What to Expect from a Yellowstone Photography Tour

Age-old fire & brimstone

If you’re like Yogi and smarter than the average bear, then you’ll love the idea of capturing Yellowstone National Park, through the eyes of your camera, on a Yellowstone Photography Workshop.

For starters, Yellowstone is the oldest national park in the world, first established by the 42nd U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. And with great age comes a colorful history that might sit right at home in a Tolkien epic.

In 1809, long before the area was declared a sanctuary, John Colter, a former member of the famous Lewis & Clark expedition team, described a place of fire and brimstone that most people dismissed as explorer’s delirium. This supposedly mystical location was nicknamed Colter’s Hell. Over the next 40 years, numerous reports from mountain men and fur trappers alike, told of boiling mud, steaming rivers, and petrified trees. Lord of the Rings stuff. Yet most of these reports were believed at the time to be nothing more than myth. Nature lovers today know better.

Yellowstone is a wonderland of impressive numbers. Stretching over 2.2 million acres across north-western Wyoming, and parts of Montana and Idaho, the park rests on the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent.“But don’t panic, folks” says Yogi, “It’s been dormant for 640,000 years, so you’re safe as a bear in a cave, when you join us on our Yellowstone photography tour”

Safe – yes. But never boring, with more than 10,000 hydrothermal features including over 500 geysers. There’s 290 waterfalls, North America’s largest high elevation lake (Yellowstone Lake) and the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states, with 67 different species. And with 285 different types of birds, the possibilities are endless for the keen nature photographer.

What to expect from your Yellowstone photo tour in winter

Yellowstone in January is cold. Damn cold. You’ll need to rug up in way more than the green hat and tie that Yogi Bear made famous back in 1958, when Hanna Barbera Animation Co. first launched their famous cartoon. For those that are perhaps too young to know, or can’t remember, Yogi Bear and his side-kick Boo-Boo, made life miserable for ranger Smith at ‘Jellystone’ National Park, often stealing picnic baskets from otherwise happy campers.

You might think that the dead heart of winter would put a real damper on your Yellowstone photo tour, but think again. There’s something crisp, fresh and exhilarating about the colder climes of the northern hemisphere. The frigid air awakens all of your senses and brings the winter wonderland to life.

Picture a herd of bison roaming the snow-covered plains. An agile fox dancing in powdery blankets of white in search of prey. And a pack of wolves howling at the crescent moon, as it casts its silvery shadow over one of the many frozen lakes. You’ll chance upon elks, moose and coyotes. Near the waterways, otters are at play and bobcats lurk in stealth mode. And in the clear skies above, all manner of eagles and birds take flight, including the mighty osprey.

In the latter part of your Yellowstone photo safari you will head to the park’s interior, which is only accessible by snow coach at this time of year. This is where surreal takes on a new meaning. Snow-covered mountains and frozen waterfalls hanging like icy chandeliers, blend incongruously with steaming geysers and bubbling hot springs. It’s where fire and brimstone meets ice, turning Colter’s Hell into your very own photographic heaven. 

It’s crystal clear in moments like these that Yellowstone in winter is not your everyday experience. It’s a frozen utopia waiting for shutterbugs just like you, to immortalize on film.

Sights. Camera. Action!

What’s the best time for a photography workshop in Yellowstone?

That’s kind of like asking you to pick your favorite child. Truth is, there is no best time to visit as every season offers something different. With the possibility of future Penda tours to Yellowstone outside of winter, here’s the low-down on what the other seasons might have in store for you.

Spring – Mud season is baby season

Surprisingly to some, spring in Yellowstone is sometimes called the ‘mud season.’ Unlike spring in places like California, it’s not warm and you won’t see blankets of wildflowers. The remaining snow of winter has thawed, making the park’s roads, trails and campgrounds icy and often difficult to navigate. Some of the roads may even be closed, along with many hotels, restaurants and visitor centers. The upside? Far less tourists and it’s baby season!

When the park awakens in May, green shoots break through the disappearing snow. It also heralds the awakening of the large mammal populations. Bears come out of hibernation. Bison, elk and wolves re-emerge. Females prepare to give birth, with the beautiful red-colored baby bison arriving first, followed by baby elk and then mother bear with her cubs.

Summer – Where the wildflowers grow

If you can handle the crowds, summer is a very special time to experience Yellowstone. Cool, brisk mornings and sunny afternoons. Everything is open. Wildlife abounds especially around dawn and dusk. 

In summer, the wildflowers come out in droves along with the tourist masses, more than three million of them! But you can beat the influx of campers and sightseers if you travel to Yellowstone during the shoulder season of early June or early September. 

Summer is also prime time to see the park’s most famous geyser, Old Faithful, which erupts every 1-2 hours, rightfully earning its name. Arguably even more spectacular are the rainbow colors of Grand Prismatic, the largest hot spring in the USA, with its concentric plume of red, orange, yellow, green and blue, providing a natural kaleidoscope of incredible color.

Fall – Yellows, oranges and crazy elks

In fall, the autumn leaves turn a beautiful blend of yellows and oranges making it a lovely time to be in the park. There’s that slight chill in the air and the masses of summer tourists have returned home. 

In late September, male elk are looking to win the hearts of females. They are in rut, and can act a little crazy. They do this by bugling, letting out a sound that ranges from deep baritone to high-pitched soprano. Quite something to hear. The bears are busy foraging for nuts in preparation for winter hibernation. And herds of bison start migrating to lower elevations, where they can find food more easily in the winter ahead.

So why go to Yellowstone on a photography trip and not just a normal tour?

A photography trip is not for everyone, but that’s the whole point. 

It’s all about getting you in the right place at the right time with like-minded people, to broaden your photographic palette in ways you may not have thought of. Not only do we steer clear of crowds, but in your small group of no more than 6 fellow photographers, we get you up close and personal with the sights, sounds and wonders of places like Yellowstone National Park. We’ll hunt for those perfect photographic moments. It’s so much more personal than a large group tour. And therein lies the beauty.

The professional tuition provided on our Yellowstone photo tour by your experienced tutor Alan Hewitt, will elevate the quality of your images, no matter what level you start at. This is where mediocre pics become really good, and really good pics become, dare we say it, awesome!

Alan will share photography techniques, refine your camera settings and offer constructive feedback to ensure you return home with a stunning portfolio. His practical approach dispels the mystique behind great wildlife and landscape photography, but keeps the magic of the process alive for you to explore.

“If I had one tip to offer,” says Alan, “I’d say learn fieldcraft. If you can predict what may happen in the wild, it may help you get your camera and lens pointing in the right direction to capture action that you would otherwise only react to”.

Like all of our photo tours, our Yellowstone photography workshop is designed with the avid camera buff in mind, but it doesn’t matter what level you bring along for the ride. What does matter is your willingness to learn, improve your skills and soak up this once in a lifetime experience.

So then, bucket list or picnic basket?

Most travelers these days have personal bucket lists. Things to do, places to see, experiences to embrace. Photographers are no different. 

If the land of fire and ice has always seemed magical but perhaps beyond reach, then our photo tour of Iceland could be worth adding to your list. If a Big 5 safari draws you like a lion to the kill, then Botswana should be right up there. And with its winter coat on, Yellowstone National Park, is a chilly enchantment that should be on every bucket list, or if you’re anything like Yogi Bear, sitting pretty at the very top of your picnic basket.Our next Yellowstone photography tour departs in January 2025. Find out more right here.