11 Photography Trips Our Guests Can’t Get Enough Of — Returning for 2028

Some images journeys sound good on paper. Others have a manner of filling departure after departure.

Over the previous three years, we have watched photographers select the identical experiences repeatedly; and, in lots of circumstances, fill each out there spot!

So as we launch our 2028 images journey schedule, we took a more in-depth have a look at which adventures have constantly confirmed their reputation.

The result’s this listing: 11 images journeys which have repeatedly reached capability throughout our 2025–2027 departures and are returning for 2028.

From chasing the Northern Lights in Alaska to photographing wild horses within the Utah desert, monitoring elusive leopards in Africa and crusing by way of the Galápagos, these aren’t merely journeys to lovely locations. They’re fastidiously designed alternatives to spend extra time behind your digital camera, in outstanding environments, with photographers who perceive what it takes to create extraordinary pictures!

The 2028 schedule launches in the present day!

Here are 11 adventures price placing in your calendar.

There are few photographic experiences extra unpredictable; or extra rewarding than watching the aurora ignite the Alaskan sky.

Our Ultimate Northern Lights workshop has been one among Backcountry Journeys’ hottest images experiences, and our numbers again that up;  that is the highest departure that sells out time and time once more, yr after yr.

The workshop is predicated in Fairbanks, positioned instantly beneath the Auroral Oval and surrounded by the darkish skies, dry local weather, and lengthy winter nights that make Interior Alaska such a compelling vacation spot for aurora images.

But photographing the Northern Lights is not so simple as pointing a digital camera towards the sky. Aurora images requires adapting to altering situations, balancing publicity with motion within the sky, composing foregrounds, and figuring out when to remain put and when to maneuver. That’s why the expertise is constructed round flexibility. Each night’s capturing schedule can change primarily based on aurora forecasts and climate situations, providing you with the very best likelihood of being in the appropriate place when the lights seem.

And if you’re not photographing the aurora, you may have alternatives to work on landscapes, low-light images, lengthy exposures, and different strategies, all with skilled photographers there that can assist you refine your method.

2028 is your likelihood to expertise one among our most constantly in style workshops for your self.

Explore Ultimate Northern Lights

Few wildlife images experiences can match the spectacle of Alaska’s brown bears gathering at Brooks Falls.

Deep inside Katmai National Park, Brooks Falls affords a unprecedented alternative to {photograph} coastal brown bears fishing for salmon. The space is residence to one of many highest concentrations of brown bears on Earth, and in the course of the workshop you may spend three nights primarily based at Brooks Falls, providing you with substantial time within the subject fairly than merely passing by way of for a fast viewing.

That prolonged time issues for wildlife photographers. Bears aren’t posing for the digital camera. They’re fishing, swimming, taking part in, interacting, and transferring by way of altering mild. One second may name for a quick shutter pace to freeze a bear launching after a salmon; the subsequent may reward a slower method that emphasizes motion and ambiance.

And the bears aren’t the one topics. Moose, foxes, wolves, and Bald Eagles can even make appearances all through the expertise.

Reaching this distant wilderness by float aircraft or boat is a part of the journey. Once you are there, the purpose is straightforward: spend as a lot high quality time as doable watching, anticipating, and photographing one among North America’s most spectacular wildlife scenes.

With a number of sold-out departures from 2025–2027, photographers have already demonstrated simply how compelling this expertise could be.

Explore Brooks Falls:

Patagonia is a spot the place the panorama alone might fill a whole reminiscence card.
But add pumas to the equation, and the expertise turns into one thing fully totally different.

This 10-day journey combines two of essentially the most compelling types of images Patagonia has to supply: panorama and wildlife.

The Paine Massif rises dramatically from the Patagonian steppe, creating alternatives to {photograph} towering granite peaks, glaciers, valleys, and the area’s famously unpredictable mild. A ship tour to Grey Glacier provides one other perspective on the panorama.

Then the main focus shifts to one among Patagonia’s most elusive predators.

Puma trackers lead the group by way of Torres del Paine in quest of wild cats, utilizing their data of the animals and terrain to assist photographers discover and {photograph} them of their pure setting.

It’s a uncommon mixture: dramatic landscapes and one among South America’s most iconic predators in the identical photographic journey.

And photographers have responded. Several of our departures reached capability between 2025 and 2027, and with teams restricted to simply eight visitors, that is an journey designed round intimate entry and time within the subject!

Explore Patagonia: Torres del Paine & Pumas

There is one thing notably compelling about photographing an animal that refuses to be contained.

In the distant desert plains of western Utah, free-roaming mustangs transfer throughout sagebrush, salt flats, and distant ridgelines. The result’s a wildlife images expertise with an unusually robust sense of place.

Rather than photographing horses towards a managed or predictable background, you may have alternatives to seize them as a part of the panorama; galloping by way of open nation, interacting inside their bands, or standing towards dramatic dawn and sundown skies.

That mixture makes this journey particularly attention-grabbing for photographers who need to transfer past easy wildlife portraits. Composition turns into simply as necessary as the topic itself.

The altering western mild can remodel the identical herd from one session to the subsequent, whereas skilled guides assist you perceive herd conduct and anticipate alternatives fairly than merely react to them.

Year after yr, Utah’s Wild Horses has reached capability. For 2028, the wild horses are again.

Explore Wild Horses of Utah

Yellowstone is a type of uncommon locations the place you’ll be able to arrive with one photographic purpose and go away with a wholly totally different portfolio.

The park protects one of many largest intact ecosystems within the United States, supporting a unprecedented number of wildlife. Bison, elk, pronghorn, grizzly bears, moose, coyotes, Bald Eagles, osprey, and numerous different species can all grow to be photographic topics.

But Yellowstone is not merely a wildlife guidelines.
The panorama itself is a part of the story. Mountain ranges, rivers, forests, geothermal options, meadows, and dramatic skies give photographers the chance to create environmental portraits fairly than remoted animal pictures.

This vehicle-based safari is designed round maximizing time within the subject, with skilled wildlife photographers serving to you make choices about composition, mild, conduct, and digital camera approach as alternatives develop.

If Yellowstone has been sitting in your images bucket listing, 2028 could be the yr to lastly put it in your viewfinder.

Explore Yellowstone Wildlife Safari

Sri Lanka affords one thing wildlife photographers are all the time on the lookout for: outstanding animals, distinctive environments, and alternatives that really feel genuinely totally different from the standard safari expertise.

The centerpiece is the Sri Lankan leopard, a singular subspecies discovered nowhere else. The journey visits two prime habitats with robust leopard viewing alternatives, whereas additionally in search of out the elusive sloth bear.

But the photographic selection extends nicely past the animals themselves.

Forested lakes, rocky outcrops, lagoons, and coastal scrub create dramatically totally different environments for wildlife imagery. The result’s a portfolio with better visible variety than a visit targeted on a single panorama or species.

And as a result of Sri Lanka’s leopards could be lively throughout sunlight hours, photographers have significant alternatives to work with pure mild fairly than relying fully on daybreak and nightfall encounters.

In 2028, you’ll be able to expertise this distinctive nook of the wildlife images world for your self.

Explore Kings of the Jungle: Sri Lanka

Caddo Lake is a type of locations the place ambiance turns into the topic.

The Southern Cypress Swamps mix winding waterways, ancient-looking cypress timber, Spanish moss, fall foliage, mist, and reflections to create an setting that feels nearly otherworldly.

A personal boat gives entry to the winding bayous and hidden corners of the lake, permitting photographers to discover totally different compositions all through the day and work with altering mild.

Wildlife is a part of the expertise, too. Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons, Prothonotary Warblers, Wood Ducks, and different birds inhabit the encircling wetlands.

For panorama photographers, the journey affords an opportunity to decelerate and focus on temper, coloration, reflections, layers, and intimate scenes. For wildlife photographers, it provides one other dimension to the expertise.

Sometimes essentially the most memorable panorama is one you did not know existed.

Explore Southern Cypress Swamps: Caddo Lake

There are leopards. And then there are black leopards.

Deep in Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau, Backcountry Journeys visits a personal conservancy recognized for distinctive leopard exercise and memorable biodiversity. The area has grow to be notably famend for its melanistic black leopards, giving photographers the chance to pursue one among Africa’s most elusive and visually putting topics.

And the expertise is not restricted to at least one species.
Lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinos, Grevy’s zebras, reticulated giraffes, wild canine, and different wildlife inhabit the area. Private constitution flights additionally assist scale back journey time and maximize time behind the digital camera.

For photographers fascinated by massive cats, this is a chance to pursue a topic that’s uncommon even by African safari requirements!

Explore Black Leopard Photo Safari

Not each images journey must take you throughout an ocean, and even throughout the nation.

Vermont in autumn affords one among North America’s most recognizable seasonal landscapes, however the actual photographic attraction goes far past colourful timber.

Rolling mountains, quiet lakes, historic barns, farmhouses, church buildings, covered-country roads, and small villages present layers of material all through the journey.

Early mornings can convey fog throughout tranquil lakes and maple forests. Later within the day, heat autumn mild can illuminate historic farmyards and rural landscapes.

It’s the sort of vacation spot that rewards photographers who get pleasure from slowing down and on the lookout for relationships between coloration, structure, panorama, and lightweight.

This journey constantly sells out fast, demonstrating that generally the classics stay classics for a motive.

Explore Vermont Fall Colors

If there’s one place on Earth the place the road between wildlife images and exploration appears to vanish, it might be the Galápagos.

The islands are residence to wildlife and landscapes discovered nowhere else on Earth, and our Wild Galapagos: Luxe Photo Safari combines that extraordinary biodiversity with the consolation of a luxurious yacht.

The ship serves as your base as you discover distant islands, with versatile landings and alternatives for intimate wildlife encounters.
The expertise can be notably compelling for photographers as a result of the themes aren’t confined to conventional safari environments.

Marine iguanas, large tortoises, sea lions, birds, and different endemic species share the islands with stark volcanic landscapes and weird pure formations.

That means your portfolio can transfer seamlessly between wildlife portraits, environmental pictures, landscapes, and intimate particulars.

For photographers who’ve dreamed of seeing the Galápagos by way of a digital camera, this is a chance to do it with a extra intimate, all-inclusive method.

Explore Wild Galapagos: Luxe Photo Safari

Located midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, this Arctic Archipelago seems like one other world. Mountains rise above fjords and ice flows, glaciers meet the ocean, and large expanses of Arctic wilderness stretch towards the horizon.

And then there’s the wildlife.

Svalbard is residence to polar bears, whereas its nutrient-rich waters entice walruses, seals, whales, and large seabird colonies. The result’s an expedition the place each day can convey a wholly totally different photographic alternative.

The expertise takes place aboard an expensive small expedition ship designed particularly for photographers. With solely 12 passengers, two Backcountry Journeys images guides, and two native expedition leaders, the expertise affords an unusually intimate approach to discover the Arctic. Zodiac excursions present entry to shorelines, glaciers, ice, and wildlife whereas giving photographers new views on the panorama.
And in contrast to a standard safari, the setting itself is continually altering.

One day may convey a polar bear towards a wall of sea ice. Another may reveal a whale surfacing beside the ship. Later, the sunshine could flip an Arctic mountain vary right into a examine in blue, white, and shadow.

Svalbard departures reached capability between 2025 and 2027, for photographers on the lookout for one thing actually extraordinary, this can be the last word Arctic journey!

Explore Svalbard: Ultimate Arctic Expedition

There’s a motive these 11 journeys preserve discovering their manner onto photographers’ calendars!

They provide one thing that a typical trip typically cannot: time, entry, experience, and the chance to focus on images fairly than logistics.

Whether you are ready beneath an Alaskan sky for the aurora to seem, watching a brown bear launch right into a river at Brooks Falls, following wild horses by way of the Utah desert, looking Yellowstone’s valleys for wildlife, or crusing between the islands of the Galápagos, the vacation spot is simply a part of the expertise.

The relaxation comes from being there with a small group of photographers, skilled guides, and sufficient time to really make the images you’ve got traveled to date to create.

And these aren’t hypothetical favorites. Across our 2025–2027 departures, these journeys repeatedly reached capability.

Now, they’re returning for 2028.

If one among them has been sitting in your images bucket listing, there is not any higher time to start out planning!