SusanHatch Photography

SusanHatch Photography Montana Native. “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
― Albert Einstein

Como Peak, 9,624-foot-elevation is the eighth-highest peak in Ravalli County, locally known as the Three Sisters. The m...
10/18/2026

Como Peak, 9,624-foot-elevation is the eighth-highest peak in Ravalli County, locally known as the Three Sisters.
The mountain is named for nearby Lake Como, which Antonio Ravalli named in the 1840s after Lake Como in his native Italy.

I took this photo today: little snow in the bowl, ragged outcroppings, and scree.

I'm a huge fan of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, so this makes me very happy!
10/12/2026

I'm a huge fan of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, so this makes me very happy!

First snowfall- Darby, Montana “The snow falls soft and unfathomable, drawing the world down to a whitened hush, forcing...
10/11/2026

First snowfall- Darby, Montana

“The snow falls soft and unfathomable, drawing the world down to a whitened hush, forcing us (as few things do) to pause long enough to take stock of everything that we miss in our crazed pursuit to gain everything that we can.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

My favorite photo of the autumn.I took this on September 21, 2026, on the West Fork of the Bitterroot. © Susan Hatch Elk...
10/10/2026

My favorite photo of the autumn.
I took this on September 21, 2026, on the West Fork of the Bitterroot.
© Susan Hatch

Elk symbolize strength, endurance, and social connection, often serving as clan animals and teachers in stories and ceremonies.
In Lakota culture, the elk is revered as a relative and protector, representing vitality and community bonds.

“Even now I remember those pictures, like pictures in a storybook one loved as a child. Radiant meadows, mountains vapor...
10/10/2026

“Even now I remember those pictures, like pictures in a storybook one loved as a child. Radiant meadows, mountains vaporous in the trembling distance; leaves ankle-deep on a gusty autumn road; bonfires and fogs in the valleys; cellos, dark windowpanes, snow.”
― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Bitterrot Valley- Montana
Hamilton, Lost Horse, Victor, Stevensville

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
— L.M. Montgomery
“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky.”
— Percy Bysshe Shelley

A nice autumn afternoon at Montana's first territorial capital, Bannack.
10/01/2026

A nice autumn afternoon at Montana's first territorial capital, Bannack.

The ChallengeHighway 278western Montana
10/01/2026

The Challenge
Highway 278
western Montana

Another beautiful day in western Montana. I drove to Montana's first territorial capital, Bannack, and spotted these elk...
10/01/2026

Another beautiful day in western Montana.
I drove to Montana's first territorial capital, Bannack, and spotted these elk along the Pioneer Byway.
My daughter saw the first one; I zoomed in and saw another coming in from the willows. Another bull joined from the right; all in all, we saw five different bulls in the same herd. Two met; I waited for the big battle, but they just nodded and walked on.

Hiway 278 Montana

Some of us are very fortunate. I see this view whenever I look out from my backyard deck. The elk were out today, sunnin...
09/26/2026

Some of us are very fortunate.
I see this view whenever I look out from my backyard deck. The elk were out today, sunning themselves on the hills across the river.
The bottom picture is a zoomed-in view of the upper photo; I thought there was a nice-sized bull on the hill, and there he was.

Darby, Montana

As the leaves change color, the air fills with the haunting bugles of bull elk. I remember early mornings as a small chi...
09/22/2026

As the leaves change color, the air fills with the haunting bugles of bull elk. I remember early mornings as a small child, sleepily being bundled into the pickup with Mom as she dropped my father off on some old logging road high on a ridge. He would work his way down the ridge, hunting in the crisp autumn morning. We would wait quietly in the pickup at the bottom for him to appear. These early mornings taught me patience and reverence for the hunt. I hunt now with a camera, and tonight I scored the big guy.

Darby, Montana

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Darby, MT

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