Paradise Valley and Yellowstone Photography

Paradise Valley Buckrail Fence

They don’t call it Paradise Valley for nothing, this gem on the northern border of Yellowstone received It's named “Paradise Valley” for good reason, this premier Montana vacation spot has perfect summers and mild winters with spectacular views of the Absaroka and Gallatin Mountain Ranges under the famed Montana big sky, and it a photographers paradise as well

Emigrant Peak casts a broad shadow over the valley and is the dominant presence in the Lower valley and has been the focus of many a lensman. The scene of such recent movies as “A River Runs Through It” and “The Horse Whisperer”, Paradise Valley has its unique share of both trophy homes and deep-rooted ranches and farms. Much like Pikes Peak on the front range of Colorado, Emigrant Peak is often framed in the large living room windows of the homes belonging to those lucky enough to live or visit such a wonderful place. Climbing Photographers find a world of wonder in the neighboring peaks in the Northern Absaroka Mountains including Mount Cowen, Black Mountain, the Pyramid, Crow Mountain, Chico Peak, Marten Peak and Mount Wallace.

Paradise Valley is situated in southwestern Montana. It is located just north of Yellowstone National Park in Park County, Montana, which lends its name to the county. Mule deer enjoy the open range and grasslands available to them in Paradise Valley. Paradise Valley extends from the Yellowstone gateway community of Gardiner at the south end, to historic Livingston on the north. Appropriately named, this region is a "paradise" to Montana and to the Rocky Mountains. Providing a unique backdrop of snowcapped peaks, the valley features beautiful ranchlands, flowing rivers, spring creeks and abundant wildlife.

Mt, Sheridan's reflection in Yellowstone Lake at daybreak.

Yellowstone National Park has been a photography destination ever since Henry Jackson took the first photos of Yellowstone in 1872, Yellowstone's plethora of nature demands documentation from all who visit this world treasure. Yellowstone National Park welcomes photographers from across the country and from around the world to photograph its embarrassment of riches of natural wonders. Photographers come to document its pristine beauty and seasons of breathtaking contrasts: Scenic photographic opportunities abound, the wide-open grassy valleys, the perpendicular peaks of the Gallatin, Beartooth and Absaroka mountains. Yellowstone has hundreds of waterfalls, rivers that both gently meander through big valleys and writhing thorough whitewater canyons. This high mountain plateau attracts violent weather which makes wonderful accents too our earthly objects. More geysers than anywhere else on earth are here in Yellowstone waiting for the creative photographer capture eruptions of water at sunset. Colorful red and ocher mud pots, hot springs the deepest of blue outlined in orange and odd fumaroles dot the landscape of Yellowstone beaconing photographers from the other side of the world to take their story home.

Yellowstone has also been referred to as America’s Serengeti because of the tens of thousands of elk, thousands of bison, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, the hundreds of wolves, bighorn sheep, and grizzly bears. This is why the Photo Safari has become so popular here. We have a plethora of our avian friends as well, birders are as happy in Yellowstone as are the megafauna aficionados because of the abundance of bald eagles, ospreys, mountain bluebirds and the chance of capturing a western tangier.

Fly-fishermen, Gibbon river, Gallatin Mountains, Yellowstone National Park

The human element offers a role for the Yellowstone photographer as well. Human activity sometimes augments a beautiful natural scene. A horseman riding through a valley under towering mountains adds interest to a scene. A fly-fisherman putting a river to good use is a beautiful subject. Hikers on a mountain trail drive home the fact. The mountains are also a place for people – people with cameras. An image of a canoe traveling across a mountain lake makes the viewer imagine they are there. Thousands of spectators gathering around old faithful tell a story of the wonders of Yellowstone and how they fascinate us all.

There are three resources that should be seen by all Yellowstone photographers. The first being the hydrothermal features, principally the geysers, and hot springs. Yellowstone hosts the greatest number of geysers anywhere on earth. Thermal features can be found throughout the park, yet the highest concentration of geysers and hot springs is in the Old Faithful area. The average photographer to this area can easily find these resources but without a guide may leave without understanding them or documenting them as well as is possible. The second must-see resource is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River including its two waterfalls 109-foot Upper Falls and the 308-foot Lower Falls. The third resource of Yellowstone is its prodigious wildlife population, and this is precisely what brings most photographers to Yellowstone.

Grizzly Bear resting after a long morning of Spring foraging. Lucky photographers find bears like this in April, May and June close to the road and the safety of their car.

Photographers are increasingly demanding specific opportunities and qualities of their visits to Yellowstone and now many private photography tours can be customized to the wants and needs of the visiting photographer. Hiring a photography guide is not cheap, but a guide often know when landmarks are lit up the best and through their network of nature photography associates they have the best line on where the wolves and bears are most likely to be seen. Guides love sharing park history, ecology, natural history, and instructing nature photography. Private photo safaris and park tours allow the entire trip to be tailored to you and your group. These safaris provide maximum flexibility and personal attention.

Explore America's Serengeti and discover the Animals of Yellowstone National Park on a guided learning photo adventure. Wildlife photo safaris help the visiting photographer maximize their time in the park and see all kinds of wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone geo-ecosystem and providing fascinating educational experiences in a fun and relaxed environment.

Photography Stories
	Mad Dash For Yellowstone • By Daryl L. Hunter Santa Clause was good to me this year, and a Canon 400mm 5/6L telephoto lens dropped down the chimney and this little boy couldn’t wait to put that hunk of glass to work. I had a long weekend for the New Year’s holiday, and the kids were out of school so a trip to Yellowstone was nearly possible if Murphy’s Law didn’t rear his ugly head.......................................Winter in Yellowstone is truly a wonderful thing to experience. Its deep snows, bitter cold, abundant wildlife and stark beauty can imprint memories that can last a lifetime, and I have been anxious to share it with my boys. Access to Yellowstone in winter has become problematic since it has become illegal to take a private snowmobile into Yellowstone. So instead of accessing Yellowstone from the south entrance, outside Jackson Hole close to my home, the trip mandated a mad dash for north Yellowstone’s winter road, an eight-hour drive away. I had a hunch that this might be a good time for serendipity to dish me up some wolves for my photo portfolio. --------------------------------------> More Two Wolves Grand Teton National National Park The Search For Serrendipity • By Daryl L. Hunter Luck favors the prepared mind, as does serendipity. Webster's definition-Serendipity - an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally. Audacious, is the photographer who chooses to make his living stalking serendipity from one location to another then back again hoping to capture light as it has never been captured before or tougher yet as they may have captured it in the past. But that is what we do, and that is what we live for. Armed with our acquired knowledge of the magic hour, cloud diffused lighting, outdoorsmenship, storm lighting, instinct for peak action, wildlife behavior, camera mechanics, changes in seasons, composition, astronomy, etc., we set out to bring the natural world to armchair adventures, outdoor enthusiasts, publishers, and advertisers, and to do so we have to rely on serendipity. Accomplished photographers are serendipiters, a serendipiters are those with an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident--------------------------> More Living A Richer Life Without Any Money • by Daryl L. Hunter Since purchasing my first camera, I have been living a visual feast that has cost me a real estate career in a lucrative Southern California market. My scenery seemed to always be just over the next hill somewhere, cityscapes just were not my kind of inspiration, and I soon tired of local beach sunsets. So it wasn't long before I was traveling farther a field, weekend trips to Big Sur, Lake Arrowhead, Yosemite, and yes, a three-day driving marathon to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park. I decided that my weekends just were not long enough. I would just have to take more time off work, and then I could make it to Tahoe, the costal redwoods, and the Oregon coast. All that driving wore out my car; it must be time to move to a prettier place-----------------> More   Magpies and ravens tormenting a wolf during dinner Yellowstone In Winter • Yellowstone National Park is one of the world’s most popular natural areas. Every year, millions of visitors from around the globe flock to the park to view its scenic grandeur and abundant wildlife. And every summer, the park’s hotels, trails, campgrounds, and roads get clogged with gawking tourists. For the serious nature photographer, it is often difficult to get even a little elbowroom, let alone to find a spot to set up one’s tripod.--------------------------------------> more
Where I Find Photos
	Ice encrusted Bison/buffalo North Yellowstone’s Winter Road • By Daryl L. Hunter Winter in Yellowstone is truly a wonderful thing to experience, its deep snows, bitter cold, abundant wildlife and stark beauty can imprint memories that can last a lifetime.......................Access to Yellowstone in winter is the problem, it has become illegal to take a private snowmobile into Yellowstone and very few of us have snow coaches of our own or are capable of marathon ski expeditions too access Yellowstone’s winter wonders, but it is not as inaccessible as many think..................................The snowmobiling destination resort of Cooke City and Silver Gate Montana need groceries regularly to keep its citizens alive so Yellowstone Park maintains winter access to these communities. US-212 can be accessed through Yellowstone’s north entrance in Gardiner Montana, so Yellowstone visitors can access a smidgen of Yellowstone’s treasures in winter by car. --------------------------> More
Regional Photo Galleries
	The Hole Picture • (Swan Valley Idaho) Daryl L. Hunter's photography can be seen throughout, this publication "the Greater Yellowstone Resource Guide" as he is the publisher, at his online gallery you can buy framed or unframed photo art of his Greater Yellowstone scenics and wildlife. Daryl L. Hunter has been photographing the Yellowstone Region since 1987, when he packed up his 4X5 view camera, Pentex 6X7, and his 35mm’s and headed to Jackson Hole Wyoming to join hundreds of other wanna be photographers, where he learned the real meaning of poverty with a view. Perseverance has paid off though, bringing his photographers eye to web publishing has brought many new eyes to Daryl’s work.   Portfolio - Images by Daryl Hunter
Photography Workshops
	The Hole Picture • Escape from the routine and indulge your passion for photography in a  “The Hole Picture” photo tour Discover the spirit of place and the magic of light of our destinations. Refine your personal style. Hone your technical skills. Treat yourself to an experience where you are welcomed by others who are just as passionate at chasing light as yourself. You deserve it! Yellowstone Photo Workshops • Experience the American West like you have never dreamed. Yellowstone Photo Workshops makes it possible for you to become part of nature. Don't settle for just seeing the American West, LIVE IT! You will have the unique opportunity to travel with one of the Southwest's premier landscape photographers, J. L. "Woody" Wooden. He will take you on an awe inspiring journey and help you capture the secrets of the land. All trips have very limited amounts of space, so take a look at our upcoming events and reserve your place today! Summit Workshops • The summit is the highest point of the mountain. And the Summit Workshops, we are told time and time again, represent the highest point in photography's continuing education world. Bringing together the best instruction in photography and new digital technologies with the highest levels of creativity and providing the best career networking available anywhere. Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival • Autumn is Jackson Hole's most spectacular season! The colors, sounds and smells are resplendent as morning frost yields to the warmth of each golden day. Animals are tense and in motion as the landscape transitions toward the cold, dark months of winter. It is this backdrop of wild beauty that sets the stage for the ninth international Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.
Photographers and Stock Agency's
	Jess Lee Photos.com • Jess Lee Photos is a Stock and Assignment Agency located in Eastern Idaho, less than 2 hours from Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. Even closer is the west entrance to Yellowstone National park. The Hole Picture • Stock photos of the Yellowstone region, sports, landscape and wildlife