Power of Truth
Bonnie Red Elk ran a story in the Wotanin Wowapi up in Fort Peck, Mont., outing a rogue tribal chairman and was fired a week later. Less than two weeks later, Red Elk published the first issue of the Fort Peck Journal. Less than a year after that, the Wotanin Wowapi shut down. That was January 2007. The Journal is still going strong.
Red Elk says the sign in the background was brought back from the 1992 Democratic National Convention. She says is speaks to the power of truth in the press.
She ought to know.
Wisdom
The featured small town in the current issue of Montana Quarterly is Wisdom in the beautiful Big Hole Valley.
Merry Christmas
We hope all of your piggy banks are filled to overflowing this year. Not with money, perhaps, but happiness, health and friendship.
Don’t give up
Meet artist Richard Stewart, who spent all but three years between the ages of 11 and 52 in prison. He survived horrific experiences and found a way to see beauty in the world anyway. Now, after serving his sentence, he paints landscapes and helps others who have been recently released from prison to adjust to life outside.
Icicle Abstract
The great thing about being a photographer is that there’s always something to do. I was waiting for an portrait assignment to show up the other day when I noticed some long icicles. Before I new it, 15 minutes had flown by and I had dozens of images of this one icicle.
Life Through the Storm
I was on assignment way up in northern Montana last Friday when I was caught in this unexpected (by me at least) snowstorm. I was still able to get where I needed to go, as was this delivery driver. And although school busses weren’t running, school was still open for those who could get themselves there.
Deep freeze
I found this scene in a small creek south of Churchill, Mont., a couple of years ago after a cold snap similar to the one we’re currently enduring. It’s a domestic duck who perished, then froze and there have been a wide variety of reactions to the picture. Anyone care to offer their thoughts here?
Power
This is an aerial view of the Judith Gap Wind Farm in central Montana. Montana has an abundance of wind — particularly along the Rocky Mountain Front. And wind energy is coming to the forefront of energy demand. The bottleneck for Montana is that in order to sell the power, we need a way to get it out of the state. We just don’t have enough power lines. Read more about this in the winter issue of Montana Quarterly, just hitting newsstands now.
Gov. Tim Babcock’s True West
Governor Babcock was nearly 90 when he helped me make this video. The former governor of Montana is a conservative and my politics lean a little more to the left, but I was pleased to find a great deal of common ground. I hope you all can too.
True West Luthier
Ren Ferguson is a master luthier, doing custom engraving and inlay work at the Gibson Guitar factory right here in Bozeman, Mont.
Thomas Lee True West 