Capturing Bears, Bison, Elk,

Geysers & Grand Peaks

Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks

October 7-11, 2026

$1,750.00* per person ($500 Deposit Required)

Few places on Earth offer the raw variety of subjects that Yellowstone and the Tetons do with thundering waterfalls, roaming bears, packs of wolves, bison and elk herds, erupting geysers, and jagged peaks that scrape the sky. This three-day photography workshop is designed to immerse you in that diversity, guiding you from the fast-paced challenge of capturing wildlife in motion, to the surreal beauty of geothermal wonders, to the grandeur of mountain landscapes. With expert instruction, hands-on practice, and field-tested techniques, you’ll come away not just with remarkable images, but with the skills and confidence to capture nature at its most dynamic and dramatic.

Few places on Earth offer the raw variety of subjects that Yellowstone and the Tetons do with thundering waterfalls, roaming bears, packs of wolves, bison and elk herds, erupting geysers, and jagged peaks that scrape the sky. This three-day photography workshop is designed to immerse you in that diversity, guiding you from the fast-paced challenge of capturing wildlife in motion, to the surreal beauty of geothermal wonders, to the grandeur of mountain landscapes. With expert instruction, hands-on practice, and field-tested techniques, you’ll come away not just with remarkable images, but with the skills and confidence to capture nature at its most dynamic and dramatic.

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for photographers who are ready to move beyond the basics and bring technical knowledge into the field.

• Intermediate Photographers who understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO and are comfortable shooting in manual mode. If you know how adjusting one side of the exposure triangle affects the other two and want to apply that knowledge in unpredictable, real-world conditions this is your adventure.

• Wildlife Enthusiasts eager to translate technical control into tack-sharp images of bison herds, elk bugling, bears on the move, and eagles in flight.

• Landscape & Nature Photographers who want to capture geothermal colors, reflective lakes, and the towering Tetons with creative depth and dynamic range.

• Adventurous Learners who enjoy early mornings, changing weather, and the challenge of photographing nature’s drama as it unfolds.

This is not a beginner-level course. You should already understand how to balance exposure settings. Instead, the focus is on applying those fundamentals to advanced scenarios: freezing wildlife in motion, experimenting with long exposures on steam and waterfalls, and composing sweeping landscapes with clarity and depth.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this three-day immersive workshop, you’ll walk away with both portfolio-worthy images and advanced field-tested skills that take your photography beyond theory:

Wildlife Mastery: Learn how to anticipate animal behavior and apply fast shutter speeds, continuous autofocus, and burst shooting to capture predators, herds, and birds in motion.

Creative Use of Exposure: Translate your knowledge of the exposure triangle into real-world conditions, freezing a charging bison at 1/2000 sec, or slowing downstream and waterfalls for atmospheric effects.

Geothermal Abstractions: Discover how to use aperture, filters, and white balance adjustments to highlight colors, textures, and patterns in Yellowstone’s geysers, mudpots, and thermal pools.

Dynamic Landscapes: Master composition techniques for expansive scenes, from sunrise reflections at Oxbow Bend to the drama of storm clouds over the Tetons, using foreground interest, filters, and panoramic stitching.

Hands-On Confidence: Build the ability to adjust settings instinctively as light shifts, wildlife moves, and landscapes transform.

Personal Portfolio: Leave with a body of work that reflects diverse set of images that showcase wildlife, geothermal wonders, and mountains both with technical skill and creative vision.

Instructional Itinerary

Day 1: Capturing Wildlife Photography: Technical Mastery of Wildlife Action Shots

Yellowstone provides an incredible opportunity to capture elk, pronghorn, coyotes, foxes, bears, bison, and a diverse array of swans, harlequin ducks, and great gray owls, there is a variety of subjects to photograph.

Camera Settings

• Long Lenses (300–600mm): Essential for safe distance wildlife shots.

• Shutter Speed to freeze movement of bison, elk, wolves, and bears.

• Aperture: f/5.6–f/8 for balance between subject sharpness and environmental context.

• Continuous Autofocus & Burst Mode: Track unpredictable animal movement.

• Light Intensity: Early morning and late evening golden light for drama.

Shooting Techniques

• Anticipation: Learn animal behavior (bison crossings, wolf packs, raptors hunting).

• Framing: Use riverbanks, valleys, and forests as natural backdrops.

• Safety First: Maintain park’s required distances

Subjects & Destinations

• Elk Herds in Meadows: Capture antler silhouettes against morning fog.

• Bison Crossing Rivers: Freeze splashing water droplets mid-stride.

• Predators on the Move: Track wolves or bears with burst shooting.

• Birds of Prey: Eagles perched or in flight over the Madison River.

Day 2: Photographing Geothermal Wonders: Creative Exploration of Geothermal Abstracts and Natural Textures.

Yellowstone is classified as a supervolcano, roughly a thousand times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The vast geothermal system created by this immense geological force fuels Yellowstone’s iconic features of geysers, steaming vents, boiling mud pots, and vibrantly colored hot springs. For photographers, this geothermal activity transforms the park into an otherworldly canvas where mist, mineral-rich pools, and shifting light interact to create surreal landscapes and dynamic compositions found nowhere else on Earth.

Camera Settings

• Aperture: f/8–f/16 for sharp textures in thermal features.

• Shutter Speed: Experiment 1/250 sec for steam plumes, slower speeds (1/10–1/30 sec with tripod) for ethereal steam effects.

• Polarizing Filter: Reduce glare on pools and bring out color saturation.

• White Balance Adjustments: Correct strong color casts from geothermal minerals.

Shooting Techniques

• Composition: Include boardwalks, people, or trees for scale.

• Abstract Patterns: Shoot close-ups of bacterial mats and mineral deposits.

• Timing: Plan for Old Faithful eruption; frame for foreground interest.

• Weather Awareness: Steam looks dramatic against cooler morning air.

Subjects & Destinations

• Old Faithful Eruption: Wide shot at f/11 with geyser against the sky.

• Prismatic Spring: Use tripod at f/16 to capture full depth and saturation.

• Boiling Mudpots: Close-up textures at f/8 with a long lens.

• Steaming Vents: Slow shutter to create dreamy effects.

Day 3: The Grand Teton: Classic and Dramatic Mountain Landscapes

October in Grand Teton brings rich autumn colors to the landscape, with golden foliage set against towering peaks. We’ll photograph mountain vistas, their reflections in the water, and the quintessential scenery that defines the Teton.

Camera Settings

• Aperture: f/11–f/16 for expansive landscapes.

• Foreground Interest:

• Golden Hour: Sunrise at Oxbow Bend, sunset at Mormon Row barns.

• Filters: Graduated ND for balancing bright skies and dark mountains.

• Panoramas: Use tripod + overlapping frames for stitched wide-angle scenes.

Shooting Techniques

• Reflections: Shoot lakes (Jenny, Jackson, Schwabacher’s Landing) for mirror images.

• Wildlife in Landscapes: Incorporate moose, elk, or bison with Tetons in background.

• Wait for weather changes to add mood.

• Use wildflowers, lakes, or barns to anchor compositions.

Subjects & Destinations

• Teton peaks reflected in Snake River.

• Capture historic barns with mountains behind.

• Wide-angle water reflections as leading lines.

• Wildlife framed against snow-capped peaks.

Agenda

Day 1: Arrival Day – Routed instruction will be provided from North Entrance to hotel accommodations in West Yellowstone.  Group dinner to discuss itinerary, gear selections and shot preparations

Day 2: 6:00 Breakfast, 7:00 Departure for Wildlife Photography in Hayden Valley, Canyon and Yellowstone Lake areas, but detour into forested ridges or riverbanks for additional viewing

Day 3: Following Breakfast depart for various thermal attractions in Yellowstone. Throughout the day, we will photograph the geothermal processes of Yellowstone, the park's history, and ecology. Destinations include: Old Faithful and Upper Geyser Basin, Fountain Paint Pots & Lower Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin and West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Day 4: Following Breakfast depart for The Grand Teton range. One of the most photographed landscapes in the world, and for good reason it’s not just mountains, it’s a masterclass in perspective. We will visit Schwabacher Landing, Snake River Overlook, Mormon Row Barns, Oxbow Bend, Jenny Lake and everything in between.

Day 5:Departure Day: You may want to schedule an early afternoon flight Bozeman, MT Airport to take advantage of early morning shote in West

Instructors:

David Mazur & Susan Demers Weigold bring a rare combination of technical mastery, creative artistry, and professional coaching to this immersive workshop. Together, they offer a 360° approach to developing your photography.

David, is a seasoned college professor and certified performance coach who specializes in experiential, hands-on learning. His approach empowers photographers to push past their comfort zones, master their tools, and build the discipline needed to deliver high-quality photography. He is an avid wildlife photographer who has taught over a hundred bird & wildlife photography workshops

Susan, an accomplished fine art photographer, creative branding expert, and Getty/iStock contributor, is known for helping creatives create impact photos. She blends intuitive artistry with real-world strategy, guiding photographers to craft stories through their images and present their work with confidence and clarity. Susan is also an educator and accomplished landscape photographer

David and Susan combine their complementary strengths. David’s expertise in skill development with Susan’s mastery of storytelling will help participants design, refine, and deliver a photos that stands out.

What You’ll Need:

• Layers to wear, especially at night (base layer, windproof layer).

• Comfortable shoes

• Mirrorless or DSLR camera.

• Sturdy tripod and a remote shutter

• Any or all of the following recommended lenses

• Wide-angle lens 14-24 mm.

• Medium zoom lens 24-70 mm.

• Telephoto lens, 70-200 mm lens.

• Macro lens 50 / 100mm Instructors

This weekend is your opportunity to see it through a new lens.

Cancellation and Refund Policy:

A non-refundable deposit of $500.00 USD is required for registration. Final payment is due 30 days before the workshop's start. Deposits are non-refundable upon payment, except if your spot can be filled. A 50% credit of the deposit fee will apply to future workshops. $525.00 due October 10th.

FOR ALL CANCELLATIONS YOU MUST EMAIL US AT INFO@SEACOASTPHOTOGRPAPHYSCHOOL.COM

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE

Questions:
Please email info@seacoastphotographyschool.com.