About Me

I'm Tobin Yates, a filmmaker and photographer based in Seattle. I assist National Geographic wildlife photographer Mike McGovern, and I make documentaries, short films and still frames about landscape and the people whose lives are tied to them.

I grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, and studied Environmental Studies, with a minor in Climate Science, at Dartmouth College. While there I worked as a video intern for Dartmouth's Communications Office and a photo and media intern for its Sustainability Office. My senior thesis became a film: Umbigo do Pantanal, a 16-minute documentary shot over six days in Brazil's Pantanal.

I work across sit-down interviews, handheld and drone cinematography, and stills, and I'm most at home in difficult conditions: long approaches, bad weather and early starts. In summer 2025 I lived at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge as the Alpine Steward, hiking Mt. Moosilauke every day to document the alpine zone and how it's changing.

I make this work to connect people to the natural world. I believe wonder is the first step toward caring for it.

When I'm not filming, I'm backpacking, climbing mountains or slacklining. Recent summers have taken me across Iceland, Alaska and New Zealand.