Wildlife and Landscapes of Jackson Hole, Wyoming

5 day photo shoot Monday through Friday, focusing on the wildlife and landscapes of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

While a day by day itinerary is hard to put together, based on weather and sky conditions, I will list out the various shoots that we will do as well as the wildlife we will pursue.

A typical day will look like this…
Typical start will be 5:30-6:00am, depending on first light location. You will leave with all you need for the whole day.

We will shoot from sunrise to about 10:30am and then head back to Jackson for brunch at the Bunnery or Virginian restaurant. We will not be returning to our rooms at this time.

After brunch we will head out again for the remainder of shootable light. We will return to our hotel at 5:45-6:30 most nights and the typically re-organize for dinner 30-45 minutes later.

Sean will make himself available each night for reviewing photos and discussing the day or next day’s shoot, including technical advice etc…

Our Objectives…(what we hope to shoot)

Wildlife! This time of year is a great time to find wildlife close to the town of Jackson. Winter snow will drive animals out of the high country and into the valley. We will attempt to photograph the following:

Elk: there will be a few thousand elk on the national elk refuge by first week of January, with as many as 6000 in the Jackson Hole area. We will plan on 2 sleigh rides through the refuge (approx $20 each ride), these rides will get us up close and personal to the elk, I will monitor weather conditions to help us pick the best 2 afternoons for the rides. We may also have other opportunities to shoot elk.

Moose: These big beast can be easy to spot through out the area in winter, the trick will be getting close enough while staying safe. Plenty of time will be spent looking for big bull moose as well as cow/calf pairs (the calves will be quite large by then)

Bison: about 600 bison call Jackson Hole home, the trick again will be getting them close to the road where we can safely shoot them. We will monitor the bison herd locations everyday while there.

Big Horn Sheep: a sizable herd of big horn call Miller butte home for the winter, we will spend some morning and evening time with them.

Mountain Goats: In 2014 I received information on a good winter location for goats that does not require us to scale 100 foot cliffs! So we will make one or 2 drives to a location about 45 miles from Jackson to photograph these, hopefully the first attempt will have them close to the road and we will get our shots.

Mule Deer: can be found through out the area we will be shooting in and we should get a few opportunities to get some good shots, hopefully with some nice bucks.

Pronghorn: how deep the snow is will determine if the pronghorn have left the valley yet, so we may get opportunities with them.

Trumpeter Swans: The creek that flows through the elk refuge typically has 2-4 swan families there in the winter, we will monitor section of creek near the road for an iceless day and if that happens, we should get swans as well as a few other types of waterfowl.

Other wildlife opportunities may be: coyote, red fox, bald eagles, ravens, and wolves, we will keep our eyes open for all of these.

Landscapes: The Tetons are beautiful with snow and we will shoot from as many locations as we can! We will shoot at least 3 sunrise of the Tetons (the sun rises opposite the range and the light hits the peaks first and moves down the mountain) These will include: Oxbow bend, and willow flats overlook as well as one more location. We will also shoot from snake river overlook and do a unique shoot from inside Cunningham cabin, as well as some other great vistas and views. Including ranch gates, scenic cabins, churches etc…

Mormon Row: if all conditions permit we will do an early morning shoot from one of the cabins. The cabins in the winter require a 1.5 mile flat walk to them, so we will plan to hike out one morning around 7:00am if the following conditions are met: No Bison! Anywhere near the cabins, we can not risk being so far from the vehicles and having bison around. No strong winds, this can lead to white out conditions as well as frostbite. Clear skies that are gonna stay that way! So we should be able to get out there for early to mid morning light, but there is a chance we will not.

Jackson at night! This can be a fun shoot for a few hours at the town square one eve. The town will still have all the white lights from Christmas and the square will look beautiful.

Astro-photography: the skies are so clear here in the winter, so if conditions are good, one night we will ride a little out of town and try to photograph the Tetons with stars above! It will be a very cold shoot!

Here are photos from previous trips to Jackson Hole:

https://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157640321083413

https://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157632207114067

Lodging for this trip will be at the Wyoming Inn. This is a spectacular hotel with a very comfortable lounge area in the lobby with a fireplace an idea space to go over photos each evening. Price will run approximately $150 a night for 6 nights and is not included in the workshop price. Rooms will be reserved for each participant and paid upon arrival.

All ground transportation will be provided in Jackson Hole. Participants should plan to arrive to Jackson Hole airport after 12 noon on Sunday January 5th, and depart on Saturday January 11.

There are 5 spaces available for this workshop, registration deadline is December 1, 2019