YNP...Wildlife Photography Tours...

[booju]

I'm planning a Wildlife Photography trip to YNP....

Could anyone recommend a TOUR they enjoyed and can highly recommend

OR

Should I just HIT that figure-8 road and take my chances like most of the crowd!

In fact, a member here I PM'd and another good friend recommended hitting the road and find the photo ops...

And best time of the year in your personal opinion and why

I surely could use your help....

What are your recommendations PLEASE....

Just looking to get some input from people that know the area and have been there!


Thank you,

Roland

[booju]

Anyone please...

[sandrewson]

Roland, We were in the park in September witha large group, and took a tour with Rick Keats of Yellowstone Yearround adventures.

He is extremely knowledgable about all aspects of the park, and an avid wildlife watcher. He picked us up at our hotel in Gardiner, and carted us all over the park. We saw wolves, elk, coyotes, antelope, and a moose. They set up tours for either park thermal features, or wildlife viewing. We did a mixture of both, and all the members of our group were extremely pleased with the day.

He provided breakfast, hot coffee or cocoa, a snack, and lunch for all of us. We had a group of 12, and you can imagine how difficult it is to make everyone in a group that size happy, but he exceeded all of our expectations. I would take a tour with him again in a heartbeat.

[rtronick]

I would just hit the road & look for wildlife. A great forum to check out is http://www.yellowstone.net/forums/

Randy T

[eddarr]

I would say go on your own. If you are willing to do some research before hand and willing to do some footwork when you get there you will be much happier with the piece and quite of a small group.

[booju]

Originally Posted by sandrewson

Roland, We were in the park in September witha large group, and took a tour with Rick Keats of Yellowstone Yearround adventures.

He is extremely knowledgable about all aspects of the park, and an avid wildlife watcher. He picked us up at our hotel in Gardiner, and carted us all over the park. We saw wolves, elk, coyotes, antelope, and a moose. They set up tours for either park thermal features, or wildlife viewing. We did a mixture of both, and all the members of our group were extremely pleased with the day.

He provided breakfast, hot coffee or cocoa, a snack, and lunch for all of us. We had a group of 12, and you can imagine how difficult it is to make everyone in a group that size happy, but he exceeded all of our expectations. I would take a tour with him again in a heartbeat.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences...It sounds like you all had a great time!!!

Originally Posted by rtronick

I would just hit the road & look for wildlife. A great forum to check out is http://www.yellowstone.net/forums/

Randy T

Randy, it seems like that's what I'm going to do after talking with a couple of folks just today! I appreciate the link and I plan on viewing it in-depthly right after this! Thanks Buddy!

Originally Posted by eddarr

I would say go on your own. If you are willing to do some research before hand and willing to do some footwork when you get there you will be much happier with the piece and quite of a small group.

Yep, I've decided to hit the road alone!...I ain't got anyone interested in going along with me to do strictly wildlife photography...hehehe

Mid/Late June

I'm thinking 5 days at YNP and 2 days in Jackson Hole to do GTNP...

I will be reading and researching anything I can on the subject...I'm looking at flying into Jackson Hole, renting a car, and trekking to YNP and then the last two days return to Jackson Hole and stay there at a motel or something and check out the photo ops in GTNP....

Anything else anyone can share that I should consider...I would be extremely grateful....

Thanks a million!

Roland

[jruberto]

Hi,

I love the fall in the park. The crowds are down and it feels more personal with the animals. In October, the humans are primarily fishermen and photographers. There seems to be more animals in the valleys, like elk and bear. Also, with less people in the park, roadside animals are less likely to cause traffic jams.

If you go during the winter, you pretty much go in with a guide in a snow coach or snowmobile. We went last year and it was the best day I ever spent in the park.

Spring/early summer = wild flowers and baby animals.

Summer time has lots of people. But, if that is the only time you can go, go. Late summer, the bison rut, which can be pretty cool. Also, good opportunities for bald eagles.

Here is a map that shows popular locations for each type of animal: http://www.maxwaugh.com/yellowstone/map.php This site also sells a paper version of this map.

Get a car. Prepare to drive around.

We are there mostly in the summer (kids out of school), but seem to enjoy it more in the "off" seasons.

[EveryMilesAMemory]

We were there last June, late in the month and only had 3 days to buzz through the park. Our Gallery can be viewed Here

We basically did the tourist thing and did each half of the figure 8 loop and spent one day in the Old Faithfull Geyser basin. You wont have trouble finding a good supply of animals just driving the main roads.

The only animal we didnt see was a Grizzly and a Wolf. We did see Moose, about 5 coyotes, hundreds of elk, at least it seemed like that, too many bison to count and were very pleased with our images for such a short stay.

If you're into doing it your own way, I'd just ay rent a car and hit the road yourself and go at your own pace.

Wife took this while shooting out the truck window!

We were watching it running towards the road and she just grabbed the camera, leaned out the window and snapped away. We both looked at each other and said "I cant believe we saw that coming from so far away!"

[Tom Reichner]

Hello, Roland! I'm fortunate - I moved west from Pennsylvania a couple years ago, and now I can get to YNP in just 10-12 hours by car. So, I've managed to go about a dozen time thus far. I'll now try to share with you what little I've learned. I definitely think you're better off not being part of a guided tour. On a tour, what happens when you find 3 bull moose that allow you to get close. You want to spend 2 to 5 hours with them to ensure that you really "work your subject" and get the best shots. But the tour guide tells you, after just 20 minutes, that you'll be leaving. AAAAAAAh! Much better to do it on your own. You can certainly expect to do well on your own if you work it hard. If you plan to stay in Jackson, as you mentioned, there is a Motel 6 that is both clean, well-kept, and very reasonable (compared to other lodging in that area). Make sure, while in the Teton Park, to really look the Oxbow Bend area over well for moose - they're usually there. Once you leave the Teton Park, there will be little in the way of wildlife for quite a while. The drive between TNP and the south entrance of YNP typically has very little visible wildlife. And once you enter YNP, you'll probably do better taking the east side of the figure 8 and heading up to Fishing Bridge. Once you pass Fishing Bridge, the road up to Canyon Village follows the Yellowstone River. This section of the road goes thru the Hayden Valley, which is rich in wildlife. You'll certainly see large herds of bison, especially near Alum Creek and Trout Creek. This is also a very good area for grizzlies and wolves. Spend a few minutes looking for and inquiring about grizzlies at Trout Creek. There's been a sow and her cub there for the past two years now. She's probably kicked her cub out by now, as it will now be entering it's 3rd season. Be careful - she attacked a photographer in 2007 and mangle his face. She also gave me quite a scare last July. Look for otters in the river along this drive - you could get lucky. I saw one riding a small iceburg down the current last spring. Yep - I missed the shot - just couldn't get down to the water quickly enough before he floated by. Between Canyon Village and Roosevelt/Tower is the best place in the park for black bears. And there are also quite a few grizzlies, too. And Bighorn sheep. You'll go over the Washburn Pass. There's a hike there that may be worth taking - habituated bighorns often hang out along the trail. Just west of Roosevelt, at Petrified Tree, there are moose. Yes, they will be there - 3 bulls. They live there all summer long. At least, they have for the past two years. But you may have to comb the backcountry for a little while before you sight them. This is worthwhile, however, as there are also quite a few black bears here, and nice cinnamon color phases, too! Of course, you'll want to take the Lamar Valley road from Roosevelt to Cooke City. This is famous for wolves, and folks see quite a few grizzlies and black bears and bison there, too. But don't overlook the pronghorn. This Lamar Valley is the best place in the park to photograph pronghorn, and they're several that are quite approachable. They really are a beautiful, exotic-looking animal. Many approachable coyotes along the Lamar Valley, too. And if you go in the late spring, you may see them attacking and feasting on newborn elk calves. Mammoth Hot Springs is a great place to see and get very close to elk, although there are often only cows and calves there unless you wait until October. And the entrance drive between Mammoth and Gardiner is a great spot to see bighorn sheep that are very approachable. Late May thru very early June is perhaps the very best time to go if seeing wildlife is your goal. September is a good time, too, as the elk are bugling and the black bears are feeding on the pinon pines on Washburn Pass. I hope this helps. Have a great trip!

[booju]

Wow!

Great info and I appreciate you folks sharing your experiences!!!

I haven't been by in awhile to check on this post...

Again, I appreciate it!!!

I just sold my 70-200mm f/4L IS USM the other day and now I'm selling my Canon 1.4x/TC II and then I'll purchase a 400mm f.5.6L for this trip to see if I can get some lucky shots!!!

Thanks its really exciting!

[Mike55]

Hey Boojo -

You've received some excellent advice here. If I may offer a couple things:

Some may find it more comfortable to go with a guide. Driving the park all day, parking your car, finding a parking spot at the jams (big problem) and tussling with your gear will cause you to lose some shots. Also, the guides are in the park all the time. They know what areas to hit and when to hit them. Whle they are parking and slowly driving, you can be shoooting out the window. Many of the roads in the park are windy with limited pull overs.

It seems like a day of guiding would be more relaxing and allow you to enjoy yourself a bit more in terms of scenery watching and photography.

I personally am too cheap to take a guide plus I know some of the better spots by now. But one of these days I would like to just focus on the views and the subjects. Driving in Yellowstone during the summer = pain. Lots of wildife jams and you could be in them for long periods of time. That said, I tend to go now in September and there's far less people and the elk and moose are in rut (no good moose shots last year but then again I didn't get down to Grand Teton). The weather is colder bu there's far fewer people.

Also of note is that I much, much prefer to tent camp in the park. It's awesome. You can be up at dawn and looking for wildlife ASAP. I enjoy Slough Creek and Pebble Creek for the Lamar Valley/Beartooths (fills up really fast, be there by 11 AM), and for a centralized location Tower and Norris campgrounds. Lots of wildlife around these areas. Like others said it's easier to see wildlife in the northern half of the park, although it can be seen anywhere. It's just that the meadows are few and far between i nthe southern part (from the road anyway) and densley forested. If you scout from Fishing Bridge up north through the Hayden Valley, up over Washburn Pass and into the Lamar Valley, you will see a lot of wildlife. Also, the Norris area and the Madison area (west of Madison campground along the river) are outstanding for elk in the fall. Washburn Pass is a classic bear feeding area althoguh the whitebark pine nut feast was low this year.

Another thing, unless you have a good tripod, be careful of the 400 5.6 in Yellowstone. When the light falls behind those mountains...... very tricky. The forests create dark backdrops really fast, and are stil very dark in the morning even when it's full sun in the meadows.

That said, if you have an extra day, make sure you visit Grand Teton. It is only six miles south of Yellowstone and a "must do". Perfect compliment to Yellowstone.

[booju]

Hey Mike....Thanks Buddy!

Very informative and detailed as well...I appreciate it!!!

I never considered that the f/5.6 might be a let down once the sun goes over them mountains as you described...hehehe

But I should be alright as I have a very sturdy tripod...nevertheless I appreciate what you shared because I never considered that...

Thanks for all the details buddy!

[Tom Reichner]

Originally Posted by Mike55

It seems like a day of guiding would be more relaxing and allow you to enjoy yourself a bit more in terms of scenery watching and photography.

I tend to go now in September and there's far less people and the elk and moose are in rut (no good moose shots last year but then again I didn't get down to Grand Teton). The weather is colder bu there's far fewer people.

Also of note is that I much, much prefer to tent camp in the park. It's awesome. You can be up at dawn and looking for wildlife ASAP. I enjoy Slough Creek and Pebble Creek for the Lamar Valley/Beartooths (fills up really fast, be there by 11 AM), and for a centralized location Tower and Norris campgrounds.

Washburn Pass is a classic bear feeding area althoguh the whitebark pine nut feast was low this year.

Hello, Roland!
I got your PM - thanks!
Glad you made it back to your post! I have to agree with Mike here about camping. It's really the best way to get the most from your visit.
Another campground you may consider is the one at Mammoth. I like camping there because it is right near Mammoth village, which has $3 showers available 24/7, a gas station, restaurant, etc. And the town of Gardiner, MT is just 5 miles away. There are all the services you need within minutes. This is important to me because when I'm in the park, I'm out there hiking or driving from well before dawn to after dusk. In the summer that means out of the tent and on the road by 5 am, and I don't usually return to the campground 'till around 9pm. I spend every minute looking for wildlife, and photographing it once I find it. Hence, I want to camp in a place where all the services are right there within minutes. I simply don't have time to cook my own dinner; I'm beat by the end of the day. Also, due to bears, Park rules require that you have to be fastidious about food & cooking item storage and cleanup. If you're using every possible minute of daylight to pursue wildlife, you simply won't have the time or energy to cook campsite meals and get everything all packed up tight and back into the car. You need those minutes for sleep and to wind down. So it's nice to have several restaurants within a 5 minute drive. Also, the showers! They're available at the Mammoth Hotel. Just go to the front desk with $3 and they'll give you a towel. Any time of day or night. You can't beat that!

One more thing - Mike's right about September. Washburn pass can be teeming with black bears later in the month, and moose are easier to locate than they are earlier in the season. Attached is a moose photo I took last September near Petrified Tree, in the northern part of the park.

[Mike55]

Killer moose photo, Tom. Man I've never seen them near petrified tree. What time in September was this? I was in Yellowstone for a few days in late Sept.

[Tom Reichner]

Hey, Mike!
This was September first - Labor Day! Notice the bull in the background? There was actually another one, as well, making three total. I'd heard that they had been hanging out in the area around Petrified Tree off and on for most of the summer.
I had to hike in off the road a bit for these, perhaps a bit more than a quarter mile. I was lucky to find them. Theyy were feeding at the time. If they had been bedded when I walked into this area, I never would have seen them. The grass was chest high, and with all the burnt trees that were down, their antlers would have blended right in.
Unfortunately, it was my last day in the Park, so I only had a couple hours with them. If I'd had more time, I would have stuck to these guys for as long as possible.
It was afterwards that I remembered having seen and photographed a bull moose just about a half mile west of Petrified Tree back in June. He must have been one of these three, although at that time his antlers were just mere nubbins. Can't wait 'till they grow their antlers back so I can go do it all over again!