Inspired Images: Photographing the Wonders of Yellowstone

Program Registration, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. After you have your room assignment, come to the Road Scholar table in the hotel conference room to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing your name-tag, up-to-date schedule that reflects any last-minute changes, other important information, and to confirm when and where the Orientation session will take place. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in.

At a local restaurant.

Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. This program will be led by both the Group Leader and an Instructor, who is a professional photographer and naturalist and will lead the educational portion of the program. With our professional photographer and naturalist providing ongoing photography discussion and guidance, we will experience hands on aspects of field photography, all while learning about the park's natural history. All transportation will be on SUVs or small sprinter vans unless specified otherwise to provide better and easier access to areas for photographing amidst the large crowds. Be sure to bring your own water bottle. Water will be available on the bus during all field trips so you can refill your bottles; disposable cups will not be provided. Be aware that elevations in Gardiner and Yellowstone National Park range from 6,500 feet to over 8,000 feet. Staying hydrated reduces symptoms of altitude sickness. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Our instructor, a professional photographer, will conclude the evening by providing a introduction to Yellowstone through a presentation reflecting the rhythm of Yellowstone's changing seasons.

In our classroom, we’ll enjoy a hot catered breakfast.

Before breakfast, we will enjoy an early morning photo shoot in the Mammoth Hot Springs area. After breakfast, we will continue our morning in our classroom. We will all be given a photography manual to keep and use during the week. Our instructor, a professional landscape and wildlife photographer, will use the manual as a guide to instruct us in the finer points of nature photography. We will receive hands-on direction to help us sharpen our photography skills as we travel through Yellowstone's magnificent landscape.

At a local restaurant.

After lunch, we will board the SUVs with our photo gear and continue our photographic journey into Yellowstone National Park. We’ll return to Mammoth Hot Springs area, which is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine thousands of years old. The huge amount of geothermal vents and travertine flourishes, plus possible grazing wildlife, offer spectacular photo opportunities.

At a local restaurant.

At leisure. This could be time for self-study using the prime evening light for taking stunning photos

At a local restaurant.

We will check out of our motel and board the SUVs for the first of four full day field trips in Yellowstone depart early for the Old Faithful area within the Upper Geyser Basin, which contains over a quarter of the world's geysers. We will travel via Gibbon River, Gibbon Falls, Firehole River, and Fountain Paint Pot as we see, smell, hear, enjoy, and photograph geysers, hot springs, mudpots and fumaroles in the heart of Yellowstone.

Sack lunches in the field.

We will continue to find opportunities to photograph Yellowstone’s grand landscape and magnificent ecosystem with its unique features, colors, and wildlife intersecting together to create a tapestry of life not to be found anywhere else in the nation. We will check into our accommodations for the night.

At the Old Faithful Cafeteria.

At leisure. Take advantage of prime lighting for photo opportunities!

In the dining room at the hotel.

Before breakfast, you will have the option of a self guided early morning photo shoot in the Old Faithful area. After breakfast we will depart for the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone via Yellowstone Lake, where we will have many opportunities for prime photographs. Our first stop will be Yellowstone Lake, which is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park and the largest freshwater lake above 7,000 feet in North America.

Sack lunches in the field.

We will move on to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, where we will have many opportunities for prime photographs of the beautifully tinted canyon walls, caused by hot water acting on volcanic rock. We will see the 109-foot high Upper Falls and the iconic 308-foot high Lower Falls. From different vantage points we will be able to capture images of the sheer magnificence of the water falls and the mighty river weaving through the canyon.

At the Canyon eatery.

We will return to our accommodations for the night and enjoy possible photo ops along the way.

At a local restaurant.

We will check out of our hotel and depart early to take advantage of lighting options during the magic hour of sunrise as we head north We will then continue over Dunraven Pass on the Grand Loop Road, the highest road pass in Yellowstone National Park at an elevation of 8,859 feet. As our instructor leads us on our journey, we will stop for many photo opportunities along the way.

Sack lunches in park.

We will continue travelling back towards Gardiner via Yellowstone's northern range to check into our hotel in Gardiner and enjoy some leisure time.

At a local restaurant.

At leisure with option of self guided evening photo shoot.

On the road, we will have hot, boxed breakfast to-go, including a breakfast sandwich, fruit, and yogurt Water provided

We will depart early to take advantage of lighting options during the magic hour of sunrise, heading into one of the best places to watch the wild things in Yellowstone, the Lamar Valley. This is prime habitat for bears, wolves, elk, bison, pronghorn, eagles, and bighorn sheep. We will take advantage of this wide expansive valley for wonderful landscape photographs. We will then travel to Yellowstone's beautiful and isolated northeast gateway community of Cooke City for lunch before returning to Lamar Valley.

At a local restaurant in Cooke City.

We will travel back through the Lamar Valley, enjoying further photography assistance and instruction from our instructor.

At a local restaurant.

We will have the opportunity to show off one of our photographs from the week in a closing slide show. Our instructor will offer some final critiques and answer questions.

At a nearby restaurant.

We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!