This is what I look like when I’m shooting pumas…
On location in Torres del Paine
This is my last post of 2023, so I thought I'd write a quick review of the year.
(If you read my December newsletter, you’ll recognise most of the stories, so apologies in advance…!)
Trips
I'm a wildlife photographer, so my main activity is going on photography trips around the world. I often visit Africa, but I was lucky enough to go to Greece, India and Chile as well this year.
Lake Kerkini, Greece
Wings of Gold
Going to a Greek lake to photograph Dalmatian pelicans doesn't count as a 'typical' trip for me! However, it was very sociable, and I was happy with my pictures—which is the ultimate test. I came back with so many favourites that pelicans now account for 18 of my Top 100 images!
Bandhavgarh, India
Stealth
I've been on several Exodus expeditions with Paul Goldstein, and he always manages to put the guests in the best possible position to take pictures. However, I was a bit frustrated on this trip. My photos just weren't very good, and there always seemed to be a stray branch or leaf or something that stopped me from getting the 'clean' tiger shot I wanted!
However, at least I got a tiger fight, a mock charge and more fresh mango lassis than I've ever had in my life…!
Mara River, Tanzania
Blue Bird
I've always considered myself pretty lucky in terms of the sightings I've had on photography trips, but my Mara river crossing experience was ridiculous. I started out hoping for just one decent sighting and ended up with 10 in the first week!
I didn't get any five-star pictures of the wildebeest, but I saw so many crossings in the morning that I usually had all afternoon to look for the big cats and other wildlife.
Torres del Paine, Chile
Jumping for Joy
The puma (or cougar or mountain lion) was the last big cat that I hadn't photographed—if you exclude snow leopards! I got on well with the rest of the group, and we had plenty of sightings. However, they generally didn't come during the golden hour, and we didn't see any young cubs or pumas hunting guanacos. That was a bit disappointing, and the weather was a constant challenge as it switched from sun to cloud to rain to snow to wind—sometimes all in one day!
The other problem was getting there. It took two whole days to reach Torres del Paine, and the 'arrival day' and 'departure day' turned a week-long trip into a 12-day marathon! I might have to stick to Africa in future…
Workshops
Mouth-watering
Sadly, I only managed to do one photography workshop this year with Handmade Workshops at the London Wetland Centre, but I'll be doing another one on Saturday 24 February if you want to come along. You can find out more on my Events page.
I also started recording paid webinars for a company called Wildlife Focal. I’ve only done a couple so far, but the founder Tony has promised me a weekly slot at some point. We’ll see what happens…
Finally, I was invited to a kind of workshop myself. BenQ were marketing their latest SW272U monitor, and they invited a few photographers and industry movers and shakers to check it out. Predictably, nothing worked first time, but I did get a free lunch and a free monitor out of it. (If anyone knows someone who can take it off my hands, please let me know…!)
I even met the Managing Editor of Digital Camera World, who ended up inviting me to write for him! However, nothing’s come of it so far…
Talks
Yours truly at the Athenaeum
I went to see Andy Skillen give a photography talk in Oxford, which was very enjoyable, but the only talk I delivered myself this year was for the Oxford University Society at the Athenaeum private members club in London in June.
It was a full house of 60 guests. They laughed at my jokes, appreciated my pictures and even broke into a spontaneous round of applause at one point, so I must've been doing something right!
A few of us ended up in the bar drinking champagne and whisky until after midnight, and I very much appreciated the company, the free drinks and the free taxi ride home!
Awards
White on Black
White on Black won me a nice Sprayway Grendel jacket worth £330 in Outdoor Photography's 'One thing this month... Winter Wildlife' competition.
I can also finally say that I'm the Wildlife Photographer of the Year! The only trouble is that it's nothing to do with the Natural History Museum—it's only the Media Innovator Awards run by Innovation in Business! Oh, well...
In other news…
Bear Gills won a Merit Certificate in Alva's Virasat 2023 International Wildlife Photo Competition and Exhibition.
Feeding Frenzy, This is Unbearable, A Watchful Eye and High as a Kite were finalists in Shoot The Frame's Shoot the Wild photo contests.
Eye of the Rhino was nominated for a People’s Vote Award in the reFocus Awards
And finally, one of my shots of a jaguar swimming with a caiman was included in The Times News in Pictures section.
Print Sales
Golden Pelican
Am I Blue?
Gnu Horizon
I sold a couple of prints in the last 12 months (Golden Pelican and Am I Blue?), and I've just taken an order for Gnu Horizon—although I haven’t been paid yet!
The owners of Muchenje have also ordered dozens of sepia and full-colour wildlife prints to hang in their guest rooms. I hope they’ll be up on the walls by the time I visit in May…!
Stock Sales
Eddie the Penguin
My stock and microstock sales have been growing steadily, which is nice, and Eddie the Penguin has now been downloaded over 3,000 times! Having said that, it's still only a drop in the ocean. Passive income is a great way to make money, but I only ever get around £500 a month.
Writing
As well as my weekly blog posts on Capture the Moment!, I occasionally write for Outdoor Photography magazine, and I had a piece on Backlit Photography published in issue 297.
My greatest disappointment this year has been the lack of new articles to write from Expert Photography. I used to be able to make up to £1,500 a month, but I haven’t written anything for them since September. I don't know what's going on, but let’s hope it changes in the New Year.
In the meantime, you can see all my published articles on my Expert Photography and Camera Reviews author pages.
Social Media
As usual, I post my Shot of the Week on social media on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, I ran out of five-star images, so I've had to make do with four-star ones for the last few weeks. However, I hope that will change when I get back from the Masai Mara in January!
In addition, I post pictures, videos and photography tips every morning on all my social media accounts (except Flickr and Pinterest):
Facebook: facebook.com/nickdalephotography
Instagram: instagram.com/nickdalephotography
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ndale/
Pinterest: pinterest.com/nickdalephotography
Threads: threads.net/@nickdalephotography
YouTube: youtube.com/@nickdalephotography
Verdict
It was a relatively quiet year for me, with only four quick trips abroad—all of which I had to pay for out of my own pocket! I enjoyed my travels, and 29 photos from 2023 managed to make it into my all-time Top 100, but I’m hoping for better results this year—especially from my trip to Kicheche. It’s the first time I’ll have chance to shoot a cheetah hunt with my new mirrorless cameras, so I’m looking forward to that! Fingers crossed…
In total, I have three trips lined up:
two weeks at Kicheche, Kenya, with Paul Goldstein in January
a week at a wildlife photography hide near Tallinn, Estonia, in May
three weeks at Muchenje, Botswana, in May.
In addition, I’m hoping to visit Mfuwe Lodge in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia as their resident photographer and then lead a trip to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania through Great Migration Camps.
We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, let’s just be grateful the Covid nightmare is over. Enjoy your travels, and I wish you all a happy New Year!
If you’d like to order a framed print of one of my wildlife photographs, please visit the Prints page.
If you’d like to book a lesson or order an online photography course, please visit my Lessons and Courses pages.