Book: Montana Panoramic | Transparent in the Backlight

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but with Craig Hergert’s collection of photos in Montana Panoramic: Transparent in the Backlight (Great Wide Open Publishing, $85) only a few are necessary—“stunning,” “encompassing,” and “alive” are some that come to mind. These photos, combined with Shann Ray’s elegant narrative expression, show Montana in a way that we can all relate to, as if we are really there. Together, Craig and Shann take you across the Big Sky state, corner to corner, telling the story of Montana using brilliant photography and thought-provoking stories and poems. Taste the dust from the dirt roads in the Highwood Mountains, feel the warm steam of the Grand Prismatic in Yellowstone, smell the sun-baked wheat growing in Plentywood, and hear the crowd roar as a cowboy holds tight to a bucking bronc. The shots of Bozeman and familiar mountain ranges evoke feelings of homeyness, while new vantages summon wonder and an inspiration to discover what the reader has not yet seen. This book is a great way to take the epic expanses of Montana home, right to your living room, for you to relive with the turn of a page.