Montana Panoramic is an ongoing collection of very unique panoramic photographs by Craig Hergert. Beginning in 1997, this collection of vast landscapes, mountain ranges, rivers, parks, towns, wildlife, hunting and fishing images from all over the great state of Montana has grown to more than 1000 images, and continues to grow each day.

Craig is a freelance artist whose photos and paintings are currently on display in several art galleries in Montana, including his gallery in Bozeman at the Emerson Cultural Center for the Arts, and in private collections all over the world. When not out wandering around capturing more images, he makes his home outside Bozeman with his wife Julie and son Carl.

I can still remember my first camera and the vivid smells and spectacular light of childhood in the New Mexico wilderness, mountains and desert. It was an amazing place to grow up, but in hindsight, nothing compares to the pure splendor of the magnificent and diverse landscape of Montana. For ten years I have attempted to capture this world through new eyes and a new lens to offer a large field of view in a small slice of time in the great place I call home.

In this collection, there are many images that each tell their own story, whether just for plain fun, or alternating between historical documentation and compositions of beauty alone. There have been quite a few changes in the short time since I began this process, and my hope is that these images will tell their small part. I’ve done my best to include a wide mix of photos from all over the state, even though I may be a bit partial to my home in the Gallatin Valley. Over the years I’ve covered quite a bit of ground, and I believe it is possible to still be captivated everywhere I go by the space, life, and great people of Montana. I apologize if I have not been able to include your favorite photo, spot or town, but just give me a little more time, and the great wide open.....

History:
My older brother was born in the small town of Sidney in Eastern Montana. Many times growing up my dad told stories of working for Holly Sugar as a field man, unloading sugar beets in 20 below zero blizzards, that of course, came in sideways. After only a year, they decided it was time to head south toward New Mexico to raise the family. However, my grandfather had also mesmerized my young imagination with the time he spent in Montana telling stories of the badlands of Glendive, Whitefish, Flathead Lake, Glacier, and the Choteau grasslands in the amazing Rocky Mountain Front. Deep down the seeds were planted, and in 1994 I began working in Yellowstone during my junior summer off from college, and never looked back. I had found my home.

Earlier, while studying fine art and graphic design at Eastern New Mexico University, we were beginning to work with some of the early Apple computers and a very exciting new program called Adobe Photoshop. The machines then were so slow, that even the most menial task of the simple darkroom technique of dodge and burn was a painful lesson in patience. I saw that the potential was there however, but after much time with chemicals and darkrooms, I soon became bored with the limitations and process of photography, and decided to put away the equipment to focus on painting and other distractions. After the summer in Yellowstone, and then Big Sky, I officially transferred to Montana State University attending through the National Student Exchange program. There I continued studying graphic design and spent a good deal of time wandering through the libraries. There I happened upon a book of old, scratchy, sepia toned black and white panoramic images of mines, cities, groups and landscapes of various places from the turn of the century, and was just simply captivated. My patience had paid off, inspiration was finally revealed and I slowly began to take photographs again.

In 1997, I started taking my own versions of these wide open views. I had spent a valuable summer after college as an intern for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks based in Helena, which allowed me to see many new corners of the state. Then, back in Bozeman, and after a few years into the corporate life as a graphic artist, I began searching for something more fulfilling than my day job. I worked at the local newspaper and had all the tools I needed at my fingertips such as the latest Macs, monitors, software and printers. I began experimenting to try and recreate the old style panoramic vision. But instead of taping single prints together, or using conventional panoramic cameras and film, I started shooting and scanning series of slides and prints and ever so slowly piecing them together by hand using Photoshop, fresh with a brand new layer function that made it possible. However, I was setting no trend, photographers were doing this all over the world. But the process was new to me, and it woke up the creative juices. I couldn’t sleep for weeks dreaming of the endless possibilities! I wanted to do nothing but take photos and paint, but that seemed impossible. The odds are against surviving as an artist in Montana, or anywhere for that matter. It took quite awhile to get the courage up to quit my steady day jobs. I moved on to run the marketing department of a western regional farm and ranch supply store for several years. I enjoyed the work and was able to go out shooting early in the morning, nights and weekends to start building the portfolio and of course save a little money to fund future photo expeditions.

Finally, with a strong desire to get out of the office life, I took a solo journey to Maui in 2003 to do a little soul searching. It was my first real photo vacation, and after standing on the top of a Haleakala volcano and then an evening pondering the waves of my beach camp, I decided now was the time. I quit my job the day I got home, and have never looked back. Built a studio in the garage, bought some new equipment and the rest is history. Granted, I spent quite a bit of initial time doing construction, building fences and shooting real estate to make ends meet, but I would not have had it any other way. The learning process of building a business takes all types of influences to make it work, and I’ve luckily had my share.

Currently with the affordability of digital 35mm SLR cameras, amazingly fast computers, large format giclee’ printers, and of course the Internet, the process has become a bit quicker and the possibilities are endless. I’ve put the film away, and am now able to capture and produce images, scenes and angles that were previously impossible. I now enjoy sharing this passion and these images of Montana with others from around the world, and am honored to be able to live this dream as my livelihood.

Process:
All of the panoramic images are produced by shooting multiple 35mm photos in a row, or multiple rows shooting horizontal and/or vertical. Each photo is captured at the same time within 1 to 30 seconds depending on exposure needs. Using a level tripod and panoramic head with proper lens configurations is vital for an accurate stitch, especially in compositions with close up subject matter, or in low light situations. However, I find the tripod very constricting and heavy especially when hiking, and with much practice, have shot at least half of the images by rotating the camera by hand. After stitching the slides, or now digital negatives together, the image is then cropped and adjusted to remove any dust or spots, and to fix any stitching anomalies that may have resulted during the overlapping process. With today’s exact pixel matching stitching software, the resulting images are almost 100% accurate, although there may be the occasional overlap mistake. No digital changes to the photos are made except to patch very small areas of sky or other detail parts of the photo that may need repair after stitching, or as otherwise noted for illustration purposes. To maximize color saturation and balance, I use a wide range of on-lens polarizing, neutral density, and gradient filters. In addition, I also then utilize post production digital darkroom techniques such as graduated filters, dodge, burn and levels adjustments after color correcting in RAW format to produce the final digital negative used for printing. Once the final image is created, it is saved and cataloged to the library, and backed up both on and off-site for safe keeping. Each image is then uploaded to the website for viewing, and offered as a limited edition print, and as open edition posters.

I would like to thank:
All my art teachers, mentors, friends and fellow artists who have inspired and helped me along the way, to whom I am eternally grateful. To my parents, grandparents and all of my extended family, from immigrant homesteaders, farmers and ranchers to honest businessmen who showed me that the American dream is real with determination, hard work and a little bit of luck.

To my wonderful wife who understands my crazy need to be able to wander aimlessly with one eye on life and one eye through the lens. And finally to all my past employers, customers and patrons who have helped me along the way. I thank everyone for your help and for your patronage that allows me continue with this passion of capturing the landscape........

I am now in my fifth year of pursuing Montana Panoramic full time, and life can't get much better. I am honored to be able to live this dream as my livelihood, and I thank everyone for your help and for your patronage that allows me continue with this passion of capturing the landscape.

Thanks for visiting.

Best,

Craig

Keep checking back for more photos, more updates and new work.....

While in Bozeman, please visit my new gallery in the Emerson Cultural Center...
Montana Panoramic Gallery & Beaucoup Framing.
111 South Grand, Suite 111 (Downstairs and down the hall from the Emerson Grill Restaurant)
406-585-8881