had just recently fallen a couple of days before and now cast a white blanket across the surrounding Hyalite Reservoir and Gallatin National Forest. It was a cool ice-covered scene to explore. With the mixed overcast clouds, I was able to play with the cooler winter color palette of the Montana landscape.

These two were a lot of fun during their Hyalite Winter Engagement Photos Session. I appreciate a wedding couple that is up for an adventure. I’m looking forward to documenting their wedding celebration this Spring. Congrats on your engagement you guys! -Mike

  • Hyalite Canyon Winter Engagement Photo Session of Heather & Andrew
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Peets Hill Engagement Photos of Courtney & Jordi

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I recently photographed the springtime Peets Hill Engagement Photos of Courtney & Jordi in Bozeman, Montana.

The other day I was able to meet up with my wedding clients Courtney and Jordi from Big Sky to make some engagement photos of them before their wedding happens later this summer.

Rainy, springtime Montana weather had unfortunately postponed our two prior meetups. Alas, we finally found our weather window and spent some time utilizing the green Montana landscape and abundant wildflowers around Peet’s Hill and the surrounding bike trail system. We rode our bikes around to different spots. These two were all about having an adventure during their Peets Hill Engagement Photos session.

I’m looking forward to documenting their big day later this summer. Congrats on your engagement you guys! -M

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Triple Tree Trail Engagement Session of Bobbi Jean and Chris

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    I recently photographed Bobbijean and Chris' engagement photo session at the Triple Tree trailhead in Bozeman Montana.

I recently photographed the Triple Tree Trail Engagement Session of Bobbi Jean and Chris in Bozeman, Montana.

Wedding season is upon us here in the Big Sky state and I’ve been having a lot of engagement photo sessions lately. Last week I met up with Bobbi Jean and Chris at the Triple Tree trailhead in Bozeman Montana to photograph their engagement photo session.

Engagement photo sessions come complimentary with all of my wedding photography collections. I like it because it gives me and my clients a chance to get to know one another before their wedding day and make some fun photos in the process.

Bobbi Jean and Chris brought along their dogs as we hiked and explored the popular Bozeman trail system during their Triple Tree Trail Engagement session. Knowing Chris worked as a logger and Bobbi Jean as an employee of Yellowstone National Park, I wanted to photograph them in their outdoor element. Afterward, we ventured over to the wood shop of Montana Wildwoods artist and friend Tom Benedict where we played amongst his large juniper tree sculptures.

These two were great and I’m looking forward to photographing their wedding at the Old Faithful Inn later this summer. A fun day. -M

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Three Forks Spring Engagement Photo Session of Kerry & Jarod

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  • Engagement photos of Kerry and Jarod around Manhattan and Three Forks

Last Friday afternoon, I had the pleasure of photographing the Three Forks Spring Engagement of Kerry and Jarod around Manhattan and Three Forks, Montana.

I met Kerry at the 2015 A Montana Wedding: The Bridal Event back in early March. These two are getting married later this summer. Kerry and Jarod were the recipients of my engagement session giveaway during the bridal event.

When discussing the possibilities of their Three Forks Spring Engagement Photo Session, they made clear that they were up for a fun adventure.

We decided to head out of town and travel west towards Three Forks. I always enjoy my visits to those two Montana towns and always discover something new in the breathtaking Montana countryside.

On this couples portrait experience, we walked down the Jefferson River and came across a public art installation with hundreds of blue horse sculptures along the road. They made for some really unique photos of these two.

Congrats on your engagement you guys! -M

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Alaska Pilot inflight marriage proposal goes viral

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My pilot brother’s Alaska Pilot inflight marriage proposal goes viral online from national and international media.

My pilot brother Eric and his new bride-to-be Brandy have been making headlines throughout the internet for the last couple of days. Recently they became engaged when he surprised her at 34,000 ft with a proposal inflight while she working as an Alaska Airlines flight attendant! She is an incredible person. Our family is thrilled.

Then a few days ago, a posted youtube video of Eric’s in-flight marriage proposal started to gain traction online. It has since caught the attention of the national and international media. The list continues to grow but so far Eric & Brandy have turned up in news articles for USA Today, The Daily Mail in Great Britain, MSN.com, featured on CBS This Morning, ABC News, Alaska Airlines blog, Cosmopolitan, The Knot, People Magazine and The Huffington Post even used a Greener Visuals Wedding Photography photo that I took of these two love bird goofballs on a mountaintop outside Anchorage, Alaska. Check it out.

It’s been fun for the family to watch their love story spread across the web. Well done brother. Way to be a wing woman, Mom. It’s a great story. I encourage you all to watch the video below and hear my stud little brother propose to an awesome lady. The Greener wedding is going to be this summer! I can’t wait.

Congrats on your engagement you guys! -M

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Story Mill Park Winter Engagement Portrait Session of Samantha & Jonathan

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Last week I photographed the Story Mill Park Winter Engagement Portrait Session of Samantha & Jonathan near downtown Bozeman, Montana.

These two Manhattan, Montana natives hired me to photograph their wedding day this upcoming August and wanted to showcase the winter Montana landscape in their engagement photo session. We decided to take advantage of the wonderful winter evening light we’ve been having lately here in the Big Sky country and walked around the historic Story Mill park area and Gardner Park in Bozeman for a couple of hours.

This time of year, the outdoor color palette yields a lovely mixture of golds, oranges, and blues and I wanted to maximize it. These two had a great attitude and were up for a fun adventure. Our Story Mill Park Winter Engagement Portrait session time went quickly as we enjoyed exploring the landscape and playing with their golden retriever.

These two are great. I’m thrilled with how their photographs turned out and I’m looking forward to photographing their big day later this summer. Congrats on your engagement you guys! -M

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Bozeman Montana Winter Engagement Pet Photo Session of Julia & Peter

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Last week, I photographed my wedding clients Julia and Peter for their Bozeman Montana Winter Engagement photo session.

We had the opportunity to venture out into the surprisingly mild Bozeman winter weather for their Bozeman Montana winter engagement.  These two have a great park near their home in southwest Bozeman where they often walk their dogs. It’s a place that brings a lot of happiness into their lives. We started our photo outing there.

On this day, I loved the winter color palette of blues, greys, and oranges that were standing out from the white snow blanketing the ground. It gave me some great negative space to play with. I was really pleased with the results.

These two are a great pair.

Looking forward to photographing their wedding day at Chico Hot Springs in June. Stay tuned. -M

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Bozeman Montana Engagement Photo Session – Sara & Cory

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A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going out for an afternoon with my wedding clients Sara and Cory for their engagement photo session throughout downtown Bozeman, Montana. I’m looking forward to photographing their wedding day at the Springhill Pavilion in September 2015. With the holiday season upon us, they wanted to get out and use their complimentary engagement photo session for a Christmas card/wedding announcement and wanted to take advantage of the unusually warm weather we were experiencing mid-December. It was a great time for us to get to know each other while breaking the ice and making some fun photographs. I always am inspired by my surroundings when photographing – be that a walk through Lindley Park, using the architecture along Main Street or even cool window displays like at The Bent Lens Optical Boutique. These two were up for the challenge and we had a fun day collaborating on making images. I feel lucky to know that in my line of work I get to meet and hang out with such fun couples like these two. September can’t come soon enough. A fun day. -M

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Bozeman Montana Winter Engagement Photos on the Gallatin River of Rachel & James

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Last weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with Rachel & James and their excited young labrador puppy Deacon to make some fun engagement photos for them. These two lovebirds got engaged this past December and were planning their California Wine Country wedding later this summer from their home in Bozeman, Montana. While their wedding photos would be in the California sunshine, the two wanted to contrast their engagement photos with the beautiful snowy backdrop of Southwest Montana and hired me to help.  Montana is no stranger to the cold. This winter has been an exceptionally chilly one here around Bozeman often times dropping into the negative double digits. A good thing if you are a skier, (I am) but it can be a difficult task when you are trying to make pictures of people out in the elements and not have them look like they are freezing. Our photo shoot was scheduled a couple weeks ahead of time and I found myself the day before the shoot looking at a thermometer hover around -10 F and thinking my clients will turn into popsicles. Alas, the weather gods were on our side and as we drove out to the Gallatin River Sunday morning, the sun popped out from behind the clouds to give us a balmy 20 F degrees. Rachel and James, unphased and all smiles, bundled up and were ready to go. I love it when couples embrace the unexpected. I think their enthusiasm shined through in their images. We had a great morning adventure exploring the snow covered landscape and making photos. Such a fun day. Wish these guys all the best! -M

Go here to view their entire wedding engagement photos

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Bozeman Montana Engagement Photo Session on the Madison River of Candace and Andy

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I can not think of a better way to start my 2013 wedding season. A couple weeks ago, I went out for a fun, wedding engagement shoot float with Candace and Andy on the Madison River. The two found me through a recommendation from a friend here in Bozeman, Montana and reached out to me in a bit of a panic. The two were disappointed with a previous photographer’s engagement photos and they called me looking for a last minute remedy. I was happy to help. The two wanted photos that conveyed their relationship while mixing in their mutual love of floating Montana rivers. For those of you that haven’t met me personally yet, flyfishing and floating a river are two of my favorite past time activities. Mix in a great photogenic couple, some great Montana evening sunlight with a photographer in his ultimate happy place…well, you have yourself a recipe for some awesome and unique engagement photos. I had a lot of fun with these two. We set out west from Bozeman (boat trailer in tow) towards our river put in. Candace and Andy brought along their English Springer Spaniel puppy “Bobo” for his first floating experience. Sometimes it’s those little added ingredients like a curious, young dog that can help set the stage for some fun moments. Upon casting off shore, two things were quickly revealed to me: first, Bobo had never in water before (let alone floated on top of it) and secondly, this dog had never seen a trout before. Hilarity ensued as Candace and Andy reacted to their pup’s new experiences in between each portrait set up and I was there to document it with my camera. The end result was some uniquely Montana-style engagement photos that they were really happy with. The two will be tying the knot later this summer. I wish them all the best. -M

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Jack London State Historic Park Engagement Photo Shoot in Sonoma California of Molly and Brian

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I’ve been excited to share these photos for a while now. Three weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hanging out with my engaged clients Molly and Brian during our engagement photo session in Sonoma, California at Jack London State Historic Park. Having recently moved back to Montana, the trip was a fun adventure back to sunny California for my first engagement session of the 2012 wedding season. The spring California weather was predictably gorgeous as we ventured out for an afternoon of exploration and portrait making. Molly and Brian, by way of my sweet home Chicago, were looking to have a California wine country wedding and engagement photo session and found me and Greener Visuals Wedding Photography through a recommendation from a local wedding coordinator friend of mine Fearon, of Fearon May Events and Engaged Now What , (an up and coming wedding resource website) when they were looking for a photojournalistic styled wedding photographer in the Sonoma Wine Country. We got in touch and hit it off from the get go. When we met for the first time, I recommended we check out the ruins of the famed American writer Jack London’s mansion and state park just north of Sonoma. It was a pretty surreal place to photograph and it would make a perfect starting place both to avoid the harsh mid day sun and it presented beautiful shade with interesting directions of light shafts. Back in 1913, a fire destroyed the famous writer’s dream house deemed “Wolf House”. The stone walls still stand with an ancient, architectural beauty surrounded by old growth redwood trees. It’s a truly beautiful place. From there we drove south towards Sonoma and explored the sights and sounds of the wine capital’s downtown streets and photographed the gorgeous afternoon golden sunlight illuminated the buildings. These two lovebirds were just awesome. Together we made some creative images that I think turned out great and I am really looking forward to returning to California in June for their wedding day shoot. Congratulations on your engagement you guys! See you at your wedding in June! -Mike Greener

To see more photos from the engagement shoot go here.

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Davis California Couple Portrait Session of Ben and Charlotte

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I’ve been meaning to post these pics for a while now. A couple months ago, some friends of mine, Ben and Charlotte, approached me about making some fun portraits of them that they could send to their families both here and overseas in Germany and Belgium. They had never had professional portraits taken together and wanted photos that would accurately show their relationship. I really enjoy going out and making photos of friends. Having watched their relationship blossom over the past couple of years I was excited to try to capture it in a formal portrait setting. We ended up checking out the trail along side Putah Creek on the outskirts of Davis and as a added bonus, they brought their puppy Timo along for some entertainment. I find having dogs on a shoot can either be hit or miss. At times they can be very distracting to the subjects but more often than not they can be a fun addition to bringing out the best in my subjects by helping to make them laugh. Timo behaved perfectly and I think added a nice touch to their portrait session. Another fun afternoon with friends. -M

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Davis California Engagement Photographer Session of Anna and Zack

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I love this time of year. The rains are subsiding and California is enjoying its brief window of green before the summer heat scorches us to our usual golden brown hue. More importantly, the early springtime signals the start of the wedding season. My bookings are really starting to fill up. Always a good thing. Two of my good friends Zack and Anna recently got engaged and hired me to be their Davis California engagement photographer and wedding photographer.

Both are ecology graduate students at UC Davis and through their studies have come to really enjoy bird watching. They came to me looking for a creative photographic twist to capture their relationship. We spent an afternoon playing around one of the beautiful Davis parks and made some traditional and nontraditional images. We had a great time and I think their relationship really shows in their photographs. I’m looking forward to shooting their Lake Tahoe wedding in August.

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