Yellowstone Then & Now

Yellowstone Explored presents

Yellowstone Then & Now

Stand where the first photographers stood. Find each historic view, take your own photo in the same spot, and we'll print them side by side in your own book.

72historic sites

14road sections

13wildlife stops

1871–1964Jackson, Haynes, Ansel Adams & more

0 of 0

Test version. Checking offline download… Photos you add stay on this phone.

Then

Now

Your caption

The story

Why this spot matters

Find the spot

Open in Maps

Access
Photographer
Archive

Gold marks this site. Green dots are sites you have photographed. Tap any dot to jump to it.

Help

How Yellowstone Then & Now works

Find the spot where a historic photo was taken, stand where the photographer stood, take your own photo, and we print the two side by side in your own book.

Find the spot. Pick a site from the list or tap Sites near me. Each site has directions, GPS coordinates and a map.
Match the photo. Line up the old view and take your picture. Drag the slider to compare then and now.
Make your book. In My Book, choose a size and cover, add notes and journal pages, then order a printed book, a PDF, or both.

Before your trip

Install it at home or at the hotel, on Wi-Fi. Most of Yellowstone has no cell service. Open the app once on Wi-Fi and wait until the bar under the menu says Ready for offline. After that every site, historic photo, story and map works with no signal.
Add it to your home screen. On iPhone, open the app in Safari, tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen. Always open it from that icon; that copy is the one that works offline and keeps your photos.
Turn on location. The first time you tap Sites near me, allow location. GPS works from satellites, so it finds you even with no cell service.
Browse the photos first. The Historic Photos tab shows every historic photo in the app, grouped by road section. It's a good way to pick the stops you most want to see.
Plan your route. Sites are grouped by road section in driving order, and the Lower Loop and Upper Loop buttons narrow the list to the part of the park you're driving that day.

In the park

Sites near me sorts every site nearest first and shows how far away each one is. Tap it again to go back to the normal list.
My photos shows only the sites where you've already added a photo, and the counter in the menu bar shows how many you've visited.
How exact is the spot? Each site shows a tag next to its coordinates:
- Good the photographer's position is well known.
- Approximate you're in the right area; walk around until the view lines up.
- Verify on site the exact spot is uncertain; use the photo and the "Look for" tips to find it.
Lining up the shot. Find the main feature in the old photo first, then move until nearby landmarks sit in the same places. Hold your phone sideways for most sites. Trees grow and roads move, so a close match is the goal, not a perfect one.
Wildlife stops (section 15) have no set location. Photograph the animal anywhere you see it and it pairs with the historic photo.
Stay safe. Stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas; the ground can be thin crust over boiling water. Stay at least 25 yards from bison, elk and other animals, and 100 yards from bears and wolves. Never stop in the road to take a photo.

Your photos

Add a photo by tapping Add your photo on any site. You can take a new picture or choose one from your library. The date is read from the photo automatically.
Adjust crop sets how much of your photo shows. Slide toward Whole photo so nothing is cut off, or zoom in and drag the photo to frame it. Your crop is used in the book and the share video.
Captions and notes. Type a caption under your photo on the site page. In My Book, add notes under each photo; they print in handwriting.
Photos from past trips. In My Book, tap Choose photos under Past trips. We read each photo's date and location and match it to the nearest site. Check the matches before adding.
Pick the historic photo. Many sites have more than one historic photo. Tap a small photo under Choose the photo for your book to swap. Only the photo you pick is printed.

Your book

Sizes: an 11 × 8.5 in hardcover photo book on premium photo paper, or a smaller 9 × 7 in softcover. Both are landscape.
Covers: Lodge, Postcard, Full photo or Side by side. Photos on the cover picks which site's photos are used.
What's printed: each site gets two facing pages, the historic photo with its caption and story on the left and your photo with your caption, date and notes on the right. Buttons, photo pickers and tags in the app are never printed. To leave out a site's historic story, open Edit the words on these pages and switch it off.
Price: the hardcover is $39.95 for up to 24 pages and the softcover is $27.99 for up to 32 pages. Each extra page after that is $0.40, so each extra site (two pages) adds $0.80. My Book shows your price as you go.
Why a page minimum? The printer needs at least 24 pages to bind a hardcover and 32 for a softcover. If you have only a few sites, we fill the rest with lined notes pages you can write on after the book arrives. Add more sites, journal pages or the photo gallery and they're replaced.
Extras: journal pages (typed or lined to write on), the wildlife & fish log, and a gallery of historic photos at the end. Switch any of them off if you don't want them printed.
Digital copy (PDF): order your book as a PDF on its own, or add it to a printed book. It arrives by email right away, so you can share it while the printed copy is on its way.
See it first. The cover and every page in My Book show exactly what will print.

Sharing

On any site where you've added a photo, tap Share slider video under Drag to compare. In about 8 seconds you get a short video of the slider sweeping from then to now, ready for Facebook, Instagram, Messages, or Save Video to your camera roll.
The video is made on your phone, so you can make it in the park and post it when you have a signal.

Your account & moving your book

Sign in to save your book online. Tap the person icon in the menu bar (or Sign in in My Book), enter your email, and type in the 6-digit code we send you. No password needed.
Once you're signed in, your book saves to your account whenever you have a connection and shows up on any device where you sign in. In the park it keeps working offline and syncs later.
Delete your account any time from the same screen. It removes your saved book and photos from our servers.
No account? Building the book is easier on a big screen. On your phone, open My Book and tap Save book file, then AirDrop it to your Mac, or save it to Files or iCloud Drive.
On the computer, open the app, go to My Book and tap Open a book file. Photos, captions, notes, crops and settings all come with it. It works the other way too.
A book with 40 photos is about 20 MB; AirDrop or iCloud Drive handle that more reliably than email.

Questions

Where are my photos stored?: On your device, inside the app. If you sign in, your book and the photos in it are also saved to your private account so they show up on any device. Only you can see them. The originals stay in your camera roll as always.
Will I lose anything if I delete the app?: If you're signed in, no: sign in again and your book comes back. If you aren't signed in, deleting the app or clearing its website data removes your book (your camera roll is untouched), so sign in or tap Save book file first.
Does it use my data plan?: Only for the first download, for updates, and when you share a video or send your book file. In the park it runs entirely offline.
How do updates work?: When you open the app with internet, it downloads only what has changed and reloads itself. Your photos and book are never touched by an update.
Who owns the historic photos?: They come from public collections: the National Park Service, USGS, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and others. Almost all are in the public domain. A few are marked Permission and are only printed once the archive agrees.
Why does a photo say "Prints small"?: That historic photo only exists as a small scan, so it would print smaller on the page. Pick another photo for that site for a full-size print.

Still need help?

Email us and we'll get back to you within a day or two.

tperkes@yellowstoneexplored.com

More trip planning at YellowstoneExplored.com

Yellowstone Then & Now

Why this spot matters

Drag to compare

Find the spot

All historic photos

Design your book

Add photos from earlier Yellowstone trips

Trip journal pages

Wildlife & fish log

Order your book

How Yellowstone Then & Now works

Still need help?

Save your book to your account

Find the spot

Match the photo

Make your book