Sunrise Square Butte

Square Butte was an iconic image in several of C.M. Russell's paintings. I recently found a different vantage point and set out on a mission to capture this Butte in a sunrise with some snow on the ground. This winter we didn't have much snow cover, so I made numerous field trips to this site to capture it at the perfect time of day. Some of the trips had too many clouds and there was no color in the sky. On this particular morning, everything came together (except the temperature). It was -24° out at 6:30 am, but it was worth the discomfort for what I believed would be a wonderful painting. I love to bring some warmth into a very cool subject.
There are two Square Buttes in Montana, and this one is located west of Great Falls near Sun River. The Sun River winds through the area.