Three Dollar Bridge and the Milky Way span the Madison River south of Ennis, Montana on a clear, April night.
Flowing a smooth, midnight blue, this famous trout stream rises in Yellowstone National Park and travels north more than 70 miles to Three Forks, Montana where, along with the Jefferson and the Gallatin, it forms the Missouri. Shooting this panorama, I was thinking about all the wildlife that lives along this river, including black and grizzly bears, bison, antelope, moose, beaver, and many more. In the pre-dawn darkness, I heard pairs of geese calling and had a string of cow elk come to drink just downstream from me.
The image you see here is the combination of 36 photos, all taken from the exact same place between 3am and 4:30. It was cold, but in an invigorating way, the sound of a river just beginning to receive the year's first snowmelt strong in the background.
I'm selling this in three sizes as both an archival-quality photographic print and also on ready-to-hang aluminum. Each size is limited to an edition of 25 and comes signed and numbered. Shipping is included to all lower 48 states.