Photo Safaris Trip Reports

Bandhavgarh National Park has one of the highest densities of tigers in India. Talking to Amit, the lodge owner of our park jungle lodge in the weeks before our trip, he assured me that “Bandhavgarh was rocking with ... Read More

By James Rogerson on May 12, 2022

It’s hard to believe my love of this place began with my first trip to Florida forty years ago. As a student nature photographer on an adventure to document rare and endangered wildlife, this was the trip that starte... Read More

By Eric Rock on May 12, 2022

Russia’s economy was in bad shape after it lost the Crimean war to Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire in 1856. Fearing a British takeover of its Russian-America land holding of Alaska, it decided to offer to sel... Read More

By Joe Van Os on Apr 13, 2022

In the mid-1800s, the legendary American whaling captain Charles Melville Scammon accidentally discovered the narrow opening to a large, sheltered lagoon along the Pacific coast of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. What Scamm... Read More

By Wayne Lynch on Apr 11, 2022

Trip participants created a “ton” of images on our 2022 Bald Eagles, Sea Otters & Coastal Wildlife of Kachemak Bay, Alaska photo tours. If digital images had the same relative weight as a 36-exposure roll o... Read More

By Joe Van Os on Mar 18, 2022

At roughly the size of West Virginia, Costa Rica encompasses only 0.03 percent of the planet’s surface but is still within the top 20 richest countries in biodiversity on Earth in terms of species density. More than ... Read More

By Mark Thomas on Jan 24, 2022

The warm New Mexico winter light we experienced during our December Photo Safari is something very difficult to describe. If you are a fan of the magical pink and purple sunrises of the high New Mexico dese... Read More

By Melissa Scott and Eric Rock on Jan 13, 2022

Planning a photo tour over a year in advance is a tricky business, even for the most seasoned tour operator and even for a guy who has lived in Colorado all of my life! Certain variables are best planned that far in advanc... Read More

By Todd W. Pierce on Jan 07, 2022

There are places on this planet of ours that evoke a palpable sense of wonder—where the forces of nature are revealed in full view. To be honest, I didn’t think Death Valley National Park would be one of those ... Read More

By Todd W. Pierce on Jan 05, 2022

Slovenia in autumn is at its most beautiful for photography. I was really looking forward to leading this tour in my home country. Some of our group had just completed our Undiscovered Montenegro tour where fall colors had... Read More

By Luka Esenko on Nov 30, 2021

In the past I have spent my time in Yosemite National Park exploring the beautifully diverse evergreen forests and walking the shores of the Merced River leading natural history trips. These can be difficul... Read More

By Eric Rock on Nov 17, 2021

Montenegro is one of my favorite European countries. Its small size and diverse geography remind me of my home country, Slovenia. I was very happy to greet our intrepid photo group participants who arrived at Kotor, the hi... Read More

By Luka Esenko on Nov 17, 2021

The first thing that comes to mind for most people when asked about autumn in Maine is the wonderfully colorful fall foliage. Interspersed between the dark greens of the boreal spruce-fir forests are stands of deciduous tr... Read More

By Mark Thomas on Nov 09, 2021

It is as idyllic as idyllic can be—Grimsey Island, 25 miles to the north of “mainland” Iceland is a solitary outpost in the cold North Atlantic lying smack atop the Arctic Circle. The summer sun barely se... Read More

By Joe Van Os on Oct 04, 2021

Sometimes the dozen or so bubble-net feeding humpback whales surfaced so close to our boat their misty, fishy breath drifted lazily over our small group of bow-based photographers. In what we jokingly called an &ld... Read More

By Joe Van Os on Sep 28, 2021

I think it is a common theme, but I will repeat it—it was great to be back out in the field and enjoying nature through the lens with a group of eager photographers! Now that many of us are feeling more confident of ... Read More

By Melissa Scott on Aug 17, 2021

When you imagine photographing rugged mountain landscapes towering over crystal clear lakes and multicolored wildflower meadows—all easily accessible from comfortable historic lodges—then Glacier National Park ... Read More

By Eric Rock on Aug 02, 2021

It is true spring can come a little early or it can arrive a little late in Yellowstone National Park. But you can always be sure it will occur as sure as there will be blooming wildflowers and newborn animals of the year.... Read More

By Eric Rock on Aug 02, 2021

Wow! I can’t tell you just how great it was to be back out traveling and photographing again. It’s been a very long year. This was our first trip since COVID-19 put an abrupt stop to everyone’s travel jus... Read More

By Mark Thomas on May 17, 2021

After working some 40 years in nature travel I had seen whales in all of the oceans of the world, however most of my experiences with these charismatic marine mammals had been at a distance. I never felt emotionally connec... Read More

By Wayne Lynch on Aug 06, 2020

Originally, this entire trip report was going to be only five words—”Just Look at The Pictures!” But I didn’t think Joe would let me get away with that. Sooo…
 
If your ide... Read More

By Mark Thomas on Apr 15, 2020

Every photography tour that I lead for Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris offers something special and unique. Picking favorites would be like picking a favorite child, or in my case, a favorite cat.  You know it is wrong. &... Read More

By Mark Thomas on Apr 15, 2020

The rain happened a few weeks before we arrived.  I should say the “deluge” happened, as this was no gentle rain. Roads were flooded and washed out, grasses grew higher and thicker than usual, and normal p... Read More

By John Shaw on Mar 10, 2020

When the grip of winter finally takes hold on the Yellowstone Plateau, the landscape is transformed into a winter wonderland of fire and ice. Meadows once carpeted by lush green grasses are now blanketed in several fe... Read More

By Jeff Vanuga on Feb 25, 2020

If Bernie Sanders were a bird, he would obviously be a Dalmatian pelican. Both Bernie and these big charismatic birds sport a white flyaway mop-top that would necessitate an entire tube of Brylcreem to keep under control.<... Read More

By Joe Van Os on Feb 13, 2020