Canadian Wildlife Photography Tours and Expeditions
Great Trips, Great Groups, Great Prices!
Canadian Wildlife Photography Tours offers photography tours and expeditions intended to get you to fantastic wildlife photography locations throughout Canada for a reasonable price with a good group of like-minded photographers.
The primary focus of all of our tours is on wildlife photography from dawn until dusk in some of Canada's premier wildlife viewing places. These are strictly photo tours, so unlike my photography workshops that place an emphasis on learning and photography instruction, these tours are geared towards getting out there and getting great shots. Because of this, these tours are primarily designed for more advanced wildlife photographers that don't require a lot of tutelage. I will be photographing right alongside you, making sure that we go to the best spots at the best times of day with guidance from the tour operators that I have chosen to travel with on these tours and expeditions.
With this in mind, I have sought out tour operators that are familiar with working with wildlife photographers and with the special demands that we can place on an operator. And more importantly, I've selected small, personal companies that offer premium trips to exotic Canadian locales, places that I had a strong desire to visit, or revisit, and photograph in, like the Arctic and the Great Bear Rainforest. I have contracted with these operators to book entire trips with them at their normal rates, which I am able to pass along to you with little or no markup.
The advantages to booking a wildlife photography tour with Canadian Wildlife Photography Tours are three-fold: one, you occasionally get opportunities to go on trips that are not normally available for single photographers on their own, like the 2010 Arctic Ice Floe Trip. Two, you get to bypass the small operators' normal clientele, which can include a mix of people that may or may not be interested in wildlife photography. On each of our tours, you will be with a group of wildlife photographers intent on getting to the best spots and utilizing every last second of daylight to maximize your photographic opportunities. And finally, three, if you do have photography-related questions, I will be there to provide answers and advice throughout your tour.
Please check below for our confirmed and tentative tours / dates for 2012 and 2013. If you would like to be updated when new trips are finalized or existing ones are changed, please contact me. |
Spirit Bear Photography Tour - Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia - Spirit Bears, Grizzly Bears, Humpback Whales, and Salmon
Trip Departure Point: Prince Rupert, B.C. -- Trip Conclusion Point: Bella Bella, B.C.
Trip Dates: October 9th-17th, 2012 (maximum 6 participants) (SOLD OUT)
Trip Cost: $5095 + hst from Prince Rupert to Bella Bella (includes accommodation and dinner in Prince Rupert on the 9th)
Availability: Contact John to reserve a 2012 spot now! or Click for more information on the 2012 Spirit Bear Photo Tour!
Photos from the Great Bear Rainforest
A once-in-a-lifetime week-long tour into the Great Bear Rainforest on the British Columbia coast in search of spirit bears (white kermode bears - a black bear with a double recessive gene that is only found in a small area on the B.C. Coast), grizzly bears, black bears, humpback whales, bald eagles, and salmon. Join me aboard the 71-foot Ocean Light II ketch (sailboat) along one of the world's most spectacular coastlines for a tour that includes some unbelievable opportunities for wildlife viewing and photography and takes you to some of the best bear viewing
locations in the world!
Click for more information on the Spirit Bear Photo Tour in the Great Bear Rainforest!
This trip requires a moderate to good level of fitness and may involve hiking on uneven and wet terrain. Weather conditions may be variable and participants must be
prepared for adverse weather including torrential rain
and cold temperatures. Although conditions may be
difficult at times, the rewards are worth it, as you become
part of just a small percentage of people who have explored
the wonders of the Great Bear Rainforest. Maximum six participants (plus John).
Contact John now to reserve a spot on the 2012 Spirit Bear Photo Tour
Queen Charlotte Islands Photography Tour - Haida Totems, Humpback Whales, Sea Lions, Dolphins, Intertidal Life, Spectacular Scenery
Trip Departure Point: Sandspit, British Columbia
Trip Dates: June 30th - July 8th, 2012 (maximum 7 participants) (1 of 7 spots remaining)
Trip Cost: $4095 + hst, all-inclusive from Sandspit ** Spouses, partners or roomates travel for $3295 + hst!
Availability: Contact John to book now! or Click for more information on the Queen Charlotte Islands Photo Tour!
Haida Totems at Ninstints, the San Christoval Mountains, and Steller Sea Lions
A full 7-day tour aboard the 71-foot ketch the Ocean Light II through the magnificent coastal forests, inlets, bays, and waters of Haida Gwaii, the Queen Charlotte Islands. This is a photo tour unlike any of my other tours in that it doesn't just focus on one species or on any one particular type of photography. In fact, you'll get to shoot sunrises, sunsets, marine wildlife, ancient Haida culture, towering old-growth forests, alpine meadows, waterfalls, and even intertidal marine life like sea stars (starfish).
I am extremely excited about this new trip in 2012 and can't wait to see what awaits us in this magnificent coastal wilderness.
Click for more information on the Queen Charlotte Islands Photography Tour
Note: there will be some photo instruction on this tour as an added bonus. Participants will also be encouraged to share and critique images each evening.
This trip requires a moderate level of fitness. Expect the photography to be challenging, but rewarding! Maximum seven participants (plus John).
** Trip price includes accommodation, dinner, and breakfast in Sandspit on June 30th/July 1st.
Contact John if you are interested in reserving a spot on the Queen Charlotte Islands Photo Tour
Grizzly Bear Tour - Chilcotin Mountains - Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, Sockeye Salmon, Bald Eagles
Trip Departure Point: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Trip Dates: September 23rd-30th, 2012 (SOLD OUT) -- September 30th - October 5th, 2012 (SOLD OUT)
Trip Cost: 7-day $3995 + hst, all-inclusive from Vancouver -- 5-day $3395 + hst, all-inclusive from Vancouver
Availability: Contact John to reserve a 2012 spot now! or Click for more information on the 2012 Grizzly Bear Photo Tours!
Grizzly Bear Sow and Cub in the Chilcotin Mountains
A unique opportunity to photograph one of British Columbia's largest sockeye salmon runs in the remote fly-in Chilcotin wilderness. This is a new offering for wildlife photographers to a brand new destination that offers mountain grizzly bears (NOT coastal bears!) and black bears, as well as bald eagles, and a host of other wildlife, feeding on the brilliant red sockeye salmon. I visited this isolated region in 2008 and 2009 and was struck by the incredible potential it had for wildlife photography given its remote, difficult-to-get-to location in a stunning mountain setting, full of accommodating bears. I led my first tours there in 2010 and they were such a resounding success that more than half the 2010 participants came back again to photograph the bears in 2011! So please come join me for some amazing photography in one of Canada's premier grizzly bear photography locations.
Click for more information on the Grizzly Bear Photography Tour in the Chilcotin Mountains.
View images from the 2010 Grizzly Bear Photography Tours by Tour Participants
This trip requires a moderate level of fitness. The majority of the photography will be done from boats, with or without tripods/monopods. Expect the photography to be very challenging, but rewarding! Maximum five participants per tour (plus John).
Contact John if you are interested in reserving a spot on a 2012 Grizzly Bear Tour.
Khutzeymateen Spring Grizzly Bear Photography Tour - Grizzlies and Other Wildlife in the Northern Great Bear Rainforest
Trip Departure Point: Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Trip Dates: May 8th-16th, 2012 (maximum 6 participants) (SOLD OUT - waiting list only)
Trip Cost: $4295 + hst, all-inclusive from Prince Rupert **
Availability: Contact John to book now! or Click for more information on the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Photo Tour!
Photographs from the Great Bear Rainforest - Courtesy of Ocean Light II staff
I am thrilled to announce my first spring grizzly bear photography tour in May 2012 to the northern reaches of British Columbia's beautiful Great Bear Rainforest, including two full days in the world famous Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary. Join me for an exploratory trip up the coast of British Columbia north of Prince Rupert into the Khutzeymateen in search of grizzly bears, black bears, humpback whales, sea lions, and the magnificent coastal scenery of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Click for more information on the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Photography Tour
This trip requires a moderate level of fitness. Expect the photography to be challenging, but rewarding! Maximum six participants (plus John).
** Trip price includes accommodation, dinner, and breakfast in Prince Rupert on May 9th/10th.
Contact John if you are interested in reserving a spot on the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Photo Tour
Polar Bear Photography Tour - Eye to Eye with Arctic Wildlife on foot in Nunavut, Canada in the Canadian Arctic!
Trip Departure Point: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Trip Dates: November 9th-14th, 2012 (2 of 5 spots remaining) -- November 14th-19th, 2012 (SOLD OUT)
Trip Cost: $5995 + hst from Churchill (all-inclusive from Churchill to the Arviat polar bear cabins)
Availability: Contact John to reserve a 2012 spot now! or Click for more information on the 2012 Polar Bear Photo Tour!
Eye-to-eye with polar bears and other wildlife on foot in the Canadian Arctic!
I'm thrilled to announce this year's newest photography tour, a unique opportunity to photograph one of the world's most magnificent predators from ground level in the Canadian Arctic! This new trip is not just a polar bear trip, it's an epic arctic experience in a rugged, wild setting on the remote shores of Hudson Bay. This is getting you closer to polar bears than you ever dreamed possible, leaving you with memories you'll never forget. Rather than sitting high above the bears in a bus-like buggy in Churchill with hundreds of other photographers and buggies jostling for space, you'll be photographing polar bears and other arctic wildlife with me on foot in a small group (just five plus me!) on the remote arctic tundra 140 kilometers north of Churchill. This is a polar bear photography experience like no other!
Click for more information on the Polar Bear Photo Tour in the Canadian Arctic!
Participants can look forward to photographing from 1-10 polar bears per day, along with other wildlife. Expect the majority of the photography to be done from tripods or handheld from a standing or crouching position on the tundra. Participants should be mobile and fit enough to be able to comfortably walk 1-3 kilometers with a small amount of gear (on our short hikes, the heavier gear like tripods and big lenses is usually put on an atv or snowmobile).
Maximum 5 participants plus John.
Contact John now to reserve a spot on the 2012 Polar Bear Photography Tour
Here are Samples of Past Expedition-Style Trips that Canadian Wildlife Photography Tours offered:
Arctic Ice Floe Edge Tour - Pond Inlet, Nunavut - Polar Bears, Narwhals, Bowhead Whales
Trip Departure Point: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Trip Dates: June 12-22, 2010 (note: trip is no longer available!)
Trip Cost: $7995, all-inclusive from Ottawa
Availability: View the pictures from the June 2010 trip in the new Canadian Arctic Wildlife and Landscape Photography Gallery
Polar Bear Photograph from Churchill, Manitoba
A once-in-a-lifetime expedition trip with Canada's premier Arctic tour operator. Limited to just seven photographers. We will be leaving Ottawa on the morning of June 12th and flying north 2,500 kilometres to the small Arctic community of Pond Inlet, on Baffin Island. We will depart Pond Inlet on June 13th and travel across the polar ice via snowmachine and komatik sled to the Arctic ice floe edge, where we will set up camp for seven days of 24-hour light, in the hopes of photographing polar bears, narwhals, bowhead whales, fur seals, bearded seals, gyrfalcons, ivory gulls, snow geese, and a host of other arctic species, along with Arctic scenery including Baffin Island and Bylot Island.
This trip requires a moderate level of fitness and may involve hiking moderate distances with camera gear (3-5 kms). Maximum six participants (plus John).
Contact John for details on potential 2012 and 2013 polar bear trips and arctic photo adventures
Tundra Tour - Baker Lake, Nunavut - Caribou, Muskox, Fall Colours, and Northern Lights
Trip Departure Point: Baker Lake, Nunavut, Canada (via Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Trip Dates: August 27 - September 3, 2010 (note: trip is no longer available)
Trip Cost: $3995 + gst, all-inclusive from Baker Lake, Nunavut **
Contact John for more information on potential 2012 and 2013 Tundra Tours!
Caribou and Northern Lights Photographs from the Yukon
A wildlife and nature photographer's dream trip to the northern tundra, home of the barrenground caribou, muskox, tundra wolf, and grizzly bear. We will fly into a remote camp operated by the most trusted adventure outfit in Nunavut for six full days on the tundra photographing caribou, muskox, ptarmigan, fox, fall colours, northern lights, and more. This is one of the trips I'm most looking forward to this year!
The company I am contracting with for this trip has hosted Galen Rowell, Art Wolfe, and a host of big-name professional wildlife and nature photographers over the years intent on photographing the best that the barrenlands have to offer. This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime spectacular trip to the edge of the Thelon, some of Canada's wildest arctic terrain!!
Click for more information on the Tundra Wildlife Photography Tour in Nunavut
This trip requires a moderate level of fitness and will involve some moderate hiking (2-5 kms per day). Maximum six participants (plus John).
** not including meals in Baker Lake
Contact John if you are interested in reserving a spot on future 2012 and 2013 Tundra Tours
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