P#7 Q2A: Where Are the Best Places to Photograph Wildlife?

The Best Places to Photograph Wildlife

Roy Toft: I've got to say, if you're going to be photographing moose, bears, and wolves, you're going to be in an exotic place even if it's in the United States. Those are pretty fancy animals. It's not your backyard ground squirrel.

Audri Lanford: Or even the deer in my backyard.

Roy Toft: You do get some deer in your backyard, but few people are having the family pack of wolves cruise up to their backyard. Occasionally some people get a black bear in their backyard.

I think what this guy is talking about -- or I'm sure it might be a lady as well -- you're thinking of going to a real natural environment.

These are top predator animals when you're talking about wolves and bears, and a rather shy ungulate when you're talking about moose. They're not everywhere and they're quite shy.

There are really only two places that pop into my head in the U.S. Canada obviously has a lot of these type animals as well. In the US, that's going to be Alaska or Yellowstone National Park.

Alaska is in the U.S. but it's pretty far away. You're going to find places throughout Alaska that have all three of these animals.

Denali National Park is a great place to photograph wolves, probably the best place in Alaska. You're going to see moose and bear there as well.

The other location, Yellowstone National Park in the lower 48, might be a little bit more accessible.

The Lamar Valley has wonderful opportunities for wolves. Wolves tend to be rather far away. They're not right off the side of the road generally, so you need some big lenses to do a decent job in photographing them. You'll certainly see bear in Yellowstone and quite likely see moose as well.

When to Visit

For times of year, I would say Alaska in the summer. June, July, August is typically a great time in Alaska. You go any later than that you're going to have your bears starting to hibernate. You can find the other two animals in the wintertime, but not the bear.

Yellowstone: I like October, which is coming into the winter. Not as many tourists in Yellowstone then. I also like May, coming out of the winter. The spring thaw in May is a wonderful time in Yellowstone. Once again, not the crowds of people that you can see midsummer. It's a wonderful time to be in Yellowstone.

In conclusion

You have to travel to where wild animals live in order to find good wildlife photography sites. Roy Toft especially recommends Yellowstone and Denali as two great places to photography animals like moose, bears, and wolves in their natural habitats.