Capturing Yellowstone In Winter: February 2025 7-Day Photo Workshop Trip Report
There is a reason that winter is the time of year that draws more photographers to Yellowstone than any other. Winter is a time of extremes, when the landscape is covered in a calming blanket of white and all of the wildlife is pushed to the limits of survival. Winter is drama, and trying to…
March 17, 2025
ALBUM: Evan Watts January 2025 9-Day Photo Workshop January 5th – January 13th, 2025
To learn the story behind the photos, check out Evan’s full trip report HERE! All photos and text courtesy of Yellowstone Wild Photo Naturalist Evan Watts. Due to high demand, Evan is offering 2 workshops in winter 2026. There are still a few spots left! Learn more and book your spot HERE. To learn more…
March 16, 2025
An Epic Start to a Week in Yellowstone
One thing I like about guiding in Yellowstone National Park is that every day is different. There are some days where we have to work hard to find wildlife, and there are other days where Yellowstone smiles upon us and decides to share her bounty at every bend in the road. This was one of…
February 29, 2024
Why are we able to hear wolves howling from our driveways in Gardiner, Montana, during winter?
Photo courtesy of Rob Harwood Wildness will always envelop the North Entrance gateway community of Gardiner, Montana, the only year-round entry to Yellowstone National Park. Every autumn, as cold air threatens the highlands and snow skiffs across the landscape, grass-eating animals start long, stoic treks toward the fields and river valleys waiting below them. Like…
December 3, 2023
A Race for Calories in Autumn – Grizzly Bears, Pine Nuts, Migrating Moths, and Where to Find Them
The grizzly bear, (Ursus arctos horribilis), has become an icon of Yellowstone National Park and of the wilderness in general. For a large portion of Yellowstone visitors, a grizzly bear sighting ranks right up toward the top of the bucket list, alongside witnessing such famous attractions as Old Faithful Geyser, the Grand Canyon of the…
September 17, 2023
It’s 6am in Lamar Valley.
It’s 6am in Lamar Valley. I wonder what we will see. You’re probably asking why there are already 100 vehicles lining the roadsides near the Lamar Buffalo Ranch, and whether the hundreds of visitors pointing spotting scopes out into the distance are seeing something. As it usually turns out, those people are watching–looking for or…
September 8, 2023
Just Like That
And just like that, our summery, late-August days recede, and Yellowstone’s natural calendar tells us autumn is fast approaching. Willows, cottonwoods, and aspen trees crisp yellow at their leafy edges with this shift at high elevations our first intimation of the change of seasons. Grasses and wildflowers wave brown, white headed, and weather beaten, testifying…
August 28, 2023
A Standoff Between Predator Species: Another Great Day in Yellowstone’s Northern Range!
Photo courtesy of Yellowstone Wild Guide Evan Watts / Watts Wildlife Photography. Sparse clouds caught the orange glow of the rising sun as we drove east. It was a cool, damp morning in mid-July, and as we made our way into the Lamar Valley, the sun rose just enough to reveal the gentle, rolling slopes…
August 13, 2023
Photographing Baby Wildlife: Guide Tips for Safety and Respect
“Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way,” John Muir. As a naturalist guide in Yellowstone, one of the lessons I try to impart upon my guests is the best way to view baby wildlife in Yellowstone ethically and responsibly…
July 31, 2023
Buffalo Birds and Bison – A Yellowstone Sighting
While ‘oohing and ahhing’ over the largest land mammal in North America, did you ever notice the small, seemingly ever-present bird perched atop a bison’s back or following closely around its feet? Enter… the “Buffalo Bird” (aka brown-headed cowbird). Courtesy National Park Service Courtesy Neal Herbert/NPS Courtesy Neal Herbert/NPS While other birds are priming nests…
July 10, 2023