Yellowstone Photo Tour

            I always enjoy the winter in Yellowstone. My first winter trip to Yellowstone was in a blizzard that I camped in, and I was still hooked after that trip. I find it peaceful with it snow covered, and I love it when it’s cold. I went a couple of days early to scout for the tour, and even though I didn’t see much, it was still a fun time.

            Pick up day is always fun, as I get to meet new clients and often reunite with former clients who are going on the trip again. Everyone is full of excitement and ready to get into the park and start shooting. On our first day in the park, the first drive is very exciting as you never know what is around the next corner. We didn’t see much, and we were in Hayden Valley looking for wildlife. In the afternoon we found a wolf pack on a hill side, and that was very exciting! They weren’t close, but they also weren’t super far. We watched them as they moved across the valley, and then all of a sudden, they changed the way they walked. A couple of them started stalking it looked like, and as I told the group this and to be ready, the wolves took off! They took off after a group of bison, and it was very exciting to see them running full speed, and then the bison running too. The hunt was unsuccessful, but it certainly was exciting seeing and photographing the wolves chase the bison! What an exciting way to start the trip!

            On the way back from seeing the wolves, we spotted a great grey owl! I had never seen one in the winter in Yellowstone before. It didn’t super cooperate, but we got a few shots of it, and it was very exciting to see it! Two rare sightings on the first day was awesome!

            The rest of our time in the interior of the park was hard to live up to what our first day was, but we still had some good animal encounters. We saw a red fox a couple of times, but it didn’t stick around long each time. We finally saw a river otter, after spending lots of time looking for it. A distant coyote with some fun shadows was a fun time of getting creative. I always enjoy the interior of the park in the winter because it feels like at times that our group is the only people around.

            When we got to the northern range, the first day was a little slow, but the next morning was awesome. We hiked in and sat in an area hoping to see moose, but none showed up. When we drove back to this area to look again, we found a nice bull moose. He was on the move, but he was a good-sized bull moose and lots of fun to photograph. In the same area, while we were waiting on the moose to come back out, I spotted a red fox and the group left the moose. It was a great decision, as the red fox was very cooperative. We could tell it was hunting as it walked the snowy meadow, and it never got all that far away. As it was coming up to some grass sticking out of the snow, it got real interested, and I told the group to get ready, and shortly after it made a big leap into the snow! The red fox leaping in the air is one of those winter shots everyone wants, including myself, so it was very exciting to get a great shot of the fox leaping! The group was very, very excited about these photos!

            The last day we decided to look for more wolves in the morning, but we never saw or heard any. We then looked for fox, and did find one that was hunting, but not as close as the one yesterday. I told the group I would make one more drive to look for wolves, and what a great decision that was! When we got to a certain area, there were lots of cars in a pullout. We could see some wolves as I parked, and we all got out of the car fast. At first the wolves were a few hundred yards away, but still neat to see. As we waited, a couple of them started to finally move, and we positioned ourselves in a different area. Slowly the wolves moved in our general direction, and they ended up coming in good photo range! The group was pumped to have seen and photographed wolves on our first day, and our last day! Another successful winter trip to Yellowstone, and already can’t wait for next year’s trip!

Lake Clark Cubs!

I look forward to going to Lake Clark every year! Getting off the beaten path and photographing brown bears is always great! I’ve been going to Lake Clark for many years now, but I’m just as excited going each year as I was previously. On any photo trip, I hope to get it started off well. On our very first shoot we got some decent shots, but on our second time out, we knocked it out of the park! A saw a mother and two cubs from a distance, and we hurried over to where they were. When we got there, the two cubs started playing king of the stump, and played and played and played!! I don’t even know how many photos were taken by my group while they played, but it was a lot, and it was awesome!

            First thing the next morning, that same mom and cubs were actually in the yard as the group prepared to go photographing. It’s always fun to see the bears by the lodge! It was a clear morning, and we waited for the mom and cubs to head out into the sedge flats so we could photograph them. The light was amazing, and the family of bears were so photogenic! We got some great closeups in the sedge flats, and then they headed to the tidal flats to go clamming. With the soft morning light, the mountains out, and a cooperative family of bears, we had a very successful morning! By the time we went in for breakfast, it felt like we had already shot a days worth of photos! In the afternoon we found the other mom and two cubs, and it was great to photograph them too.

            Another highlight of the trip was the other mom and two cubs resting out on the beach. A bear that was nearby startled the cubs, but after mom got them to relax again, the cubs were very cuddly and stayed close to mom. The cubs even climbed over mom at one point, and gave the cutest resting poses!! Every time they moved it seemed to be a cuter photo!

            Throughout the week we saw many other bears, but the moms with cubs were the highlight! New brown bear cubs are so small, and so full of life and energy. And brown bear cubs enjoy playing with each other, so it makes great photos when they are playing. As usual, the trip went by fast, and before we knew it, it was time to fly out and leave Lake Clark. My group was all very happy, which makes me happy, and they couldn’t wait to look through all their photos and the many exciting encounters we had!

2023 Winter Yellowstone

It’s always good to be heading back to Yellowstone in the winter! It’s normally been a couple of months since I’ve photographed by the time I go to Yellowstone, and I don’t like going that long between shoots. With winter weather you never know what you will get either, and that is exciting to me.

            Pick up day went smooth, and I could tell it was going to be a fun group! The first few days we spend it on a private snowcoach in the interior of the park, which is always fun. In the morning we didn’t find much, but were on the trail of a wolf. We ended up seeing it, but only briefly and never got a photo opportunity. Around lunch time we found a pine marten! Weasels are always fun to photograph, because you don’t see them very often. This marten really put on a show for us and bounced around the trees in front of us and stayed in photographable range for a long time! It was a real treat!

            On our 2nd day we found some nice frosty bison! Frosty bison are iconic to Yellowstone, but the conditions have to be just right for the bison to get frosty. We managed to find a couple different groups of bison that were frosty, and that made my clients happy. We spent a long time with them, and in the afternoon, we went looking for anything we could find. We just missed a bobcat sighting, but a little while later we got to see it! Seeing a wild cat is always a treat, and this bobcat was on the move. It was moving along the hillside across the river from us, but it went into a couple of openings and gave us an opportunity to get a clean shot of it! Pine martens, frosty bison, and a bobcat!! A truly great start!

            Day 3 was slow until there was an ornery bison. We came upon a photo group with a couple of bison and all seemed normal. Out of nowhere, this other bison came running along and decided he didn’t like the people. I felt so bad for the people because the bison truly came from nowhere and charged right at them. I had never seen a photo group move so fast before, but I would have been moving just as fast. Thankfully the bison stopped before hitting anyone, but it was a wild scene. My group was very thankful we were in the coach and not outside.

            We went to the northern range after being in the interior and had a great first shoot! We found some bighorn sheep, and one was a very large ram. They were near the river and in no hurry to go anywhere. It started snowing while we were there and had so many great photo opportunities with the sheep! We did see a large wolf pack later in the day, but they were very far away.

            A highlight from the next couple of days was finding some bison in a white out. They were hard to see, and difficult to photograph, but the setting was very neat and it kept changing as the clouds moved in and out. On the last full day, it was snowing very hard. And it snowed hard all day. That was unfortunate, as in the morning the large wolf pack was not that far away, but because it was snowing so hard it was hard to see them and we couldn’t get any good photos. But seeing them not that far away, and hearing them howl, was fun. We didn’t find much else due to the heavy snow.

            When we left the park, I drove down a side road, and all of a sudden there were hundreds of bison and elk in the valley! It was an amazing sight to see that many animals at one time! The drive back to Bozeman was absolutely horrendous due to icy roads and wind blowing sideways across the road strongly. It was a slow go, but we got to Bozeman and said goodbye until the next trip. Another fun and great Yellowstone tour was finished, and I am already looking forward to next years!

Lake Clark Bear Fun!

            Anytime I am photographing bears I am happy! Leading my photo tour to Lake Clark NP is always a good time! I had another great group of clients this year, and the bears gave us many great opportunities! It is really cool when we fly in and there are bears scattered across the tidal flats digging for clams. It gets the group real excited seeing bears immediately and the excitement continues to grow from there.

            We had good opportunities with bears clamming for most days of the trip, and it’s always fun getting to photograph bears on the tidal flats. On day two, while photographing bears clamming, we saw in the distance a mother bear with a small cub. Cubs always get the group very excited, and this was a spring cub, or a first-year cub. They are so small at first and lots of fun to photograph. Getting to spend some time with the cub was great, and then later that evening we saw a mother with 3 spring cubs! Each day we kept seeing more and more bears!

            On the third morning, we woke to the mother and 3 cubs being right out in front of the lodge. What a great way to wake up! They were across a river from us, but after we had been there a while, they decided to swim and come to us! Then the cubs ran around and played and really put on a show for us. In the afternoon it looked like it could be a long day because all the bears we could see were taking a nap. One bear when it woke up, got up and went to a different bear and started to play. They played and played and played for the longest time, and looked to be having so much fun! My group certainly enjoyed getting to spend so much time watching them play, and then one slept on a log in exhaustion. My group almost always gets the chance to photograph a bear sleeping on a log!

            The next couple of days we got to see the mom and 1 cub a number of times, and each time it seemed like the cub was getting more comfortable in its new world. The cub started to show its personality, and it was such a joy to get to watch him run around and entertain us! It liked to run our direction, do a jump and spin, and then run back to mom. It also enjoyed chewing on its paws, which was super cute. Each day of the trip, the photography just got better and better! Spending time in the field around bears is what I look forward to most each year, and Lake Clark never disappoints.

Winter Yellowstone Trip

            Each winter I look forward to going to Yellowstone. I’ve been going to Yellowstone every winter since 2010, and each year I know something different will happen than what I have seen or photographed before. Twila and I went a few days before my photo tour started to shoot on our own, and on our first day we found a wolf! It doesn’t get much better than that! We were the only ones that knew it was around for 45 minutes, before it finally moved close enough to take photos. It decided to parallel the road for a while and gave us a chance to get some photos! What a start! We found other animals over those couple of days, but that was the highlight for sure.

            On the first day of the photo tour, it got off to a great start! It was cold, but not super cold, but there was an inversion layer of fog that blanketed areas of the park. We found a bison resting in a thermal area, and waited on him to get up. It was worth it as he was heavily covered in frost and in a beautiful area! He even eventually came our way and gave us some close-up opportunities. We were finishing up with him when we got word wolves were seen, so we hurried to where they were. We got there in time to see the wolves chasing a herd of bison! So cool to see that happen! We were then in position to photograph the wolves as they moved around the herd. The rest of the day was slow, but the morning was incredible!

            We were on the search for wolves on our 2nd morning, but after not finding them, we saw a group of bison potentially heading to a geyser basin. We headed to the basin and waited. We waited quite a while, and then it happened! I had wanted for years to photograph a bison walking through the orange thermophiles in a geyser basin, but hadn’t had the chance. Once the lead bison went, the entire herd followed and walked across the orange thermophiles! It was awesome! Later in that day we even got to photograph a pine marten! Another terrific day!

            Our last day on the snow-coach we were again looking for wolves first thing, but didn’t see them again. It was foggy again, and we found a bison in a nice area and waited for him to move to the spot we wanted him to be. The scene of the area created some neat shots. We photographed more of the geyser basins and saw old faithful erupt. Our three days on the snow-coach were very productive!

            The last few days of the tour we were on the northern range. We encountered moose, coyotes, bighorn sheep, bison, and distant wolves. It was neat to see a larger pack of wolves this time, but they were a long way away. The moose didn’t fully cooperate, even though we saw them numerous times, but the sheep did and gave us a couple of different good shoots. It was another very successful photo tour to Yellowstone! The past couple of years have been very good, and am already looking forward to next winter!