Project Description
Yellowstone Photo Tour
Join Guts and Janine for an unforgettable Yellowstone Photo Tour in early 2026. Yellowstone is arguably the most famous of America’s national parks, and we have teamed up with local specialists to offer a winter photo safari in Yellowstone and the achingly picturesque Grant Teton National Park. This photo safari is limited to twelve guests and uses two vehicles to ensure maximum space and comfort for you and your camera gear. Guts and Janine made a video from the “recce trip” below, which they made at the same time of year.
Depending on where you are flying from, you should aim for Idaho Falls Airport. You will be met from your plane and transferred to Three Bear Lodge in West Yellowstone, where you will meet your fellow guests. We have chosen this accommodation because it perfectly suits our needs: comfortable, warm, great food, and very close to the entrance to Yellowstone National Park!
We have limited this Yellowstone photo tour to just twelve guests, and Guts and Janine are hosting you. In addition, we will be accompanied by our friend and colleague Christopher Balmer from the Perfect Light Store, who has been exploring and shooting in Yellowstone for decades. This local knowledge will be a game changer for this experience.
When we visit the national park, we will use two snow coaches. These giant-wheeled (and sometimes ski-fitted) vehicles usually carry up to 13 guests, but we would like everyone to have two seats each for camera bags and extra gear. The coaches will travel together or sometimes split up to increase the chances of the sightings we are here for.
Speaking of which, we will focus on some of the more iconic sightings, such as herds of bison moving through the snow, more prominent deer, foxes, and coyotes hunting for rodents hiding in the snow drifts, bird species like bald eagles, and other residents like woodpeckers, ducks, and swans. If lucky, we will see small mammals like Pine Martens and White-Coated Ermine.
If we are fortunate, we will come across a pack of wolves. However, this is far from guaranteed (as with any photo safari); we will certainly be tuned into the local guides community to increase the chances of such a sighting through our ground handlers.
In addition to wildlife, Yellowstone offers plenty of landscape photo opportunities, especially around the geysers, the most famous of which is Old Faithful. There are lots of waterfalls to experiment with slow shutter speeds, and the colour of the hot springs is always alluring.
We will tend to go into the park for around 8 hours at a time with a packed lunch. Depending on the weather and sightings info, we may go in the early morning and return for some editing in the afternoon or head out later and stay until closer to sunset.
In the evenings, there will be some time for image review sessions and prep work for the next day in the park.
We have decided to combine this Yellowstone Photo Tour with a few extra days in the nearby Grand Teton National Park mainly because of its spectacular scenery with snow-capped mountains to serve as backdrops to herds of elk and moose that we are here to find, along with more vision and big-horn sheep.
On one of the days, we will visit an Elk Refuge to tour their facility, which might also make it easier for some closer images of these large mammals in a herd.
Grand Teton is spectacular, and to make the most of the access, we will relocate to The Rockwell Inn in Jackson Hole. The roads in Grand Teton don’t tend to require snow coaches, so we will use large passenger vans with the same number of guests in each to ensure, once again, plenty of room inside.
When considering this Yellowstone Photo Tour, it’s important to note that temperatures will be freezing (-20c with the wind chill), and the ground can be icey and uneven. Although you don’t necessarily need to be super fit for this trip (not a great deal of walking), you need to be reasonably agile and steady on your feet.
If time allows, we will host some image review and editing sessions in the evenings. You will need to have your own laptop loaded with your chosen (up-to-date) editing system. If you want to make the most of these sessions and are an Adobe Lightroom user, we suggest you take Janine’s free Lightroom course on the Pangolin Photo Academy.
On day 8, it will be time to depart, and to do so, it would probably be most convenient to fly out of Jackson Hole.
$6,995 per person sharing | $1,700 Single Supplement
17 February – 24 February 2026
This photo safari is limited to just twelve guests, with two vehicles provided to ensure ample space and comfort for you and your camera gear. During downtime, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to refine your images in group editing sessions at the lodges.
Airport meet and greet at Idaho Falls Airport
Transfer to Three Bear Lodge
4-nights accommodation at Three Bear Lodge
All meals and non-alcoholic drinks (incl. tips)
Snow Coach with pro driver (6 guests maximum in each)
All Yellowstone park entrance fees
Photo Hosting from Guts and Janine
Transfer by road to Jackson Hole
3 nights accommodation at The Rockwell Inn
Entrance fees to Grand Teton National Park
Guided tours of the park in passenger vans
Separate luggage transportation
Image review sessions with throughout
Free Tripod and gimbal hire (if required)
Return transfer to Idaho Falls airport
Tips for Driver Guides in both National Parks
International flights to and from the Photo Tour
Clients must obtain comprehensive travel insurance for this trip.
Any required visas.
All alcoholic drinks
Laundry and items of a personal nature
Ready to start planning your trip?
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