Wildlife photography vacations guide


Our Wildlife photography Vacations
Orangutan photography in Borneo
Develop your photography skills in Borneo
Brown bear photography vacation in Alaska
Photograph Alaskan brown bears in exclusive photo tour
Iceland birds & landscapes photography tour
Fabulous Birds and Landscapes photo tour Arctic Iceland
Wildlife photography & conservation volunteering in south Africa
Enjoy amazing wildlife photography while giving back!
Siberian tiger photography tour
A photopraphy unique tour to photograph wild Siberian Tigers
Tiger and wildlife photography tour, India
Tiger photography tour in India's best tiger reserves
Wildlife photography vacation in India
Photograph superb wildlife & even the illusive tiger
Wildlife photography internship in the Peruvian Amazon
Improve your photography skills while having an adventure
Southern Madagascar photography vacation
Taking great pictures and discovering an amazing country
Wildlife photography and conservation in South Africa
Photography and conservation on a Big 5 game reserve
Masai Mara photographic safari in Kenya
A safari for any wilderness fan or photographer
Spitsbergen widlife photography cruise
Photograph iconic Arctic wildlife
Galapagos conservation & photography vacation
Conservation volunteering and photography in the Galapagos
Amazon wildlife photography vacation in Peru
Wild photography adventure in the Amazon Rainforest
Amazon photography vacation, Peru
Take Amazon wildlife pictures on Peru photography workshop
Madagascar Photography vacation
Photograph Madagascar's unspoiled beauty on exclusive tour
Namibia photography vacation
Photograph Namibia's impressive landscape on exclusive tour
South Africa wildlife photography safari
Enjoy incredible photography during an exclusive safari
Amur leopard photography tour in Russia
Photograph the world’s rarest cat, the amazing Amur leopard
Gorilla photography vacation in Uganda
Uganda mountain gorilla and chimpanzee photography vacation
Arctic wildlife vacation, Polar bear explorer
A wildlife focused Arctic safari in Svalbard
Photography and sailing vacation in Scotland
Photography and sailing vacation in fabulous Scottish islands
Kamchatka photography vacation in Russia
Photograph brown bears in remote Far Eastern Russia
Antarctic photography cruise, South Georgia & Falklands
A must for photographers and wilderness fans
Amur leopard & Siberian tiger photography tour
Unique chance to photograph Siberian Tigers & Amur Leopards
Wolverine photography tour in Finland
Photograph & watch wild wolverines, a very elusive species
Winter wildlife photography tour in Japan
Photograph Japan’s Spectacular Winter Wildlife on this Tour
Wildlife photography vacation in Finland
Wolverine photographing in winterland Finland
Norway photography vacation
unique isolated camping wildlife photography tour in Norway
What do wildlife photography vacations involve?
Do I need to be an experienced photographer?
Not at all. The only qualification for this kind of trip is having a camera with at least some manual settings. Obviously it will be helpful if you already know your way around your camera before departure, but these trips are just as suitable for those new to wildlife photography as they are to practised old hands.Non-photographers can get a lot from this trip too, so while solo travelers are common, many people choose to bring along a friend or partner who will simply enjoy the vacation without looking through a viewfinder once.
How do we find the wildlife?
Some trips, such as in Madagascar, Uganda and Borneo, involve trekking which can be fairly laborious especially in hot or wet weather. You don’t need to be super fit but a decent level of physical fitness will be to your advantage, and some trips will also feature early starts and late finishes, especially where game drives are involved.
Tailor made or small group tour?
While the majority of wildlife photography vacations are small group tours (a great way to compare notes, share tips with likeminded fellow travelers and keep costs down), some, such as photographing tigers in India or wolverines in Finland, lend themselves well to tailor made itineraries. If you are able to shoulder the extra cost you can even opt for a solo tour, allowing you to benefit hugely from one-on-one tuition throughout.Antarctic expedition ships, on the other hand, can carry upwards of 100 passengers. Yet the wealth of different activities included, and the fact that experienced photographers make themselves available throughout the voyage to pass on their knowledge, means that you should still find such a cruise immensely satisfying.
Technical tips
Keep in mind that in some places, such as Borneo, Madagascar or Uganda, the electricity supply can be unreliable. Batteries can die quickly in cold environments such as Antarctica and Finland. Bringing along extra, charged, batteries, can help you cope with unexpected problems. Tripods aren’t always practical, but a photographer’s beanbag is a good way to stabilise cameras on tree branches or window ledges (particularly if shooting from a vehicle), and in cold weather a pair of photographers’ gloves may come in handy.If you have more than one camera body, consider bringing one with a standard telephoto lens and another with a wider or mid-range zoom, thereby reducing the need to swap lenses in humid or dusty environments. Bring your laptop too if you can, if you want to improve your post-production skills and back up files as you go.
As many of these trips take place in quite extreme environments it’s vital to protect your equipment from the elements: heat, humidity, snow, dust – and of course you’ll want to make sure it is fully insured. Ensure you carry as much as you can in your hand luggage to reduce the risk of it being damaged or going missing – charge your batteries as you may need to prove at security that equipment is working. Suppliers can provide priceless advice on secure packing if this is something you’re not used to.
“The best lens for mountain gorilla photography is without doubt a 70-200mm F2.8 which gives the perfect focal range and is also great in lower light in the forest. Having said that a wider angle lens can also be suitable as some encounters will be very close. There's no problem with humidity for mountain gorillas as these forests are high. In Borneo for orangutans the humidity is nearly 100 percent and I recommend people leave their cameras in their bag each night with some silica gel.”
Our top Wildlife photography Vacation
Orangutan photography in Borneo
Develop your photography skills in Borneo
2021: 7 Nov, 22 Nov
Best time to go on a wildlife photography vacation

