Capture the Moment!
Since 2013, I’ve published hundreds of blog posts on all aspects of photography. Some are aimed at helping photographers with their technique, settings, and equipment, but others describe my exhibitions, workshops, and adventures in Africa, Antarctica, and beyond.
Feel free to browse chronologically or click on any category heading for specific content, such as Equipment, Trips or Hints and Tips.
If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, please drop me a line at nick@nickdalephotography.com or on +44 7942 800921.
Photographic Trips
I’ve been a professional wildlife photographer since 2013, so I often lose track of all my photographic trips! For my own reference and for yours, here’s a list of everywhere I’ve been with my favourite photos from each place.
Silhouette City
I spent my second week in the Masai Mara at Kicheche Valley Camp, and you can probably sum it up in three words: cats, birds and silhouettes! I managed to see my ‘traditional’ cheetah kill, photographed many birds in flight and started and finished most days by taking sunrise and sunset silhouettes.
2025: The Blank Slate
This is my first blog post of 2025, so here’s what I hope to do this year...!
2024: I Had a Year in Africa...
I didn’t quite spend a whole year in Africa (only 12 weeks!), but with a little help from a successful remortgage and a hefty bank loan, I managed to pay three visits to my favourite safari destinations (Kicheche and Muchenje) and stay in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe for the very first time.
Chasing Cheetahs
The first time I stayed at Kicheche Bush Camp in the Masai Mara, I saw five cheetah kills. This time, I didn’t see any in a whole week, so I had to make do with silhouettes, leopards, cubs, birds—and a few slow pans in honour of Paul Goldstein…!
Wet and Wild!
I’ve just come back from a couple of weeks at Kicheche in the Masai Mara. There was so much rain that it sometimes felt like I was in a remake of Waterworld, starring Paul Goldstein!
Create a Shot List
I have to confess that I very rarely make a shot list. The problem is that I’m a freelance wildlife photographer, so I don’t have clients to satisfy, and I’m happy to take pictures of whatever I happen to see. As Matt Kloskowski is fond of saying, I ‘embrace the chaos’!
Embrace the Chaos or Plan Ahead?
“Embrace the chaos!” That’s the advice from Matt Kloskowski, a wildlife photographer in the States. On the other hand, David Yarrow and others seem to plan every single detail of a shoot in advance. So where does that leave us?
Where Next in 2023...?
I had quite a quiet 2022 in terms of trips, but I’d like to go on a few more this year. Visiting Muchenje a couple of times was very enjoyable, but I’m looking for a bit more variety. I already have two trips planned, one to Kerkini in Greece to see the Dalmation pelicans and one to Bandhavgarh in India to see the tigers, and there might be more on the way. We shall see.
How to shoot a leopard
Leopard sightings are pretty rare, but I went on an Exodus photographic trip to Kicheche Bush Camp in summer 2018 with Paul Goldstein, and that was when I had virtually all my best sightings of leopards.
Here are a few of the lessons I learned from that experience.
Paul Goldstein interview
Paul Goldstein has been a wildlife photographer and expedition guide for over 20 years, leading trips for Exodus to Svalbard, Tadoba, Kicheche and many other locations around the world.
Kicheche Bush Camp
I’ve just come back from 10 days at Kicheche Bush Camp with Paul Goldstein. It was meant to be a week-long Exodus trip, but when that was cancelled due to the new Covid restrictions, I booked privately with Paul, and I’m so glad I did!
The trip to Kenya
Five kills. Five kills! That’s what I saw on my safari to the Masai Mara - not to mention half a dozen other chases and one I missed when I needed to go to the toilet...!