1-406-284-4110        alissa@alpengirl.com
       

Picture yourself this summer in Montana on a 2-week photojournalism assignment and reveal your poetic eye on a photo-journalistic journey of wilderness adventure.

Alpengirl's digital photography summer adventure camp for teen girls takes place in wilderness areas near Yellowstone National Park and Bozeman, Montana (US). 15 days of tent camping and adventurous outdoor recreation such as rafting, backpacking and horseback riding highlighted by beginner level digital photography and creative journaling. Plus, all the other Alpengirl specialties like daily yoga, healthy "camp gourmet" menu, crazy fun Alpenolympic events and making new friends from around the world!

Your Alpengirl summer photojournalism camp assignment is to focus on fun while capturing the essence of your Alpengirl camp experience in photographic image and written word and compiling your creativity into a final portfolio of work: A Portrait of an Alpengirl and her Adventures!

In addition to excellent outdoor leadership skills, Photojournalism Camp Alpenguides possess artistic teaching skills and will provide basic instruction and guidance for beginner level photography and journal writing.

A new "Photo Challenge" will be introduced daily during camp. The challenge will inspire you to look beyond your normal vision and try something new to demonstrate your understanding and interpretation of a photography idea introduced such as "rule of thirds" or "macro photography."

Creative journaling during camp is mostly a self-directed and personal activity that allows girls to be flexible in their own form of written artistic expression. Personal artist statements, photo captions, pencil sketching, diary entries and poetry are all encouraged. Girls will keep their own private journal and share with the group as desired. Girls will be asked to choose excerpts from their journals to add to the final portfolio. Excerpts chosen should enhance the selected portfolio photos and "tell the story" of adventure camp with Alpengirl.

Girls will bring their own digital camera, pens and a personal journal and should possess a basic understanding of functions available on their camera. Please refer to the packing list for more specific camera and gear information.

Backpacking & Hiking Powered by healthy "camp gourmet" food and guided by superhero Alpenguides, Alpengirls will reach lofty heights as they to surpass goals one footstep at a time on our 3-day walk into Montana's alpine majesty. We'll backpack 4-8 miles each day and hike at a pace that allows our group to enjoy each step into the great unknown as we gain a sense of stewardship by connecting with the natural world on the road less traveled. Outdoor camping skill basics that minimize the impact on our natural environment are taught right from the beginning on all Alpengirl trips and are relied upon throughout this teen girls camp session. Campers will learn how to properly pack and carry a backpack with a limited and select number of items (sleeping bag, pad, clothing, camera and a portion of tent and food). We'll leave all extra gear, worries and conveniences behind as we rise above our own expectations!

Whitewater Rafting, Hot Spring Soaking & Canoeing: A waterproof camera is a must for action-shots during this camp session which features two different class III-IV whitewater rafting trips along with canoeing, swimming and hot spring soaking in a natural hot spring public pool. The casual flat-water canoe day on the Henrys Fork of the Snake River in Idaho is a lovely introduction to the waterways of Yellowstone country. This is a serene and shallow river, home to nesting osprey, mysteriously glowing underwater grasses and moose in the willows. Its prolific banks also host to the popular Alpenolympic whale-breaching contest!

Yellowstone National Park: Our journey into Yellowstone will fascinate with fossil forests, Old Faithful, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, paint pots, bubbling mud cauldrons, waterfalls, bison, elk and explosive geysers! By written word, we may choose to describe cultural, natural and historic features, as well as the relationships we have to them. We can couple these with photographs that tell their own significant story, producing individual expressions that become our chronicle - in word and image. William Henry Jackson was hired to photograph the natural oddities described of Yellowstone by early explorers; he was instrumental in persuading congress to establish Yellowstone as the world's first national park. It is our hope that in documenting the world around us, the role of Alpengirl Photojournalists will be realized as no less important.

Horseback Riding: We get fitted to our helmets, saddles and horses by the best cowboys and cowgirls you'll ever meet from Centennial Outfitters. Our full-day western trail riding adventure takes us up-up-and-away into the Centennial Mountains, high atop the continental divide, through alpine meadows filled with wildflowers, and crossing crystal clear spring fed creeks. We select a new route each time to maintain the most pristine environment possible, sometimes this means through the wild woods, across down trees, through winter's remnant snow fields and into country that most folks will never have the opportunity to see. Mountain riding on the back of our sure-footed friends prevents us from safely going faster than a trot most of the time. However, if trail conditions and circumstances allow, girls that have proven their horse riding skills today may be allowed to gallop at select times and locations. Ben, Festus, Shiloh, and Foxy are so completely awesome that you'll want to return to see them year after year and may even consider our Montana Horse Camp in your future as an Alpengirl!

The best thing about this trip - besides the fact that All Alpengirl trips ROCK is... "a focus on artistic creativity matched with outdoor adventure with scheduled free-time to allow each camper to create a final portfolio to share with friends and family upon return home!"

Montana Photojournalism Alpengirl Parent Review - Testimonial

"I can't thank you enough for providing Michele with an awesome Montana Photojournalism Camp experience. She hasn't stopped talking about it and showing off her pictures. She loved all of you and in fact one of the first things she told me was that as much as she was upset about me leaving her at the airport on that first day - she was just as upset at leaving you all behind on the last. She didn't want it to end. When I first caught sight of her returning, she looked taller and her smile wider than before - all signs of her increased confidence in herself. That is exactly what I was hoping for from this experience! She is looking forward to another one of your camps next year." ~ Krista (Clarksburg, Maryland)