Posts

[metaslider id=32709]

Well, the changing tides of the media world reached us here yet again in Bozeman, Montana. For the past 2 1/2 years, I’ve been a staff photographer at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Last Friday morning, I was called at home by my editor and told that I and a few other employees throughout the newspaper had been laid off. Budget cuts by our parent company that was effective immediately. Ugh. Not easy news to hear. It’s been a great run documenting the people of Bozeman and surrounding communities through pictures for the newspaper. A ten year run as a newspaper photojournalist. Not bad. Crazy how all that time flies. It was a good run. I had a lot of fun telling stories, meeting people and taking candid photos. I won’t be putting the camera down anytime soon. I look to the future and I’m optimistic. Now I can focus other photographic endeavors. Plans are in the works. For a while now I’ve been growing my Greener Visuals Photography business and I plan to continue developing that as one of many creative outlets. Here are my favorite photos from my last couple of weeks with the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Here I go. Onward to new horizons. More to come on that front. Stay tuned. -Mike Greener

Bozeman_Photographer_MSU_marching_band

Some favorite photos from the 5th Annual Montana State University Cat Walk in downtown Bozeman Montana I photographed for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Bozeman_Photographer_Bogert_Swimming_Pool_Dogs

Some favorite photos from my time photographing for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle from July 2014.

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Runners participating in the 30th Anniversary of the Bridger Ridge Run make their way along the 20 mile race route of the Bridger Mountains Saturday morning.

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Runners participating in the 30th Anniversary of the Bridger Ridge Run make their way along the 20 mile race route of the Bridger Mountains Saturday morning.

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Runners participating in the 30th Anniversary of the Bridger Ridge Run make their way down from Sacajawea Peak along the 20 mile race route of the Bridger Mountains Saturday morning.

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Runners participating in the 30th Anniversary of the Bridger Ridge Run make their way along the 20 mile race route of the Bridger Mountains Saturday morning.

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Runners participating in the 30th Anniversary of the Bridger Ridge Run make their way down from Sacajawea Peak along the 20 mile race route of the Bridger Mountains Saturday morning.

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Runners participating in the 30th Anniversary of the Bridger Ridge Run make their way down from Sacajawea Peak along the 20 mile race route of the Bridger Mountains Saturday morning.

Mike Greener/Chronicle
The view of the Bridger Mountains during the 30th Anniversary of the Bridger Ridge Run Saturday morning.

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Runners participating in the 30th Anniversary of the Bridger Ridge Run make their way along the 20-mile race route of the Bridger Mountains Saturday morning.

Early Saturday morning, I raced out of Bozeman towards the Fairy Lake Trailhead for the start of the Bridger Ridge Run. The event is a 20-mile jaunt along the ridgeline of the Bridger Mountain range. The race started at 7 am which mean at 6 am, I was tromping up the side of Sacajawea Peak to get a shot of the runners in their mountain top element. It’s a haul of a race and not for the timid. I wanted to show the runners in this unique race terrain. The early hour allowed me to capitalize on the sweet morning light as the sun breached the horizon. Running this crazy race is not something I would try to do but I was stoked to be up there with them all the while documenting their experience. Here are some of my favorite images from the morning. Cheers, -M

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Logan and Kim Dickerson, right, burst from their seats in reaction to a missed goal attempt by the United States during their World Cup match against Germany Thursday afternoon at the Bacchus Pub in downtown Bozeman.

Some recent work I did for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Happy 4th of July everyone! -Mike

Mike Greener/Chronicle
Blue Alberta Penstemon and wild sunflowers.
Flora along the “M” Trail.
Head out any direction from your home doorstep and you are bound to come across one of the hundreds of abundant spring wildflowers that are currently blooming in full force across our local mountain sides and valleys. I decided to spend some time hiking along the “M” Trail this past week to get a closer look at all the natural color splashed across the Montana scenery.

Head out any direction from your home doorstep and you are bound to come across one of the hundreds of abundant spring wildflowers that are currently blooming in full force across our local mountain sides and valleys. I decided to spend some time hiking along the “M” Trail this past week to get a closer look at all the natural color splashed across the Montana scenery. Read more

Greener2013Awards

 

I recently learned that a couple of photographs I made for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle last year were recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Montana Newspaper Association. I won first place Best Sports Photo by the Society of Professional Journalists for a photo I made of a MSU Heptathlete doing the high jump in the NCAA Indoor Track Finals and another first place from the Montana Newspaper Association for Best Feature Photo which was of a young mother tending to her kids in the early morning before work. The full story about their family can be found here. As a personal project I was pretty stoked that one below got the nod from my professional peers. As a whole my employer the Bozeman Daily Chronicle won numerous awards including best newspaper in the state. The full article is posted here. Congrats to my fellow reporters, editors and designers on a great year of public service. My winning images are below. Thanks for looking, -M

032713_bForTheFamily

022413_MSUIndoorTrackFinals

Here are some photographs I made for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle over the last couple of weeks. The weather has been cool and beautiful. Needless to say, I’ve been taking full advantage of the outdoors. Thanks for looking. -M

Warmer weather has come to southwest Montana and I am finding myself being pulled in ten thousand directions of fun. Folks around these parts have been getting outside and playing hard, myself included. I got back from my first backcountry yurt trip last weekend and am looking forward to riding my mountain bike this weekend. I love this spring time juxtaposition. The mountains have beautiful snow-capped peaks while everything in the hills and the Gallatin Valley floor has turned a lovely shade of green. Winter’s grip is quickly leaving the area and the longer days complete with Montana sunshine has been a warm welcome to all. People are venturing outside to get after their summertime leisures while the few hold on to the perks of winter. With such a heavy snowpack from this past winter, many of the local skiers have been out tackling the stable backcountry terrain while mountain bikers are finding drier conditions in lower elevations for riding single track. The buzz and excitement of the new season has everyone in high spirits. Here are some favorite images I’ve made in the last couple of weeks. Thanks for looking. Now go play outside! -M

 

I spent a lot of time this past month photographing photographing folks in the limelight both on court and on stage. March marks basketball tournaments and the Montana Class B State Championship was held here on the MSU Campus. I was there to document the games for the newspaper. It’s neat to watch all of the community/school pride flourish at events like these. For many of these tiny Montana farm town teams with their fans in tow, it is a big deal to compete in the state tournament. These tournament games matter and with the increased intensity, the emotions and aggressive plays, the opportunities to make good sport photos tend to happen more frequently. It’s fun to witness. Bozeman always seems to have some event or concert happening numerous times throughout the week. In March, found myself photographing the full gamut of them. Recycled item fashion shows were followed by the annual Hawks Night Live high school talent show to finally rounding the month off with a visit of the classic rock band ZZ Top to the Montana State University Brick Breeden field house. Never a dull moment in this town. Thanks for looking. -M

 

Last Saturday on assignment for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, I watched hundreds of my fellow Bozemanites run in the 2014 Bozeman Run to the Pub 10K/Half Marathon Race. The event is popular and runners were decked out in copious amounts of green to keep in step with the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. The best part is the race ends downtown where everyone drinks beer afterwards in the street. Race organizers provided buses to take runners to the starting line which really cut down on the hassles of moving cars. It looked like a lot of fun. Makes me consider running it myself next year. Overall a great way to spend a Saturday. Here are some favorite photographs from the day. Cheers! -M

Here we go. Another year in the bag. I feel thankful. The year 2013 was another year of positive growth though at times I fought it kicking and screaming. The evolution of my photography continues and my love for Montana continues to grow. I’ve really been enjoying life here in Bozeman, Montana. Here are some favorite images from 2013. Looking forward to the new adventures of 2014. Happy New Year everyone! -M

A big marathon portrait session I just completed published today in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. I had little time to come up with a concept so, in a pinch, I opted for color and a homemade ring flash. These were a lot of fun to make. There are a lot of awesome talented folks living around these parts. Be sure to check out the stories on the Business Journal website. Color! Boom! -M

Fall has arrived in Montana and I have been loving it. It is easily my favorite season. As you can see it is also very busy. I’ve been having fun. Here are some favorite photographs from assignments I did for my staff position at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle during the month of September. Thanks for looking. -M

Last week I photographed some of the activities around town that were giving appreciation for Native American Heritage Day. It was a chance to recognized all of the diverse tribal nations both here in Montana and throughout the country and that unified idea to uphold their native cultures was shown in the multi tribal dancing outfits and teachings to the public. You couldn’t ask for a better weather day. I hung around Montana State University watching fancy dancers, listening to speakers, listening to native music and then ventured over to Chief  Joseph Middle School to watch kids learn to put up teepees. Ingredients that made for a fun day in Bozeman and for a festive Sunday Viewfinder photo page in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. -M

For weeks now, word has been spreading quickly throughout town that members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a outspoken anti-gay religious group, would be picketing at both the Montana State University campus and the Bozeman High School this past Monday. Bozeman is a small mountain community but their response to such a group was a monstrous, united message that intolerance has no place here. This was shown in spades as the racist family of three from Topeka, Kansas got out of their white SUV and were immediately drowned out by a sound wall of hundreds of marriage equality supporters. As a member of the media, these are tricky subjects to document. While my job is to document and tell the story as accurately and as un bias as I can, the reality is I strongly disagree with the message these people were trying to push. So my challenge was look past my own opinions and try to make images that would tell the story while minimizing my spread of their message by showing their hate signs. It was an exercise in observation, patience and careful composition. Being able to remain calm during such chaotic situations (where many things at once are happening), helped me see beyond what was on the surface and perhaps show something unexpected. The first image in this slide show I think really spoke to that notion. As both sides screamed at eachother, I stopped and watched as the couple’s 11-year-old son. He stood there alongside is parents hiding being his sign with the world screaming all around at him. You could tell by his face that he was incredibly uncomfortable. I wondered what was going through his mind and whether he ever doubts his parents intentions? Who knows? Seeing his reaction so different from his outspoken parents struck me that maybe there was some hope for him. There are lots of things in this world that I don’t agree with and many people who can say things that can make my skin boil. But despite my disagreements, I appreciate that we live in a country where an individual can speak their mind for better or for worse. I was proud to see my community take a stand. -M

A sampling of some favorite images from the past month working at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.