Photo Tours - Van Os Photo Safaris (original) (raw)

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We offer photo tours to the top destinations for wildlife, landscape and cultural photography. Our trips are designed by photographers, for photographers of any skill level.

Jaguars & Wildlife of Brazil's Pantanal

Join a jaguar photography tour in Brazil’s Pantanal. Explore by small boat with expert guides to photograph wild jaguars, exotic birds, and diverse wetland wildlife.

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Cruise Alaska’s Glacier Bay for whale photography and wild seascapes. Capture bears, sea otters, and calving glaciers from small boats and coastal shores.

Svalbard: Into the Ice

A nine-day photo cruise in Svalbard for outstanding photography of polar bears, walruses, seals, nesting seabirds and other Arctic wildlife. Shoot expansive Arctic landscapes of rugged coastal mountains, glaciers, and icescapes.

Puffins on the Fly

Iceland is home to more than half the world’s population of Atlantic puffins—as well as fantastic numbers of other seabirds that nest on its towering cliffs. We photograph at scenic Grimsey Island, one of the country's most amazing puffin colonies, for 5 shooting days.

Zambia Unfiltered

Experience a thrilling photographic safari through Zambia’s wild landscapes. Capture leopards, elephants, and diverse birdlife in pristine habitats. With expert guides, exclusive access, and breathtaking scenery, this journey offers incredible wildlife encounters and stunning photo opportunities in Africa’s untamed heart.

Yellowstone Bison Rut

Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley, the “Serengeti of North America,” offers unmatched opportunities to photograph massive bison herds during their dramatic breeding season. This adventure begins at Yellowstone’s north entrance and explores both the Lamar and Hayden Valleys, capturing bison, elk, bears, wolves, and more in golden light. The journey concludes at Mammoth Hot Springs and a farewell dinner in Bozeman.

Botswana Wildlife

Two incredibly productive wildlife areas—private Mashatu Game Reserve and Chobe National Park. Photograph elephants and other animals up close and below eye level from waterhole photo blinds. Shoot from boats specially designed for photographers for a unique below eye-level perspective.

Nordic Autumn and Aurora

Our new Nordic Autumn and Aurora tour offers a unique opportunity to capture Norway’s breathtaking landscapes in the ideal season. With stunning fjords, colorful forests, and increased aurora activity, autumn provides spectacular photography conditions without winter’s crowds and harsh weather. Enjoy seven days of shooting iconic locations in optimal light and comfort.

Wild Madagascar

Completely isolated for nearly 100 million years, Madagascar has evolved into an amazing collection of photogenic endemic plants and animals. Travel with private chartered flights and spacious ground transportation to the island’s best photo spots.

Patagonian Puma Photography Tour

Track and photograph wild pumas in Patagonia’s Torres del Paine. Join a guided photo tour for rare encounters, dramatic scenery, and Andean condor sightings.

Timeless Landscapes of Slovenia and Croatia

Imagine stepping into a storybook where every scene is a work of art. That is what awaits you in Slovenia and Croatia—two tiny, enchanting photogenic countries that embody “Europe in miniature.” Photograph the best of their national park landscapes, countryside, and medieval architecture on this trip.

Yosemite National Park

The towering rock walls that form the bones of Yosemite’s spectacular valley are at their finest in the warm low-angled light of fall. The Merced River flows at a gentler pace and autumn-hued foliage and granite peaks are framed in mirror-like waters. Yosemite in autumn is a never-ending source of inspiration.

Caddo Lake Women’s Photography Tour

Caddo Lake in East Texas serves as the setting for the next addition to our well-received Women's Photography series—trips open exclusively to women of all photography skills. It offers a unique opportunity to explore this extraordinary region in the company of other women photographers.

Caddo Lake & Big Cypress Bayou in Autumn

Autumn brings a blaze of color to the bald cypress trees of Caddo Lake and the Big Cypress Bayou in Texas. Explore quiet backwaters by boat and photograph the graphic quality of these stately trees as ethereal fog drifts amidst the gnarled trunks as the sun rises and sets.

Bosque del Apache & White Sands National Park

Enjoy the pleasure of wildlife and landscape photography all rolled into one week of intense photography in New Mexico. We are up early for first light for the exciting snow geese “blast off” at Bosque del Apache with early entrance permit at White Sands National Park. Prime trip dates for birds.

Dalmatian Pelicans & Meteora Monasteries of Greece

Dalmatian pelicans—world’s largest, rarest, and most photogenic—in breeding plumage, and the spectacular Meteora monasteries landscapes are featured in this diverse winter photo tour in Northern Greece.

Rwanda Photography Tour

An extraordinary nine-day photography safari exploring Rwanda’s wildlife, landscapes, and culture—featuring five Mountain Gorilla treks and a classic African safari including the Big Five in Akagera National Park. Led by Joe and Mary Ann McDonald.

Japan's Winter Wildlife

Incredible photographic access to snow monkeys, Japanese cranes, whooper swans, white-tailed and Steller's sea eagles in snowy landscapes. One of Earth's finest—yet little-known—winter wildlife shoots. Ranks in Joe Van Os' Top 10 wildlife photo trips in the world!

Yellowstone in Winter

Capture images of the very best of Yellowstone’s snowy interior—unique geothermal features, snow-encrusted landscapes, and iconic wildlife—with an expert leader who knows the park intimately. Flexible itinerary with five snow coach days and short walks to explore geothermal areas and landscapes.

Tanzania Wildlife Photography Safari

Join our Tanzania Wildlife Photography Safari and capture the spectacular experience of the Serengeti calving season at the beginning of the Great Migration cycle. Continue further to photograph the enormous variety of African wildlife in Ngorongoro Crater, called “Nature’s Eden”. You will be guided by expert leaders and dedicated local teams focused on helping you create your most powerful and meaningful images.

Bhutan Photo Safari

Join our Bhutan Photo Safari alongside expert local guides and our Van Os Photo Safaris leader and experience one of the world’s most visually magnificent and spiritually compelling destinations. Photograph sacred festivals, monastery life and daily life, Himalayan landscapes, and quiet moments of devotion. Create photographs that reflect Bhutan’s extraordinary beauty, as well as the profound spiritual and cultural depth of this remarkable Himalayan kingdom.

Snow Leopards of Ladakh

Snow leopards are the Holy Grail of big cat photography. Here is a rare chance to see and photograph them in the wild. No tent camping—reside in the best available lodge amidst a backdrop of the awesome Himalayas. Dedicated vehicles dramatically shorten our hiking distance to these shy cats.

Great Gray Owls of the North Woods

Photograph these magnificent birds of prey, the “Phantoms of the Forest,” in the remote forests of central Alberta. Three full shooting days provide many opportunities to capture intimate photos of the great gray owls during the snowiest month of the year.

Gray Whales of Mexico's Baja Peninsula

Photograph Pacific gray whales within touching distance. Capture images of blue and humpback whales, dolphins, Baja's desert landscapes, unique Boojum “trees” and timeless Mexican colonial architecture.

Florida Birds

Florida’s East Coast has become a great new focal point for nature photographers from all over the world. Shoot several exciting wading bird colonies at close range including wood storks, spoonbills, herons and egrets plus the world’s highest density of nesting ospreys—by boat and on shore.

Bolivia & Chile Photography Tour

Join us on a journey into landscapes that feel removed from ordinary experience—places where silence is profound, distances are deceptive, and light transforms everything it touches. From the textured austerity of the Atacama Desert to the surreal reflections of the Uyuni Salt Flats, the experience is as much about perception as it is about photography.

Sri Lanka Wildlife Photography Tour

Join our Sri Lanka Wildlife Photography Tour and photograph Sri Lankan leopards, sloth bears, elephants, unusual bird species, and rare nocturnal wildlife across Wilpattu and Kumana, guided by expert Sri Lankan naturalists and a Van Os Photo Safaris leader focused on helping you create your most beautiful and extraordinary images.

Patagonian Puma Photography Tour

Track and photograph wild pumas in Patagonia’s Torres del Paine. Join a guided photo tour for rare encounters, dramatic scenery, and Andean condor sightings.

Ultimate Tigers

Photograph the world’s largest living cats and other Indian wildlife for six shooting days in one of the world’s most impressive tiger reserves. Special government photography permits in Bandhavgarh National Park allow unrestricted daytime entry for three full days. Only two photographers per safari vehicle.

Costa Rica Birds & Wildlife

Photograph colorful birds in Costa Rica’s top cloud and rainforests. Focus on resplendent quetzals in prime photo habitats with expert naturalist guidance.

Italy’s Dolomite Mountains in Spring

One of the most photogenic mountain landscapes on Earth. Vertical walls of pale gray rock rise steeply above foothills forested with chartreuse larches, sweeping wildflower meadows, deep valleys, crystal-clear alpine lakes and charming mountain towns.