RV Photo Shoot: The Animals of the West

By Mike Wendland | Updated Dec 8, 2015

I've spent much of the past few weeks editing and distilling down the 2,800-plus photos I've taken on our western trips over the past couple of years and thought I'd share my top 12 favorite photos of the animals of the West with you.

Me, Jennifer and Tai at ake McDonald, Glacier National Park — Me, Jennifer and Tai at Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

I have truly embraced photography now as my main hobby and as we traveled through the western states, I've realized that landscape and wildlife photography are the photo specialties I enjoy the most.

I have a lot to learn about this hobby. And, alas, more gear to buy. Man, photography is just as expensive as RVing. The next lens I want costs $10,000!

That lens may never get bought. But thanks to our Roadtrek Roadtrek CS Adventurous XL – which Jennifer calls our “Adventuremobile” – I am able to get to some pretty remote places and see some beautiful creatures.

(If you want to see an updated list of all the photo and tech gear I use, click here.)

The mobility and ease of navigation of our Class B motorhome makes it ideal for outdoor photographers. From winding, steep mountain roads, to dusty, bumpy backwoods trails, our Roadtrek is indeed an “Adventuremobile.”

As an added bonus, it makes a pretty comfortable shooting blind to get really close to the critters.

So… here are my twelve favorite animal pics from our trips west.

Wyoming horses — Horses on a ranch north of Dubois, Wyoming. While not technically wildlife, they were stunningly beautiful. They kept nuzzling me as I snapped photos.

Mountain Goats at Glacier National Park, Montana

Young Wyoming Grizzly being protected from road traffic in the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Wyoming Elk — Bull Elk, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Montana Bison — Bison, National Bison Range, Montana

Black bear cub nibbling berries at Glacier National Park, Montana — Black bear cub nibbling berries and keeping one wary eye on me at Glacier National Park, Montana

Bighorn Seep - Glacier National Park, Montana — Bighorn Sheep, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Bull Moose, Glacier National Park, Montana

Mule deer doe, Glacier National Park, Montana — Mule deer doe, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Pronghorn Antelope, National Bison Range, Montana, Animals of the West — Pronghorn Antelope, National Bison Range, Montana

Tai, treeing a squirrel alomg a mountain stream near Togwotee Pass, Wyoming — Tai, treeing a squirrel along a mountain stream near Togwotee Pass, Wyoming

Mike Wendland

Published on 2015-12-08

Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy-award-winning Journalist, Podcaster, YouTuber, and Blogger, who has traveled with his wife, Jennifer, all over North America in an RV, sharing adventures and reviewing RV, Camping, Outdoor, Travel and Tech Gear for the past 12 years. They are leading industry experts in RV living and have written 18 travel books.

12 Responses to “RV Photo Shoot: The Animals of the West”

August 21, 2015at11:16 am, Amy Jean Cleary Swann said:

Great photos! I especially like the cub, moose and marmot!

September 08, 2014at5:37 pm, Emily said:

Gorgeous photos! You have a good eye (and good equipment). Thanks for sharing!

September 08, 2014at9:13 am, Julie said:

I think the one of the horses is my absolute favorite. The colors are so striking . . beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing it!

September 02, 2014at3:02 pm, Doc said:

Great pics Mike. Wildlife photography is something I’d like to do more of too.

Jennifer’s going to hate me but…Art Wolfe offers some great photo workshops that teaches a lot about wildlife photography. Art is so good he can command a lot of money for his workshops too.