Beaver Creek Brewery
Sandy Stinnett, left, and Jim Devine operate the Beaver Creek Brewing Company in little Wibaux, on the far eastern edge of Montana. Beaver Creek uses locally-grown grains to make its beers, then grinds the grains into flour for bread and cookies.
Well, there are some horses
Hey. Just because lots of other photographers shoot Montana horses doesn’t mean I can’t too. These friendly beasts are on a ranch outside of Circle, Mont., on the eastern plains.
Kids Ranch
These kids live on a ranch near Eureka, Mont. They were born in Russia with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and perhaps experienced some social detachment disorder as well while growing up in a Russian orphanage. They’ve all been adopted by American families ill-equipped to deal with their special needs, so now they’re getting what they need at Kids Ranch.
Wylie Gustafson, musician
Sure, Wylie Gustafson comes from a ranching family in Conrad, Mont., and is a first-rate horse trainer. But he’s also a world-class musician, songwriter and performer. His 14th album, Hang-n-Rattle, is a collaboration with poet Paul Zarzyski and seeks to re-define cowboy music. Here’s a link.
Welcome to Thomas Lee Photography’s True West
Welcome to this new blog where we’ll discuss the True West. It’s not just cowboys, Indians, hunters, skiers, mountains, lakes, trees and trophy homes, you know. There are real people, real issues and real beauty here and every story has many facets.
I’ve lived in the West since 1985, documenting its people and places professionally for more than 20 years. I’ll share my pictures and stories of the people I meet as I travel this beautiful, rugged and gritty part of the country, working for the critically-acclaimed news magazine, Montana Quarterly.
I’m excited to share and to learn from you. Be sure to leave comments. Teach us things, tell us your side, your perceptions. Let’s agree to disagree, but let’s also respect one another.
Thomas Lee True West 
