DON MAMMOSER PHOTO TOURS - Parker, Colorado

George S.

My wife and I have been on several excursions with Don. We have been to Banff, Venice and The Dolomites, Colorado Rockies and Costa Rica. All experiences were well organized and supported. Food and lodgings are excellent, and instruction is always superb. This is no "Here's-your-subject. Shoot-way, have -fun." -trips. We always came away with a deeper photographic knowledge than we arrived with.

Here are a few samples from Costa Rica

Teresa T.

I just got home after participating in Don's Fall Colors Photo Tour in SW Colorado. Don is a great teacher! He's very knowledgeable about the area and got us to the right places at the right times. Don's easy going and gives great advice with camera settings and composition. I, also, went on a Galapagos Photo tour with Don in April 2022. The tours were very different but both very wonderful! Galapagos was mostly wildlife / birds. The guide / boat / crew were just the best! Ouray, Colorado Fall Colors Tour was landscape / scenery. Don is an expert in both! He takes fabulous photos and was most helpful to me in my quest to become a better photographer. Yes, you could do those trips on your own... but why? Don does all the leg work... finding the perfect photography spots and taking care of logistics. That makes for a happy me! Thanks, Don!

Laurie P.

At first, as I arrived home from my Costa Rican trip with Don Mammoser Photography, I just felt exhausted. Later, as I had a chance to start looking through my photos, a big smile crept over my face. Amazing. Just amazing. The chances we had, and the wildlife we saw. Wow.

If you travel with Don, you can expect to be on-the-go with as many photo opportunities made available as possible. One of the strengths of Don’s tours is that they are well planned and prepared. The group was kept small—just six of us and Don, and that turned out to be a great size. We had a bus that easily could have fit more than our 7-person group and all our luggage. The driver stayed with us the whole 10 days, even staying in the same lodges and eating meals with us. Our lodgings ranged from the “rustic” Quetzal Paradise Lodge and the Laguna del Lagarto to the luxurious Savegre Hotel Natural Reserve. The Sarapiqui stay was in a La Quinta Inn which was alongside the Sarapiqui River and had nice porches where you could sit out and enjoy the nature sounds. So...though the level of comfort varied—all seemed fine, with all the necessities.

Included as prepaid in the tour were hummingbird platforms. We had special access to these platforms for a set period of time. The tour also included a chance to use a blind where the king vulture was viewable, Frogs Heaven, where several types of frogs were captured for the day and put out for us to photograph, two trips to a farm where Quetzals were known to breed and nest, a trip to Dave and Dave’s Costa Rica Nature Park for different hummingbirds and forest birds, and a magnificent couple hours spent with Cope, a local artist and naturalist.

Other photographic opportunities were available as add-ons. Some of us paid $20-30 for an afternoon at Adolpho’s to photograph multiple kinds of jungle snakes, including the Fer de Lance, and to photograph hummingbirds. We also paid for a bat photo session after dark that was spectacularly fun, though, with using flash, we could only shoot one at a time. I also took a $15 walk in the forest to find the red manakin, a bird that was performing mating rituals, walking backwards on a single branch deep in the forest. That was really fun to see.

All meals are included on the trips. Quality varied, but most people were more than happy with the choices. Being a vegetarian and having a highly irritable stomach made things a little more difficult, but most places accommodated my special request for white rice or eggs, or bread etc. When I needed it. The fruit juices available with almost every meal were amazing. I definitely recommend bringing snacks like granola bars or trail mix along for in-between meals.

You will definitely get a lot of photography in on one of Don’s trips. You can get up early; stay up later, or wander the grounds on your own for extra photo opportunities. Or...take a few hours off. You can do a lot or a lot less—it’s up to you. I especially liked Laguna del Lagarto, with the multiple viewing platforms. It was nice to just sit for an hour or more and watch the nature around you, or walk along the lagoon banks just to see what might be going on. The stays in multiple locations and moving often could feel a little daunting, but the varied locations make it a richer experience.

Costa Ricans were very welcoming and seemed to enjoy all the wildlife encounters as much as we did. The guides were all locals and loved showing us their wonderful birds, animals and landscapes. It felt good to contribute to local economies and individuals who worked extra hard to make memorable experiences for all of us. If you want to come home with an almost dizzying number of wonderful photos and share a country and well-planned experience with enthusiastic others, this is the trip for you.

Sounder D.

My wife and I did Don's Florida Birds Workshop in April 2022. He had already scouted out some great locations. His knowledge of birds, and of bird photography, made the workshop a very educational and fun experience, and I definitely picked up some improved technique from his suggestions. Attached is a photo of a hard-to-find least bittern from the workshop. We will definitely be taking another workshop with Don in the future. Highly recommended.

Cookie S.

Don is a fantastic guide, a wonderful photographer and a knowledgeable mentor. I have been on four trips with him, and on each one, not only did I come back with amazing shots, I learned some valuable skills and tips. There are a few things that make Don an excellent trip guide. For one, he gets you to the spots where the action is. Also, he knows Sony, Canon and Nikon, so since there are always people with different brands of cameras, he can help each one with set up and solving problems. But my favorite aspect of trips with Don is his absolute unbridled enthusiasm. I just came back from the Galapagos with Don, a trip that was postponed twice because of Covid. The choice he made of our naturalist and boat were excellent. His trips are kept small, so I've never felt crowded or that there are too many people to get attention from Don if I needed help. On the way back from the Galapagos, as we were all in the airport, I booked myself on his Costa Rica trip. I look forward to many more years of traveling with Don!

John M.

Don leads a great tour. There were interesting things to shoot at each location. He helped with setting and getting to the right spot at the right time. Great group of people, most of which have been on multiple photo tours with Don. This is my second trip with Don and I am sure to go on more. You can't go wrong with going on this tour.

Steve W.

I have taken over 30 photo workshops/tours over the past 17 years. Five of them were with Don. There are several things that distinguish Don's tours from the rest. Don is easily the most enthusiastic trip leader I've ever had. Regardless of the time of day or the weather, he's there with a smile and ready to go. He is very knowledgeable about the areas he takes you and often has some "secret" spots where you can get away from the crowds, but still get the shots you're looking for. I also like that he keeps his group size small (6-8 people). Don is also very available during the shoots and is willing to give you as much help or as little help as you ask for. I highly recommend any workshop or tour offered by Don. You will be put in position to take some awesome photos and you will have a lot of fun as well.

Lee K.

I recently completed a Photo Trip with Don Mammoser to the Galapagos Islands. Originally the trip was planned for 2020 and then COVID hit. I could not have been happier with the level of correspondence as we worked through two reschedules in order to finally be able to take the trip.
Correspondence before the trip was outstanding, with great detail about what was needed in the packing department, the schedules we would be following, etc.
The trip itself was amazing and the Yacht and guide that Don scheduled was terrific, taking care of our every need. The photo opportunities were beyond expectations and the way everything was handled could not have been better.
I would highly recommend his photo trips (this was my second with him). He is not only a good teacher, but he makes every effort to provide the best shooting opportunities possible.