A Living Legend...

Congratulations to Godfrey Saunders who recently announced his retirement as Bozeman High School Principal after 12 years in "one of the toughest jobs in town" according to the Bozeman Chronicle. Gail Schontzler, a Chronicle staff writer, did an amazing job in her article on Godfrey titled "Big man, big heart" in the Sunday, January 4 issue. It was much more than a story...it was a tribute!

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I have known the Saunders family for years having done everything from family portraits to senior pictures and even a wedding so naturally, I read the article with great interest. Beautiful, just beautiful! Godfrey truly is a living legend! And honestly, the whole family is just wonderful...really sweet people.

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With so many high school kids and folks in the community that love and respect Mr. Saunders, the next Principal of Bozeman High School sure is going to have some big shoes to fill.

Award-winning DVD Slideshows!

I'm excited to introduce the award-winning dvd slideshows I am producing for my clients. These designer slideshows are absolutely stunning and a great way to share images from your session with Susann Saarel Fine Art Portraiture with all your friends and family.

Your custom designer slideshow can also be produced as a webshow hosted on ShareItVideo.com which is integrated with facebook and myspace!

Once I send you the link to your webshow, with a simple click you can send the show to your own personal page. High School Seniors especially will LOVE showing their friends their senior photo session images in an impressive slideshow put to music!

The DVD's come packaged in an elegant leather folio and gift box and make a wonderful gift for the holidays!...think grandparents!!! Of course, you will want one for your family as well...

I will soon be uploading several dvd samples onto my website. Until then, I invite you to view a sample webshow of a Children's Fantasy Session.

Click here to view the show!

Password: enchanted

Red Lodge High School Senior ~ CARLY!!!

I am so flattered that I have high school seniors coming to me for their "once-in-a-lifetime" senior portraits from throughout Montana...

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Meet Carly, Red Lodge "Redskins" High School Senior ~ Class of 2009!

Isn't she the cutest??? She and her family travelled a couple hours to have me do her senior photos here at Sky Ranch high on a mountain-top in the Bozeman Pass.
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And these were just a few of my favorites!!!...

Lions and Tigers and BEARS!!!...Oh My!!!

Oh, aren't this grizzly mama and her cub just the cutest???

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This is the way I'd like to picture them...all sweet and snuggled up. Especially after our neighbor up on the next hill phoned us yesterday to inform us he'd just spotted a grizzly near our teepee...and yes, he was sure it was a GRIZZLY! Now, the teepee is some distance from the house, but still!!!...

Look, over the years we've seen it all up here at Sky Ranch, Montana, from the resident elk herd of 300 to plenty of mule & whitetail deer, moose and coyotes as well as the occasional fox, badger, mountain lion & rattlesnake and more...

And what about the time the twins while on a hike with their nanny on our "Trail of the Fairies" came face to face with a bear who proceeded to stand up on his hind legs to scare THEM off???

And yet, this is why we live here in this beautiful and awesome LAST BEST PLACE they call Montana and we call Sky Ranch. With beauty as never-ending as that which we experience year-round...Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall...there is no doubt why Susann Saarel "Windows of the Heart" Fine Art Portraiture calls the Montana outdoors that surrounds her, the ultimate photographic studio. There is no man-made backdrop that can surpass the true beauty of the Absaroka, Crazy or Bridger Mountains in the background. There is nothing more real than a child running through the green summer grass picking wildflowers along the way or marvelling at the magic of falling snow...

Grizzly Bears and all other wild animals aside...

If you are looking for pregnancy, baby, children's, family & high school senior and couples portraits that truly reflect Montana and all that she is and all that you are, then please do call on me, Susann Saarel "Windows of the Heart" Fine Art Portraiture...

~ PHOTOGRAPHING OUTDOORS IN ALL SEASONS ~

another beautiful senior...Carly!

Class of 2009, Bozeman High School senior, Carly, went looking in the phone book for her senior portrait photographer. She knew she wanted something different. Checking out my website, she was convinced she'd found it. I'm so glad, because she was a ton of fun to photograph and we had the most amazing light during the entire session! Plus, she's absolutely gorgeous...

After shooting here at Sky Ranch, we decided to hit some nearby railroad tracks (above) for more of that "something different" she was looking for. Well, Carly??? What do you think?

Carly's response: "Thank you so much!! The pictures are absolutely amazing and exactly what I was looking for! I can't wait to show my mom and get my orders in. Thank you again!!!"

Gorgeous Mikal ~ Class of 2009!

A few years ago, I snapped a few portraits of Mikal and her family at a beautiful wedding I was photographing at the Elkhorn Lodge in Helena. Now Mikal is a senior at Capital High School! She and her mom drove all the way from Helena to have me do her senior portraits at Sky Ranch!

She is an avid golfer and an aspiring model. Have a look...

Have a great senior year, Mikal! And thanks to you and Terry for making the trek up to Sky Ranch!

Jeans and a Plain White T

It's a clean, classic look that never goes out of style... It worked for James Dean and it works for Kyle,

College Park High, Pleasant Hill, California, Class of 2009...

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Talk about COOL!

These sepia images look like they're right out of the 1950's...

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and is there anything "cooler" than this beautiful old vintage Dodge??

When we found this neat old broken tree is the woods we discovered we were on the wrong side of the barbed wire fence. Easy for me to crawl through it even with the camera, but poor Kyle...he's probably about 6'5" tall! Maybe taller!

It was worth braving the barbs though...

Thanks, Kyle for allowing me to shoot your senior portraits! You were a great sport!

California Girls

Oh, I love these ladies...they are just so much fun to photograph...

This is the second time that they have come all the way from Martinez, California to have senior portraits done...first it was Emily...now, Erin. I just love this one of Erin in the sunflowers...

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Awww, and how sweet is this sisters shot?

Always gotta get one of mom and her beautiful girls...I just can't get over all these sunflowers!!!

And finally, there's that California Girl hair...long and beautiful!!!

Sherry, Emily & Erin...it was great seeing you all again! And thanks for making yet another trek to Sky Ranch...

~ Meet America's Next Top Model ~ from Bozeman, Montana...

With her all-American, girl-next-door good looks, gorgeous 13 year-old Courtney is clearly on her way in the highly competitive world of fashion modeling.

Don't you just see her as the next Noxema Girl?....



or, the next Breck Girl...


Perhaps even, the new Ralph Lauren Girl...



The possibilities are endless...
Keep your eye on this one...she is going to GO places...especially with THESE legs...



Check out my newest portrait gallery titled "modeling portfolio" on my website under "portraits" to see more of Courtney...

Praying for Sunshine!

Children and parents throughout Montana are praying for sunshine after weeks of rain, rain, and more rain! School's out and the kids want to run and play, collect grasshoppers and butterflies, skateboard, ride bikes and dirtboards, horseback-ride and go fishing and swimming. But this is Montana and it snowed again yesterday...at least at Sky Ranch, it did.

The good news is there is a light at the end of the tunnel...looks like Friday the 13th is going to be a lucky day after all!....The sun will begin shining again on that day and the outdoor photo shoots amidst a profusion of wildflowers and velvety green grass will begin...just in time too!...

Susann Saarel Fine Art Portraiture has pregnancy and newborn, child and family, family reunion photography sessions in addition to some fun senior, pet portrait and even, by request, a few modeling portfolio sessions booked throughout the summer and well into Fall!

If you haven't booked your Summer or Fall session yet, there is still time, contact Susann Saarel for your "Windows of the Heart" photography session today...

High School Seniors Rock!!!

I may be getting old, but it seems that today's High School Seniors are a lot more grown up, confident and self-assured than I was in my day at Samohi (Santa Monica High School) in 1978! But then again, I was a late bloomer...

The graduating girls AND guys from throughout Montana that I have photographed this past year are just gorgeous, each in his or her own very special way. The talents and dreams of these young adults just boggle my mind...there are musicians & actresses, scientists & political activists, dirt bike riders and horsewomen among you, not to mention, doctors, explorers and adventurers. In fact, I think all 17 and 18 year olds are explorers and adventurers!...as they should be...

It has been my privilege to meet and photograph countless amazing young adults as they embark upon the world and make their mark. So congratulations from Susann Saarel Fine Art Portraiture to the Class of 2008 from Bozeman High School, Livingston's Park High and beyond...

With my ad (above) appearing in the Bozeman High School's Hawk Talk this month and bookings already scheduled for seniors from as far away as California, I am looking forward to meeting and shooting the Class of 2009! You are young, beautiful and talented...YOU ROCK!!!