Yellowstone Winter Photography Workshop

Winter Wonderland and Wildlife Haven

A surreal landscape that contains the greatest concentration of thermal features in the world, along with the largest concentration of free-roaming wildlife in the lower 48 states makes Yellowstone National Park a truly unique place to visit.

Yellowstone Photography Workshop Opportunities

Plan Your Visit During Nature’s Solitude

Visiting Yellowstone in the winter is like visiting a different park compared to summer months. In July and August Yellowstone National Park attracts over 2 million visitors. Winter is considered a relatively quiet time with less than 300,000 visitors amking it to the park over the winter season.

Abundant Wildlife and Birds in Action

When the landscape is covered with snow, it makes wildlife spotting much easier. Sixty-seven different mammals live here! During your Yellowstone photography workshop, you will likely see bison, bighorn sheep, elk, moose, coyotes, foxes, pronghorn, and—if lucky—elusive bobcat and river otter. Winter is also the best time to spot gray wolves, with their packs active all over the park throughout the season. There are also plenty of bird photography opportunities. Bald eagles are usually spotted close to the rivers with the occasional golden eagle making an appearance. If there is a kill close to the road there is a great chance for capturing fantastic action. You never know what will show up!

Serene Landscapes Blanketed in White

Winter also presents distinctive opportunities for landscape photography. Cold temperatures mixed with steam rising from geyser basins can cause frost to form on nearby trees, creating interesting photographic effects. Some days there can be freezing fog, which can lead to very interesting atmospheric conditions. Scores of wildlife and birds that live at Yellowstone effortlessly become part of interesting landscapes. With a vast amount of fresh snow that falls in Yellowstone every year, the park always provides fantastic opportunities for diverse landscape photography.

What sets the NatureScapes Yellowstone Workshop Apart?

Compared to other tour companies, our Yellowstone photography workshop is very small with no more than 6 participants. The reason our Yellowstone photography workshop is small is because we want to maximize your learning and photographic opportunities and can guarantee that you will have your own door and window out of the vehicles we’ll be traveling in. As an added benefit, you will also have quick access to your gear. This gives you the best opportunities to capture images when speed is of the essence when exiting vehicles and setting up, or when it is necessary to shoot right out of the window. This is true for the part of the workshop when we shoot from 2 large SUVs. When traveling in a snow coach the windows cannot be opened. We will also get 4 full days on the snow coach! No other workshop currently offers this. This will allow us extra time to explore the interior of the park and spend more time with quality photographic opportunities.

We also want to make sure you have plenty of room for your gear and warm clothing in the vehicles. With this Yellowstone photography workshop you are assured to have the best vantage point at all times, and will never be held back by sitting in an overcrowded van.One of the biggest advantages of having a small group is the flexibility it allows for customizing and adjusting both the schedule and agenda to suit the interests of the group. It also affords us the flexibility required by variable weather and allows us to cover unique topics that your group is most interested in.

Paul Zaretsky and Nikhil Bahl, your trip leaders and instructors, will always be by your side making sure you are taking advantage of every photo opportunity there is. They will be there to guide you and offer ideas and technical help during the workshop so you are comfortable taking photos in challenging photographic conditions.

What You Will Learn During this Yellowstone Photography Workshop

Nikhil and Paul are accomplished professional photographers and educators who have a deep passion for the outdoors. They believe that the best way to teach is by demonstrating; therefore they will be shooting alongside you, sharing their techniques, unique visions, and their love and knowledge of Yellowstone with you. Their priority first and foremost is always you and helping you capture the wonders of Yellowstone with your own vision and creativity.

Topics to Be Covered During Your Yellowstone Photography Workshop

• How to create aesthetically pleasing wildlife and landscape photographs.
• Learning to simplify your compositions for more powerful and expressive images.
• Storytelling through natural history photography.
• Best use of equipment in varying circumstances.
• Photographing in cold weather.
• Dealing with challenging exposures.
• Long exposures.
• Setting needed to capture wildlife action.
• Creating panoramic photographs.