Every unit of the National Park System is photo-worthy. Some park units, however, offer more photo ops than others. Yellowstone National Park, with parts in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, offers a plethora of prospects for fantastic photos regardless of whether you use a smartphone, point-and-shoot, or tricked-out SLR camera.
Traveler contributing photographer Rebecca Latson has visited Yellowstone several times over the years, always returning with great shots, ideas for places to get more great shots, and tips and techniques designed to capture those great shots.
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Photography In The National Parks: Yellowstone – More Than Just Geysers And Wildlife
As mentioned in my January article, I turned my move from southeast Texas to central Washington into a three-week photographic road trip, visiting Petrified Forest National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. I’ll say this for traveling during the summer: It’s crowded at these places. OK, maybe not so much at Petrified Forest. That national park is a less-populated gem about which I wrote in a previous column. Yellowstone, on the other hand, was far and away the most crowded national park I’ve yet to visit. Although I never was able to see all the sights on my list because there was no parking anywhere after about 8 a.m., that did not stop me from capturing some amazing images, not only of a few iconic locations, but also of scenes and subjects I observed around me, far from any geyser. I made the most of my photo ops in whatever vicinity I happened to find myself for the day, and I want to share what I saw and learned from my short, very crowded stay in America's first national park.
To read more of this article, head over to this page.
Photography In The National Parks: Bringing It All Together In Yellowstone
The year is almost over! And this December, I'll be celebrating my 7th anniversary as a contributing editor and photographer for the National Parks Traveler! Where did the time go? Some of you will say “time flies when you’re having fun.” Well, I’ve certainly had fun with photography in the national parks I visited. As a matter of fact, I recently spent 9 very cold, snowy days in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone covers almost 3,500 square miles (9,065 square kilometers) of mountains, meadows, valleys, forests, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and geyser basins, so I’ll be the first to admit 9 days just isn’t enough time to spend absorbing everything America’s first national park offers. Still, I managed to capture a gazillion images (almost exaggerating here) using techniques and my own advice which I’ve given to you over the years in this monthly column.
To read more of this article, head over to this page.
Photography In The National Parks: Yellowstone’s Grand Loop Road
For the past couple of months, I’ve taken a break from the continuing series of photography around Yellowstone National Park’s Grand Loop Road. Now it’s time to resume the journey. What if you only had a day or two to spend in Yellowstone National Park? Where would you go? What would you photograph? You could decide upon a single location in this 2.2-million-acre park and spend most or all your time there, or you could get a nice snapshot of the park’s offerings by driving the Grand Loop Road. This 142-mile (229-kilometer) route provides glimpses into many of Yellowstone’s ecosystems.
What might you see and photograph? This Part 3, along with Parts 1 and 2 published previously, will show you, providing tips for great shots using you own camera, be it smartphone, point-and-shoot, or SLR.
To read more of this article and get the links to Parts 1 and 2, head over to this page.
- By Rebecca Latson - July 31st, 2025 10:03am
