WHY TAKE A PHOTOGRPHY TOUR

At 2.2 million acres in size, Yellowstone National Park is larger than some states, and if you don’t know exactly where to be and when, it can be easy to waste a day just searching for wildlife rather than photographing it. As your guide, my job is to take care of finding wildlife for you, putting you in the right place at the right time to get the photographs you’re hoping for. After spending more than 100 days each year in the park for years, I know the landscape and its inhabitants as well as anyone, including the personal habits of even individual animals. On top of that, I’m also closely connected to a large community of other guides, photographers, and biologists. All of that experience and all of those connections means I can plan every tour with the most up-to-date information on current wildlife location and movement. 

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TOUR DETAILS, LODGING, AND WHAT TO EXPECT

Tours begin in the early morning, when wildlife viewing is often best; the exact time will depend on the date, and will be communicated to you before the trip, but expect somewhere between 5am – 6am. Our tour will end in the mid-afternoon, a time when many animals are less active in the heat of the sun. Snacks and water will be provided.

Tours are roughly 8 hours in length, depending on when and where we find the best photography subjects. During that time you’ll get the insider’s guide to the best wildlife viewing in North America, plus guidance on your camera settings, composition, and image processing in order to help you bring the most out of your photographs. Included in your trip will be a written guide that will give you my advice for taking the best wildlife photographs along with my tips on how to best process and edit your photographs to get the most out of them. 

Besides being a photographer and guide, I’m also a biologist and biology professor, so besides helping you take amazing photographs, I also aim to help you better understand wildlife behavior and habits so that you can improve your odds of success in the field even when you’re on your own. I also limit my tours to groups of three, allowing me to offer plenty of individualized attention to each client.

Tours typically depart from Gardiner, MT but private groups of 2 or more may begin in Cooke City, MT if requested. If your group is not sure where you’d like to start from, ask me and I can offer advice based on your group’s goals. There are a large number of motels, cabins, and Airbnb or VRBO rentals in both Gardiner and Cooke City/ Silver Gate. For lodging in Gardiner, I recommend the Ridgeline Hotel, Absaroka Lodge, Treasure Cabins, Riverside Cabins, Big Rock Inn, or Super 8. Near Cooke City I recommend the Alpine Motel, Big Moose Resort, Antler Lodge, or Big Bear Lodge.

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SPRING/ SUMMER 2025 DATES AND RATES

Spring and summer are your chance to see Yellowstone at its peak. This is the time of year  where on any given you could potentially photograph grizzlies, bison, black bears, wolves, coyotes, elk, antelope, fox, and moose. Baby animals are everywhere; bear cubs and baby bison are common sights. By the time your tour is over you’ll not only have the photographs we took during your tour, you’ll also have all of my insider tips for your next visit to the park.

Tour rates are $300 per person per full day (8 hours of touring). We begin in the early morning, when wildlife viewing is best (exact time will depend on the date, but expect between 5am – 6am). Tours are refundable up until 72 hours prior to your tour date.

Tours typically depart from Gardiner, MT but private groups that book all 3 seats may begin in Cooke City, MT if requested.