Spring Wildlife Photography Workshop with Kyle Moon

2026 Package Dates Just Added:

May 24, 2026 – May 29, 2026

May 31, 2026 – June 5, 2026

About Me

I am a professional nature & wildlife photographer based out of Gardiner, Montana. I’ve worked conservation jobs ranging from Florida to Guyana, to Alaska and Montana. I’ve traveled the world on many outdoor adventures, honing my photography skills along the way. As a wildlife and nature photographer I’m often asked what my favorite animal or location is. I can’t say that I have a preference, I do know that I love exploring new places and immersing myself with my subjects. I think what’s most important is the experiences you create when you get behind the camera.

What People May Not Know About Me

Growing up in a house full of extroverts in Orlando, my natural demeanor is very loud and outgoing. I love nothing more than having a few drinks with friends and family reminiscing old times. Coming from the city I didn’t even know what backpacking was until I was in college! When I began to get serious about nature photography I found a new, vastly different side of myself that thrives in peace and solitude with an intense commitment to protecting the wild spaces previously unknown to me. My blue collar upbringing and values shape my approach to environmental ethics and I’m forever grateful to my parents for that.

My Photographic Journey

I inadvertently got hooked on nature photography when I took an avian biology class in college. At first, I was using my camera as a tool for identification, but I would occasionally score a photograph that was gratifying. Once I was comfortable identifying birds, I strived to compose better photographs and develop my photographic eye.

Now, there are many reasons why I grab my camera and go, but my motivation is led by impact and my insatiable appetite for the outdoors. I have a large network of followers that have expressed vicarious appreciation for the subjects I capture in my viewfinder. Receiving this feedback has shifted my approach as a photographer to also capture images that raise awareness of conservation issues. Since grasping this concept I have volunteered my time with local non-profits and contributed my work to various environmental agencies to shed light on protecting what I love most—Nature.

Whether I’m going out for a specific shot-in-mind or going out to explore, with my camera in hand I feel liberated from the “real world” and am humbled by the natural world around me. This keeps me coming back every chance I get!

Included in workshop:

• Local, professional photographer/naturalist Kyle Moon
• Welcome orientation on Day 1
• (4) full days (8-10 hours) exploring and photographing Yellowstone’s spring awakening including the Northern Range, Lamar and Hayden Valleys, the Gardiner basin, and other areas based on group interests.
• Hands-on learning and discussion with your instructor
• Plenty of space for your camera gear and extra clothing *Please see drop down menu titled “Recommended Clothing/Outwear”*
• (5) Nights lodging in Gardiner, MT
• (1) Group dinner at a local cafe and gallery
• Freshly-baked breakfast pastries to start each day
• Hot drinks (coffee, tea, hot cocoa)
• Healthy and hearty snacks (various protein/granola bars, mixed nuts, hummus, crackers, snack cheese, fruit, veggies, etc.)
• Fruit juice, sparkling water, and fresh water
• Full picnic lunch spread (GF and vegetarian available)
• Interpretation of wildlife activity and behavior to help understand the wildlife in the context of their habitat
• Park Entrance Fee(s)

NOT included in workshop price:

• Transportation to get to/from Gardiner, MT, before and after package dates
• Most dinners
• Gratuity for workshop instructor
• Camera equipment/gear

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Gardiner, MT. and check into the Absaroka Lodge between 4:00pm-6:00pm. Dinner is on your own (please plan on eating before or after the group orientation at 6:30pm)

Days 2-5: Your instructor will pick you up each day at 5:00 a.m. to venture out in search of wildlife in the Northern Range, the Lamar Valley, Hayden Valley, Yellowstone Lake, or the thermal basins (based on wildlife activities and group interests). These days focus on photographing wildlife—especially babies—such as bison, bears, coyotes, elk, moose, pronghorn, and birds, and the transitioning spring landscape still dotted with snow-capped peaks.  Each day begins before the sun rises, increasing the possibility for magnificent landscape shots highlighting the start of a new day. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, and a variety of hot beverages will be enjoyed in the field throughout the day. Each afternoon you’ll return to your lodge between 1:30-3:00 p.m. *Dinners are on your own.

Day 6: Check out of your lodge room no later than 11:00am. Breakfast is on your own.

*Dinner on day 5 with your workshop leader, at a local cafe and gallery, is included*

In order to reserve your tour, a deposit in the amount of 30% of the package total is due at the time of booking. The balance due will be charged to the card on file 60 days prior to your tour start date.

Should you need to cancel your tour with us more than 60 days prior to your tour departure date, your deposit is fully refundable minus a $200.00 service fee.

Should you need to cancel your tour  within 60 days of your tour departure date, your payment is non-refundable.

Should your tour need to be canceled due to factors beyond our control, including (but not limited to) extreme weather conditions, wildfire, natural disaster, park closure, airline cancellations, war, government shutdown, pandemic, or an “Act of God” we are unable to offer a cash refund. As a small business, we are rarely able to make exceptions.

We reserve the right to cancel the trip if minimum enrollment of 3 guests is not met by  days prior to the trip departure date. Full refund of your Yellowstone Wild package price is given if this occurs. Yellowstone Wild is not liable for reimbursement of travel-related expenses such as airfare, car rentals, or other incidentals.

We strongly recommend you purchase third-party travel insurance that will protect you in case of unforeseen cancellations or changes to your travel plans (for suggested travel insurance companies, use the following link for highly-rated options):  [Forbes Advisor]

What our Workshop Leaders Recommend:

Photography Gear:
While we are happy to accept all levels of photographers, there are a few things you should know about gear as you plan your trip.

Wild animals in Yellowstone tend to either be right next to the road or a mile away from it. While you don’t need professional photography equipment in Yellowstone to get an award-winning image, at least one telephoto lens reaching 600mm is ideal for wildlife subjects.

Recommended Gear:

Batteries/Charger – Enough battery power to shoot the entire day (recommend 3 batteries per camera body).
Media – Enough memory to shoot the entire day/week (recommend at least 64 GB per camera body).
Cleaning – Lens cloths, air blower, lens solution.
Filters – Clear UV, Polarizer
Tools – Allen wrenches and/or a Leatherman-type tool

Required Equipment:
At least one quality camera body (DSLR or mirrorless recommended) with lenses of your choice.
At a minimum, we recommend one telephoto lens (maximum focal length of 400, 600, or 800 mm is ideal) for safely photographing wildlife, as well as one wider lens (examples: 16-35mm, 14-24mm, 24-70mm, etc.) for photographing landscapes.

Recommended Lenses:

• Canon/Sony/Nikon 500mm or 600mm f/4
• Canon/Sony/Nikon 400mm f/2.8
• Canon/Sony/Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
• Canon 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1
• Canon 200-800mm F6.3-9
• Nikon 600mm f/6.3
• Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6
• Nikon 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3
• Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3
• Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3
• Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3

Renting lenses is also an option at the following sites:
www.borrowlenses.com
www.bozemancamera.com

Plan on enjoying all four seasons on any given day in Yellowstone and pack accordingly. See the list below for recommendations from our long-time naturalist staff:

Here are our suggestions and what our guides wear/bring on Spring tours:

• Long underwear. Starting with your base layers, synthetic or wool long underwear tops and bottoms are critical to your comfort (we can find places to shed this layer later in the day if necessary). Please stay away from cotton, which can hold moisture and drastically chill the body, whereas wool and synthetics wick moisture and can even insulate while wet.
• A windproof and water repellent insulated jacket is your most important protection from the biting Wyoming winds. Gore-Tex or something similar is highly advised as the best moisture/wind barrier and goose down insulation is the best insulation.
• Gloves or mittens.
• Warm hat that covers your ears. We lose tremendous body heat from our heads. Protect your ears from the chilly wind with a wool or fleece hat.
• Warm wool or synthetic socks are key to keeping those toes from hampering your good time.  Be sure you have plenty of wiggle room inside your boots.  If your socks are too thick and fit too tightly in your boots, you will actually reduce blood flow to your feet, resulting in cold toes, regardless of how warm your socks are.
• Cool, quick-dry hiking pants and shirts, t-shirts, and/or shorts (for warmer afternoons)
• Closed toed, waterproof hiking boots/shoes
• With high elevation sun, many of us burn easily, especially when we are distracted by something like watching wolves for extended periods of time.
• Even if you are not a serious photographer, a camera is nice to have on tour.
• A day pack is very handy for personal items: hand and toe warmers, water bottle, sunglasses, camera, and of course for all the extra layers you will want.

Weather

Yellowstone National Park is a very large place divided by mountain ranges, deep valleys and a massive lake. The weather within the 2.2 million acres can vary widely, so checking the weather in the park can be a difficult task. We recommend checking several different NOAA weather stations around the park, and working an average of those if you’re planning to travel around the entirety of the park.

• Gardiner MT
• Tower Junction, WY
• Cooke City, WY

Can you expect to see all the wildlife you hope for?

It is important to remember that the wild animals we seek to observe are exactly that, WILD free-ranging animals that can roam across all of Yellowstone’s vast and rugged 2.2 million acres. The probability of locating and observing them is greatly elevated due to your guide’s intimate personal familiarity with the landscape and the animals themselves. We do not guarantee any wildlife sightings on our tours; however, we will guarantee that your guide will use their knowledge, skills, and network of other guides, wildlife watchers and photographers to do everything we can to find you the animals you’d like to see. We are in the park nearly every day searching for and watching wildlife, and that consistent experience pays off in finding the animals you’ve traveled to see.

Park Rules and the Yellowstone Wild Code of Ethics

As a licensed Commercial Use Permit holder with Yellowstone National Park, we must follow all park rules and regulations. Additionally, as life-long proponents of wildlife and wild places, we will also follow our own ethical wildlife viewing practices. We will take this opportunity to teach you about how we can have the very best viewing and photography opportunities possible without having negative impacts on wildlife by respecting the animals’ space and movements as they go about their lives.

While on tour with Yellowstone Wild LLC, we will observe the following park rules (subject to law enforcement):

• Keep at least 25 yards from all wildlife
• Keep at least 100 yards from wolves and bears
• Avoid remaining near or approaching wildlife, including birds, at any distance that disturbs or displaces
  the animal.

It is our ethical responsibility as visitors to the park to make sure that our actions do not inflict undue stress or hardship upon the animals that we are observing. Wild animals in a natural setting do not have easy lives, and the last thing we want to do is make their lives any more difficult. Your guide is an expert at reading animal behavior, and the moment that our presence is bothering an animal, we MUST back off until we are no longer disturbing its natural behavior. Failure to promptly respond to your guide’s instructions to back away from wildlife may result in the termination of your tour, subject to the discretion of your guide.

This is where our optics prove invaluable. We use only the finest quality Swarovski and Vortex spotting scopes so that we can thoroughly enjoy our wildlife sightings at a distance that allows the animals to carry on about their business, as if we were not there. In fact, much of the time they probably don’t know we are there, yet our high powered and crystal clear optics give us an up-close and personal view. Furthermore, we must be mindful of any animal feeding on or resting near a carcass. Approaching such an area may drive the animal(s) away and deprive them of valuable food. It is important to remember that a carcass is regularly scavenged upon by any number of other animals, including grizzly bears, who will violently defend such a food source. Approaching such an area is strictly prohibited and can seriously put people and wildlife in danger. Finally, it is important to be mindful of the other park visitors and biologists who may also be observing the same animals. We promote quiet, respectful behavior to maximize everyone’s wild Yellowstone experience.

Rate of $300.00 roundtrip is based on at least two riders. 

If only one person books, rate will increase to $600.00

If no one has scheduled a transfer 30 days prior to the workshop, it will no longer be available to book.

Other shuttle options:

• Karst Stage
• Old Faithful & Friends