Guided Wildlife photography Vacation suggestions?

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AstroEd

AstroEd

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I am 58 years old and never been on a “REAL” vacation, do any of you have suggestions for a guided/learning wildlife photography vacation package? I was looking at something like https://www.pangolinphoto.com/ but for now think I should stay in the USA, I do not have a passport yet anyways. But I can dream.
 
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I think more info of where your wildlife photography interests may be is needed to help with suggestions.

For instance - just wildlife, or maybe more interest in birds? I doubt any guided photo workshops in the US can equal what's available in Africa however.
 
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AstroEd said:
I am 58 years old and never been on a “REAL” vacation, do any of you have suggestions for a guided/learning wildlife photography vacation package? I was looking at something like https://www.pangolinphoto.com/ but for now think I should stay in the USA, I do not have a passport yet anyways. But I can dream.
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I have been on 32 trips with photography guides. I've had friends say, when I return, "O, you were on vacation?" to which I always have to answer "no." "But now that I'm back I really do need a vacation!" Not one of those trips was a vacation. I got up early, I either drove back and forth for hours or sat in a car while someone else did, got in and out of the car a dozen plus times, it was either too hot or too cold, I was lugging cameras and lenses around, sometimes fighting through crowds, the food was often not very good, and I was beat when I got back to my room so generally fell into bed and slept until 4am or 5am the next morning only to start it all over again. This even applied to trips to Italy and Cuba for street photography, although the food was better in both places. For me photography trips are just that and getting the shot is the most important thing; and, a vacation would be just that, sitting around, getting up late. slow lunches and dinners, etc. Read the itinerary for any trip closely to ensure it is what you want.
 
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Viathelens said:
I have been on 32 trips with photography guides. I've had friends say, when I return, "O, you were on vacation?" to which I always have to answer "no." "But now that I'm back I really do need a vacation!" Not one of those trips was a vacation. I got up early, I either drove back and forth for hours or sat in a car while someone else did, got in and out of the car a dozen plus times, it was either too hot or too cold, I was lugging cameras and lenses around, sometimes fighting through crowds, the food was often not very good, and I was beat when I got back to my room so generally fell into bed and slept until 4am or 5am the next morning only to start it all over again. This even applied to trips to Italy and Cuba for street photography, although the food was better in both places. For me photography trips are just that and getting the shot is the most important thing; and, a vacation would be just that, sitting around, getting up late. slow lunches and dinners, etc. Read the itinerary for any trip closely to ensure it is what you want.
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Sounds amazing!
 
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Stephen Berger said:
Sounds amazing!
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Each trip is fun, interesting, I get to meet new people and I continue to learn from those who are more experienced than I am. And, I love traveling around for photos. Yellowstone next week, again, and then Africa in August-Sept. That's it for this year, then most likely a foot surgery and down for several months. So goes life! I hope to have a lot of images to work on during that down time.
 
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AstroEd said:
I am 58 years old and never been on a “REAL” vacation, do any of you have suggestions for a guided/learning wildlife photography vacation package? I was looking at something like https://www.pangolinphoto.com/ but for now think I should stay in the USA, I do not have a passport yet anyways. But I can dream.
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Have you thought about hiring a guide to work with you some of the time in a specific area and then spending more time in that area on your own? I've provided one on one work for the Okefenokee and Smokies. Dawn Wilson lives in Estes Park just outside Rocky Mountains NP and does a nice job. Trent Sizemore lives in Bozeman near Yellowstone and provides one on one guide service and instruction. Lee Hoy lives near Big Bend NP and does a lot of tours and instruction. He also has a NANPA event in July emphasizing astrophotography with a good price.
 
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NA4M said:
I think more info of where your wildlife photography interests may be is needed to help with suggestions.

For instance - just wildlife, or maybe more interest in birds? I doubt any guided photo workshops in the US can equal what's available in Africa however.
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Wish I knew, I am just tired of ducks and geese and being too far from birds of prey for decent images.
 
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Suggest Florida which has lots of wildlife that is within relatively short camera to subject distance. Nancy Elwood works in that area and is an excellent photographer.

www.naturesportal.net

Nancy Elwood

Hello, my name is Nancy Elwood and I welcome you to my world. I have a great passion for trying to capture nature through the camera lens. Many images are from my home state of Florida, but, several times a year I travel around this great country and abroad searching for natures best. I hope you...
www.naturesportal.net

In general I avoid large groups with photo trips. Last 3 times I was with a group there was an individual who came even though they were sick before they left home. I got their bug and lost 1-2 days with the trips. Lesson learned and I now only have my wife and the guide in the vehicle.

The group trips cost us more than paying for a guide as the tour operator needs to make a good profit from every aspect of the tour. We can book at smaller hotels or a B&B and we can eat in smaller restaurants and cafes or even buy food to eat in our rooms. Even 3 days with the guide will get you started and then you can go to new places or back alone to a location you visited with the guide.

With a guide we get a driver, a vehicle, a translator, and a guide for wildlife and where to eat in an area. In the USA we do not need a translator and renting a vehicle is seldom a problem if FWD is OK for the area to be traveled.

The group trips usually include instruction at night in the use of Lightroom. If you use a different image editor or are fairly competent with Lightroom then there is little to gain.

With our trip booked for Ecuador prior to the pandemic we lost our 50% deposit as travel insurance does not cover an epidemic. On a trip I book at hotels and my own car rentals we are out only for our airline tickets if we need to cancel a trip for any reason.
 
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I really like @EricBowles idea of hiring a guide to work with individually. Especially since you said you haven’t had a real vacation. This would allow you to get some one on one time learning, shown some of the local nature, and will allow you to relax and enjoy some time on vacation as well. You could likely workout as much time as you want ahead of time with the photographer. Many times the session would be private or limited to a very small number of people. I have only looked at doing this with two photographers so far, Mark Smith and Steve Matthies, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet; partially because Covid has made my travel planning more difficult. I will definitely check out the ones Eric mentioned as well.

It sounds like you’re not picky on the wildlife, but if you decide what might be the most enjoyable to you it would help narrow down the area. For example, Florida is great for birds and alligators with a few surprises in some areas like horses, bison, and monkeys. Great Smoky Mountains would get you close to black bear, elk, coyotes. Yellowstone/Grand Tetons has Bison, black bear, grizzly bear, marmots, moose, elk, and antelope.
 
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abc123brian said:
I really like @EricBowles idea of hiring a guide to work with individually. Especially since you said you haven’t had a real vacation. This would allow you to get some one on one time learning, shown some of the local nature, and will allow you to relax and enjoy some time on vacation as well. You could likely workout as much time as you want ahead of time with the photographer. Many times the session would be private or limited to a very small number of people. I have only looked at doing this with two photographers so far, Mark Smith and Steve Matthies, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet; partially because Covid has made my travel planning more difficult. I will definitely check out the ones Eric mentioned as well.

It sounds like you’re not picky on the wildlife, but if you decide what might be the most enjoyable to you it would help narrow down the area. For example, Florida is great for birds and alligators with a few surprises in some areas like horses, bison, and monkeys. Great Smoky Mountains would get you close to black bear, elk, coyotes. Yellowstone/Grand Tetons has Bison, black bear, grizzly bear, marmots, moose, elk, and antelope.
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I am drawn to birds of prey and medium to large mammals lol, Not real decisive huh?
 
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AstroEd said:
I am drawn to birds of prey and medium to large mammals lol, dot real decisive huh?
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I don't have a lot to add to what has been said. If time is an issue, i.e. you only have a limited amount of vacation time and your time at a given site is very limited, then the guide or tour could be a way to go.

If you have more time, you can go where the creatures congregate and wing it alone.
For example, Bald Eagles at Conowingo Dam in Marland and the dams between Davenport and Le Claire Il in the winter is a place where they congregate. Osprey all along the coastal and marsh areas in Florida (watch some of Mark Smith's videos. Perhaps contact him and see about booking an Osprey Outing with him).
Warblers and other small migrating birds in the Oak Harbor (McGee Marsh, Maumee Bay State Park) Ohio in the first 2 weeks of May
Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains National Park, Glacier all offer great wildlife opportunities.
Denali in Alaska, etc.

We spend 16 days in Alaska during summer of 2018, put about 3,000 miles on our rental car and got tons of wildlife and landscape. A friend of mine has been on at least 3 cruises to Alaska and he said many of the on-shoe cruise ship activities cater to photographers and the busses and vans will go to various hotspots around the ports of call. That may be a good option to you to combine a relaxing vacation with some wildlife and nature photography. Pat has captured some fantastic images while on his Alaska cruise adventures.

I don't know what your monetary situation is (and I'm not asking, it's none of my business) but guides and outfitters regardless of if fishing, hunting, back country adventures or photography can be pricy. However, if your time is limited or it is an area or a type of wildlife you're not familiar with then they can save you a lot of time wandering about and not seeing what you wanted to see.

If you have photographers locally ask around what they have done and recommendations. If you are on "Facebook" check to see if there are any photography groups for your area, join the group and start contributing. Most group admins will allow if not encourage people to ask questions. Some are post your photos only so you just have to be aware of the group rules.

If you see photos on a forum like this from someone's vacation especially if they were with some kind of group or tour, reach out to them and ask which tour group and if they had a positive experience. Many people would be happy to share positive or negative experiences with you if you ask kindly.

Wish I had a more specific recommendation. I think the medium to large mammals would be very doable. Deer, bears, bison, moose, elk, etc. Birds of prey, unless you're at one of the congregation points and in the right season are more hit or miss. In Alaska Bald Eagles were very common to the point by about day 8 I was only photographing ones in really pretty settings. They were that common. However, we only saw one Golden Eagle and I missed the shot.

Hope this is helpful. Best wishes on your vacation and I hope to see some beautiful images from it.

Jeff
 
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Steve Perry (you may know him, he operates this site! 😀) does these kinds of tours. You can see them on his web site. I haven’t done one, but am hoping to.

Fair warning: you will have to be EXTREMELY quick on the trigger to get one of the slots on his trips, which I learned the hard way a few months ago when I tried (and failed) to get into his Costa Rica trip, having seen his announcement only a few hours after he posted it. Hopefully I notice in time to get in on the trip next year!
 
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abc123brian said:
I really like @EricBowles idea of hiring a guide to work with individually. Especially since you said you haven’t had a real vacation. This would allow you to get some one on one time learning, shown some of the local nature, and will allow you to relax and enjoy some time on vacation as well. You could likely workout as much time as you want ahead of time with the photographer. Many times the session would be private or limited to a very small number of people. I have only looked at doing this with two photographers so far, Mark Smith and Steve Matthies, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet; partially because Covid has made my travel planning more difficult. I will definitely check out the ones Eric mentioned as well.

It sounds like you’re not picky on the wildlife, but if you decide what might be the most enjoyable to you it would help narrow down the area. For example, Florida is great for birds and alligators with a few surprises in some areas like horses, bison, and monkeys. Great Smoky Mountains would get you close to black bear, elk, coyotes. Yellowstone/Grand Tetons has Bison, black bear, grizzly bear, marmots, moose, elk, and antelope.
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I agree, plan the vacation in an attractive area and allocate a few days for photography with a pro. Mark knows the great spots in FL, he is an amazing spotter, not necessarily the best at providing technical advice (but he does a good job, not on par with the best). Steve is the full package. Amazing guide and tracker in the Tetons and amazing instructor, and you can hire him for the full day.
‘If the goal is to combine vacation and photography, that’s the only way. Otherwise, dedicated photo trips are no vacation (they are amazing at recharging my mental energy and distressing me - but they are not for resting).
 
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Nancy Elwood shoots with Nikon gear which is a plus. During the pandemic the national parks have had double the normal number of visitors and so double the crowds and more difficult to find hotel rooms and car rentals.

Places like Yellowstone require big glass and often teleconverters. No such isssues in Florida where a 80-400mm works well most of the time.

With Florida you have the option of choosing the airport closest to where you want to travel for you photography. There are migratory birds in the keyes and so Miami is better when they are in the area. Orlando is better for the northern areas in Florida.
 
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I’ve been on 2 trips with Tom and Cree Bol. New Mexico, Bosque del Apache and Whitesands and more recently Costa Rica.
Tom and Cree are born teachers. They happen to love Nature and Photography. Lucky us! They are organized, knowledgeable, patient and compassionate.
Here is their website: https://www.tombolphoto.com/
 
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AstroEd said:
I am 58 years old and never been on a “REAL” vacation, do any of you have suggestions for a guided/learning wildlife photography vacation package? I was looking at something like https://www.pangolinphoto.com/ but for now think I should stay in the USA, I do not have a passport yet anyways. But I can dream.
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Think lots of great suggestions already but will throw in a few more. Check out NatHab, not just for their trips but ideas of where to go in the US (and abroad). Would agree there is nothing like Africa but being in parts of Alaska (ie. Lake Clark, Katmai, Kodiak Island, etc) and having a huge brown bear walk by you is pretty amazing. And there are some great lodges there to stay at (though you need to book early since they fill up fast).
https://flic.kr/p/2mbNu3t
 
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My approach (YMMV) is to choose a destination and then Google "bird photography workshop" or tour. I then can shop through the various trip listings and descriptions. If you are mostly a bird photographer who is ok with "run and gun" photography (mostly handheld, and not setting up at feeders or whatever) you can also consider trips that are "birding trips." I have had good luck doing those kinds of trips when they go to locations (or at times) when no dedicated photography trip is available.

I would love to go on one of Steve's trips someday. I almost pulled the (proverbial) trigger for the Osa Peninsula trip for which Steve opened up an additional session a few months ago, but I made the "mistake" of wanting to consult my wife first. By the time I was able to do this (it was a short time) the trip was already full :-(.

I highly recommend Glenn Bartley as a photo tour leader. His trips have become pricey but he is organized, friendly, fair, and to his credit, his philosophy is that when he leads a trip it is not about him taking a lot of photos himself. He usually barely breaks out his camera at all and devotes his efforts to supporting his paying clients. His trips are international, so if you are looking for experiences that don't require a passport he is not the guy. On the bright side, for most of the domestic photographic hotspots (e.g., Bosque del Apache, southeastern Arizona, Alaska bears, south Texas, southern Florida, Yellowstone in winter, and on and on, there are multiple people who lead groups. You can shop around, particularly if you are ok with planning way ahead.
 
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AstroEd said:
Thank you all for the informative replies.
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What time of year are you thinking? Winter possibilities would be Yellowstone (less crowds and more concentrated wildlife). Mississippi River dams in January for hundreds of eagles. No need for guide.
Internationally Costa Rica and Equador have tons of bird photo guides. Over 100 species of hummingbirds in Ecuador alone.
If you do decide on an African safari, Pangolin is great. Fairly reasonable very professional. We’ve been with them once and friends on that trip have been on several more with Pangolin.
Have fun. As we age we find out that time is our most limiting resource.
 
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