By WHITNEY ENGLAND
Whitefish Pilot
Whitefish photographer Chuck Haney’s career has actually changed over the years as the market altered with brand-new technology and digital cams became available to more people.
From beginning in his early years working the Mountain Photography on The Big Mountain in the early 1990s to taking stock photography for magazines and books and now entering into a more creative side of photography, Haney has pictures for every celebration.
In his annual picture slideshow that benefits the North Valley Food Rely On Friday, Haney will present his pictures with timelapse shots sprinkled set to coordinating music for an entertaining evening. Haney asks that attendees bring a monetary contribution, and all proceeds from the evening will go straight to the food bank.
It’s been a number of years since Haney started hosting the yearly show and he states it offers him the chance to bring the neighborhood together for a terrific cause.
“We have actually checked out, how terribly (the food bank) needs help these days. It’s an embarassment more and more people need to count on them,” Haney said. “I think it’s a terrific regional cause, and all the cash remains here. So it feels good to return a little due to the fact that the community has been good to me too.”
The show also supplies a fun way for Haney to commemorate another year’s worth of photos. Much of the slideshow is a year-in-review that features highlights from Haney’s work, including his travels abroad. Haney now leads picture trips in various locations locally and abroad, and the shots highlight the very best of his journeys.
In 2022, Haney’s big adventure was a five-week journey to Europe– going to Portugal, the Czech Republic and Ireland. Additionally, he did a backpacking journey in Glacier Park, cycled across the state of Ohio– 300 miles over five days– and shot lots of pictures in your area.
He states after years in the business, he in some cases simply has the disposition to go out and shoot on a specific day and winds up with a few of the most incredible pictures of the year.
Among those times this year was when he and his other half decided to head up to Werner Peak in September when the Northern Lights were forecasted. Haney waited up till just previous midnight– nothing. He woke up at 3 a.m., once again no Northern Lights just a faint radiance. Arbitrarily he woke once again at about 4:30 a.m. and it was one of the most sensational visions of the aurora borealis he had actually seen. It was so late in the morning that the sun had started to show too.
“I woke up and, oh my God it resembles the lights were dancing you know. There were rays shooting up in the air …” he recalled. “So I hopped down, illuminated the lookout tower, and shot it until five something in the morning. It was so late that we could really see the colors of the sunrise starting.”
“I told my other half, we might remain here another 30 years and this would never happen,” he included.
The photo highlights from the year are one aspect of the yearly show, Haney likewise adds special presentations that are photos of a particular style taken control of numerous years. This year’s special section will be artistic shots of ice and uncommon weather phenoms.
Among Haney’s favorite locations to shoot is Lake McDonald in Glacier Park. He says the way the ice developments alter from day to day is intriguing as well as the vibrant rocks revealing through the ice layer.
“I find it remarkable as a subject since it simply takes on many different forms, like shapes, and then the transparency …” he stated.
An aspect of photography that Haney enjoys is that a scene can be shot one day and look totally various another day. This took place to Haney just recently as he wandered down to the coast of Whitefish Lake one cold early morning. The method the cold air struck the water produced a giant fog that appeared like a monster increasing out of the lake. Although Haney has shot the lake often throughout thirty years, he might still capture it in a various way.
“That’s still the rush after all these years of taking photos, specifically a familiar subject like (the lake). It simply looks absolutely different. And that really is sort of the appeal of photography,” he said.
REFLECTING ON 30 years as a professional photographer, Haney states it’s been the ride of a life time. His company has actually taken him all over the world and he has actually been released in countless publications in addition to a host of coffee table books.
“I never ever take it for approved,” Haney stated. “I mean it’s a really tough profession to earn a living at, it’s most likely equal to the majority of arts. From when I started to now resembles from the Stone Age to … it’s simply totally various.”
In the early ’90s, he had a movie camera and shot slides which required different skills to control the movie. He stated when digital cameras and Photoshop happened he welcomed the change as he could finally see and repair his images before handing them over to a client.
As soon as the internet was offered, he needed to move his career because he invested much of his time shooting stock photography which was now quickly offered by anybody online who had a cam.
“My profession has actually sort of pivoted and I needed to actually make some profession modifications in the last 10 years or more,” Haney stated.
In the previous decade, he began leading picture trips for his organization and also shoots more artistic pictures for fun.
“I’m just attempting to do something nobody else truly does … any artist I think after you have actually been doing it a long time, you kind of evolve,” he reflected.
Innovation has actually made him able to take photos he would have never ever imagined years ago, but his skill and natural propensity have also set him apart from lots of.
“I was fortunate because I was practically 30 when I was going to pieces around here doing different tasks. But it just appeared like I might see (the picture) prior to I took it …” Haney stated of the start to his career.
In the program, Haney will take individuals through his process, highlight his longstanding career and reveal some of the very best images drawn from behind his lens in 2022.
The program is Friday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the O’Shaughnessy Center in downtown Whitefish. Bring a monetary contribution for the food bank to go to.