Stay Curious.

I spent my early childhood in Minnesota surrounded by lakes and forests, flipping over rocks and logs, trying to find the creatures that lived underneath and have never lost that sense of curiosity, wonder + respect for our planet.

As a commercial photographer I get to combine that natural sense of curiosity with my degree in advertising to strategically work with organizations + corporations + ad agencies + magazines + tourism boards + independent brands + creators + the best people in the world in a mindful way. I love brainstorming how to best use imagery in an effective way, whether that's to tell a compelling story, raise awareness for an issue, convey a specific campaign message, create honest portraits that embody the spirit of an organization, celebrate a milestone, fundraise in creative ways or come up with a completely new way to utilize visual assets.

Photos in Use

— Tearsheets, Album Covers, Editorial, Web Applications

Interviews + Features + Speaking Engagements

Peerspace — ‘The 10 Best Lifestyle Photographers in Seattle’

Design Sponge — '10 Socially Conscious Brands to Support'

Prepare + Prosper — Interview — 'Capturing People's Inner Geek'

Minneapolis Photo Center — Instructor  
Class: How To Take Better Photos of Kids — Dates: 2/2014, 8/2014, 2/2015, 8/2015

Capture Minnesota — Keynote Speaker
Presentation Title: 'Take Better Photos of Kids'

Springboard for the Arts — Panelist
House Show Panel — March 2013

The Current — Interview — 'The Hottest New Venue in Town? Your Living Room'

The Current — On-Air Interview — 'The Local Show with Gospel Gossip and LIVE LETTERS'

Beyond the Wanderlust — 'Madeline Island Friend Getaway'

City Pages — 'Best Twin Cities Music Photographers 2014: Sara Montour'

Grey Likes — 'Ian + Lisa + Sierra - Maternity Feature'

Laura Holway — '5 With: Sara Montour'

Little Bellows — 'Sara Montour: Why Film'

MNBride — ONE · TWO · THREE

MPLSzine — 'Labor of Love'

Roxanne Cooke — 'Photographer Interview: Sara Montour'

Snapwire — 'Snapwire Success Stories: Sara Montour'

The Little Umbrella — 'Maternity Session in Tolmie State Park'

BIRDS

• Birds of Prey (Falconiformes)

  • Eagles — Bald Eagle / Bald Eagle (Leucistic)

  • Hawks — Broad-Winged Hawk / Cooper’s Hawk / Northern Harrier / Red-Tailed Hawk / Rough-Legged Hawk / Sharp-Shinned Hawk

  • Osprey — Osprey

  • Vultures — Turkey Vulture

• Cranes + Coots + Rails (Gruiformes)

  • Coots — American Coot

  • Cranes — Sandhill Crane

• Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes)

  • Lesser Flamingo

• Gamebirds (Galliformes)

  • Sooty Grouse / Wild Turkey

• Grebes (Podicipediormes) 

  • Eared Grebe / Horned Grebe / Pied-Billed Grebe / Red-Necked Grebe / Western Grebe

• Herons + Egrets + Bitterns (Ardeidae)

  • Egrets — Great Egret

  • Herons — Black-Crowned Night-Heron / Great Blue Heron / Green Heron

• Hummingbirds + Swifts (Apodiformes)

  • Hummingbirds — Anna's Hummingbird / Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

• Kingfishers (Coraciiformes)

  • Belted Kingfisher

• Loons (Gaviiformes) 

  • Common Loon / Pacific Loon / Red-Throated Loon

• Owls (Strigiormes) 

  • Barred Owl / Great Gray Owl / Northern Hawk Owl / Short-Eared Owl / Snowy Owl

• Pelicans + Ibis + Spoonbill

  • American White Pelican / Brown Pelican

• Perching Birds (Passeriformes) 

  • Blackbird, Red-Winged / Bushtit / Cardinal, Northern / Chickadee, Black-Capped / Crow, American / Finch, House / Goldfinch / Grackle, Common / Gray Jay / Kingbird, Eastern / Meadowlark, Western / Northern Flicker / Northern Shrike / Pigeon, Band-Tailed / Redpoll, Common / Robin / Sparrow, Song / Swallow, Tree / Thrush, Varied / Waxwing, Cedar / Wren, Marsh

• Shorebirds (Charadriiformes)

  • Avocet, American / Dowitcher, Long-Billed / Godwit, Marbled / Gull, Mew / Gull, Franklin’s / Gull, Ring-Billed / Gulls, Various / Killdeer / Oyster Catcher / Phalarope, Wilson’s / Pigeon Guillemot / Stilt, Black-Necked / Tern, Black / Tern, Caspien

• Suliformes

  • Cormorants + Shags (Phalacrocoracidae) — Brandt’s Cormorant / Double-Crested Cormorant / Pelagic Cormorant

• Waterfowl (Anseriformes)

  • Ducks — Bufflehead / Canvasback / Gadwall / Goldeneye, Barrow’s / Goldeneye, Common / Mallard / Merganser, Common / Merganser, Hooded / Merganser, Red-Breasted / Northern Shoveler / Redhead / Ring-Necked Duck / Ruddy Duck / Scaup, Greater / Scaup, Lesser / Scoter, Surf / Teal, Blue-Winged / Wigeon, American / Wood Duck

  • Geese — Canada Goose / Snow Goose

  • Swans — Mute Swan / Trumpeter Swan

• Woodpeckers (Piciformes)

  • Downy Woodpecker / Hairy Woodpecker / Pileated Woodpecker / Red-Bellied Woodpecker / Red-Breasted Sapsucker

MAMMALS

• Armadillos + Sloths + Anteaters (Xenarthra)

  • Sloths — Hoffmann's Two-Toed Sloth

• Bats (Chiroptera)

  • Little Brown Bat

• Carnivores (Carnivora)

  • Feliforms

    • Cats — Cougar / Leopard, Amur / Leopard, Snow / Lynx, Canada / Tiger, Amur

  • Caniforms

    • Bears — Black Bear / Grizzly Bear / Polar Bear

    • Canines — Coyote / Fox, Arctic / Wolf

    • Musteloidea — Mink / Otter, North American River / Otter, Sea / Raccoon / Red Panda / Wolverine

    • Pinnipeds — Harbor Seal / Sea Lion, California

• Even-Toed Hoofed Mammals (Artiodactyla)

  • Bison / Camel, Bactrian / Caribou / Deer, Mule / Deer, White-Tailed / Deer, White-Tailed (Piebald) / Moose / Pronghorn / Wild Boar

• Odd-Toed Hoofed Mammals (Perissodactyla)

  • Donkey / Horse, Asian Wild

• Primates

  • Gibbon, White-Cheeked / Lemur, Red-Ruffed / Lemur, Ring-Tailed

• Rodents (Rodentia)

  • Beaver / Chipmunk / Muskrat / Nutria / Porcupine, North American / Prairie Dog / Squirrel / Squirrel, Albino

INVERTEBRATES

• Arthropods

  • Crustaceans — Gooseneck Barnacles / Hermit Crab / Rock Crab / Shore Crab

  • Hexapods — Bee / Butterfly / Dragonfly / Moth

• Cnidarians — Coral / Jellyfish / Sea Anenome

• Echinoderms — Sea Star

• Molluscs

  • Cephalopods — Cuttlefish / Giant Pacific Octopus / Pacific Red Octopus

  • Gastropods — Black Garden Slug / Moon Snail / Various Snails

REPTILES

• Turtles — Painted Turtle / Red-Eared Slider / Snapping Turtle

• Snakes — Plains Garter Snake

AMPHIBIANS

• Frogs — American Bullfrog / Northern Leopard Frog / Northern Red-Legged Frog / Spring Peeper

Partial List of Bands Photographed Live

(Ongoing & Mostly For My Own Nostalgia)

Full Online Archive + Stock Licensing Available, here.

THE 4ONTHEFLOOR \ ABY WOLF \ ACTUAL WOLF \ THE ALARMISTS \ THE ALBUM LEAF \ ALISON SCOTT \ ALPHA CONSUMER \ ANDREW BIRD \ ARLO GUTHRIE \ ASHLEIGH STILL \ ATLAS GENIUS \ ATMOSPHERE \ THE AWFUL TRUTH \ BAD BAD BAD HATS \ BLOOD \ BALMORHEA \ BAHAMAS \ BARBARA JEAN \ BASIA BULAT \ BATTERYBOY \ BBGUN \ BEN WEAVER \ BETHANY LARSON AND THE BEE'S KNEES \ BILL MIKE \ BILLY BRAGG \ BLACK DIET \ THE BLACK KEYS \ THE BLIND SHAKE \ BLUE MERLE \ BNLX \ BON IVER \ BRIAN JUST \ BRIANNA LANE \ BROOKS FAMILY DYNASTY \ BRUCE COCKBURN \ BRYAN JOHN APPLEBY \ BUFFALO MOON \ THE CACTUS BLOSSOMS \ CAROLINE SMITH \ CARRIE RODRIGUEZ \ CAVALIER CROOKS \ CHAD VANGAALEN \ CHALET \ CHARLIE PARR \ CHASTITY BROWN \ CHRIS KOZA \ CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING \ CLAIRE DE LUNE \ THE CLOAK OX \ CLOUD CULT \ COLONIAL VIPERS ATTACK \ COMMUNIST DAUGHTER \ C.R. AVERY \ CROOKED STILL \ CULKIN \ DAMIEN JURADO \ DAN ISRAEL \ DAN WILSON \ DANNY MICHEL \ THE DAREDEVIL CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT \ DAVID BAZAN \ DAVID POE \ DAVINA AND THE VAGABONDS \ DEAD MAN WINTER \ DEATH VESSEL \ THE DEEP DARK WOODS \ DESSA \ DOOMTREE \ DOSH \ DOVEKINS \ DOWN AND ABOVE \ DREW GROW & THE PASTOR'S WIVES \ DUFFY \ THE DUHKS \ DYLAN HICKS \ EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROES \ EDWARD THE CONFESSOR \ EMMY LOU HARRIS \ ENVY CORPS \ THE ERICKSONS \ ERIK KOSKINEN \ THE EVENING RIG \ THE FAREWELL CIRCUIT \ FAREWELL MILWAUKEE \ FATHOM LANE \ FEIST \ FIELD REPORT \ FIRST COMMUNION AFTERPARTY \ FISTFUL OF MERCY \ THE FOO FIGHTERS \ FORT WILSON RIOT \ FRANKIE LEE \ FRED EAGLESMITH \ FREDDIE KING  \ GABE BARNETT\ GARY LOURIS \ GET GONE \ GOLDEN SMOG \ GOLDFINCH \ GOSPEL GOSSIP \ GRANDMA'S BOYFRIEND \ GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS \ GREG MCPHERSON \ GUITAR PARTY \ HALEY BONAR \ HALLOWEEN, ALASKA \ HAWKSLEY WORKMAN \ HAYDEN \ THE HEAD AND THE HEART \ HEARTLESS BASTARDS \ HEIRUSPECS \ HEY MARSEILLES \ HEY ROSETTA \ THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS \ IRON & WINE \ IVAN & ALYOSHA \ J.P. HOE \ JACK KLATT \ JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW \ JANEY AND MARC \ THE JAPHIES \ JASON COLLETT \ THE JAYHAWKS \ JAYMAY \ JEREMY MESSERSMITH \ JESCA HOOP \ JESSE SYKES \ JESSY GREENE \ JIM WALSH \ JOANNA JAMES \ JOE PUG \ JOEL PLASKETT \ JOEY RYAN \ JOEY VERSKOTZI \ JOHN BOUTTE \ JOHN MARK NELSON \ JONATHAN SUNDE \ JOSH RITTER \ JOSS STONE \ JUSTIN NOZUKA \ JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE \ K'NAAN \ KAKI KING \ KATHLEEN EDWARDS \ KELLI SCHAEFER \ KEVIN STEINMAN \ KITTEN FOREVER \ KOO KOO KANGAROO \ LEELA GILDAY \ LEO KOTTKE \ LILA DOWNS \ LINDSAY JANE \ LOCH LOMOND \ LOTT \ LUCERO \ LUCY MICHELLE AND THE VELVET LAPELLES \ MACHETE BOOM BETTY \ THE MALDIVES \ MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA \ MARGOT & THE NUCLEAR SO AND SO'S \ MARK MALLMAN \ MARTHA WAINRIGHT \ MARTIN DEVANEY \ MASON JENNINGS \ MATES OF STATE \ MATT LATTERELL \ MATT POND PA \ MAYDA \ ME AND MY ARROW \ ME AS A PILOT \ MEIKO \ THE MELISMATICS \ MICHAEL FRANTI \ MIKE GUNTHER \ MILO GREENE \ MIRAH \ MOLLY MAHER \ THE MOOD SWING \ MOS DEF \ MXPX \ NEKO CASE \ THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS \ NICHOLAS DAVID \ NIKI BECKER \ OFFICE \ O'JEEZ \ OZOMATLI \ PAPER BIRD \ THE PARLOUR SUITE \ PATRICK WATSON \ PAVIELLE \ PENNY LANG \ PETE YORN \ PETER WOLF CRIER \ PHARCYDE \ PHIL SOLEM \ PHOENIX \ PICKWICK \ THE PINES \ POLARA \ POLIÇA \ PORTAGE \ POS \ THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA \ THE PUNCH BROTHERS \ RACHAEL YAMAGATA \ REDSTART \ REINA DEL CID \ RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR \ RIDLEY BENT \ ROBERT SKORO \ ROCKY VOTOLATO \ THE ROE FAMILY SINGERS \ ROGUE VALLEY \ ROMANTICA \ ROMI MAYES \ THE ROSEBUDS \ SANDY SCOFIELD \ SARAH KRUEGER \ SARAH WHITE \ SAVANNAH SMITH \ SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS \ SEA WOLF \ SEYMOUR SAVES THE WORLD \ SILVERBACK COLONY \ SILVERSUN PICKUPS \ SLIM DUNLAP \ SMALL CITIES \ SOLID GOLD \ SONNY KNIGHT & THE LAKERS \ SOUL ASYLUM \ SOUL BEAUTIFUL \ SOUTH AUSTIN JUG BAND \ SPIDER JOHN KOERNER \ SPIRITS OF THE RED CITY \ STEVE EARLE \ STORY OF THE SEA \ STRANGE LIGHTS \ STRANGE NAMES \ SYMBOL & SURFACE \ THAO AND THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN \ THAT 1 GUY \ TIM EASTON \ THE TING TINGS \ TOM MORELLO \ TWO HARBORS \ UTAH PHILLIPS \ VICIOUS VICIOUS \ WALKER FIELDS \ WE ARE THE WILLOWS \ THE WEAKERTHANS \ WHITE LIGHT RIOT \ WILCO \ XAVIER RUDD \ Y LA BAMBA \ YANN TIERSEN \ ZAR \ ZOO ANIMAL