About
Here’s a brief profile and outline of my photographic career. If you want to see a few pictures of me in the field, click here. If you have any questions, just click the chat button or get in touch at nick@nickdalephotography.com or on +44 7942 800921 .
Photographer | Teacher | Writer | Speaker | Judge
I dreamed of becoming a photographer when I was 15, but my mother wanted me to go to Oxford instead!
I ended up reading English at Christ Church and working as a strategy consultant for a few years before retiring at the age of 29. I then travelled round the world for seven years, doing four ski seasons and working on an internet start-up in San Francisco before finally returning to London in 2005.
At that point, consulting work felt too stressful, so I decided to go 'quality of life'. I'm now a private tutor and international award-winning wildlife photographer.
I became a tutor in 2009 when I happened to read an article in the paper entitled Ten Ways to Beat the Recession, and I started taking pictures again when I received a random email inviting me to go on safari and climb Mount Kenya.
I've been a professional wildlife photographer since 2013, visiting 37 countries on all seven continents and winning various photo contests including the Sunday Times/Audley Travel Big Shot and Remembering Tigers.
I’ve written books and articles for Expert Photography and Camera Reviews, and I teach photography and lead workshops in London. I also give lectures to camera clubs and various other organisations.
I spend a lot of time in Africa, and I’ve been on over 500 game drives and boat rides. I’ve also worked as the Resident Photographer on a cruise ship and at various safari lodges:
2019: Klein’s Camp, Serengeti Under Canvas and Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp in Tanzania and Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp in Kenya
2020: Gabus Game Ranch and Etosha National Park in Namibia
2021: Antarctic Frozen Continent Expedition with Young Pioneer Tours
2024: Muchenje in Botswana and Simbavati River Lodge in South Africa.
Artist’s Statement
I have a passion for wildlife, and I want to celebrate all its facets in my photography, including power, beauty, cuteness and humour. I love close encounters with animals and birds, and I’d like others to experience the feelings of excitement, relaxation, tenderness and wonder they evoke.
I started out taking portraits of animals. That was all very well, and a lion might look beautiful sitting on the African savannah at sunset, but there isn't much energy in that sort of picture.
What I try to do now is to focus on action shots. I still take portraits—and sometimes I don't have a choice!—but my ideal image is more likely to be a cheetah chasing down a Thomson’s gazelle than a bird on a stick!
My favourite animals are the predators, including brown bears, tigers, lions, leopards, pumas and cheetahs, and I like to use a long lens to get up close and personal with them!
It’s that sense of excitement that I try to capture in my work, and I'm happy to use whatever technology I can find to do the job.
My cameras:
My lenses:
All that, combined with various accessories and the wonders of Lightroom and Topaz Labs, gives me the best possible chance to show off the wonders of Nature.
Contact
If you’d like to buy a print or book a talk, a lesson, a photo shoot or a safari, please contact me on +44 7942 800921 or at nick@nickdalephotography.com.
99 Ormonde Court
Upper Richmond Road
London SW15 6TR
Mobile: +44 7942 800921
Skype: nicholas_dale
Facebook: facebook.com/nickdalephotography
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/nickdalephotography
Instagram: instagram.com/nickdalephotography
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/nickdalephotography
Pinterest: pinterest.com/nickdalephotography
Threads: threads.net/@nickdalephotography
TikTok: tiktok.com/@nickdalephotography
Vero: vero.co/nickdalephotography
X: x.com/nickdale_photo
YouTube: youtube.com/@nickdalephotography
Awards
I’ve won over 500 awards in various international photo contests.
2024
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 (UK) in Innovation in Business’s Media Innovator Awards
Shoot The Frame’s September 2024 Shoot The Wild competition
Cover photo for Remembering Tigers
International Prize ARTISTS AT THE JUBILEE
International Prize Velázquez & Goya
Future of Art Global Masterpiece Award by Contemporary Art Curator Magazine
Photo Fest Asia 2024
Persona Art Honours MMXXIV
2023
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 (UK) in Innovation in Business’s Media Innovator Awards
Harmony for Humanity: The Global Consciousness Art Prize
International Prize Michelangelo "The Genius of Italy"
Outdoor Photography’s One Thing This Month - Winter Wildlife
International Prize Leonardo da Vinci
International Prize Pegasus for the Arts
2022
Shoot The Frame’s October 2022 Shoot The Wild competition
International Prize Leonardo da Vinci
The Best Modern and Contemporary Artists Prize
The Faces of Peace Art Prize
Tailor-Made Tour Company of the Year for England in the Travel & Hospitality Awards
ATIM's Top 60 Masters (see magazine feature on p25 and video starting at 26:26)
Finalist in the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition
2021
Wildlife category in the Professional Photographer of the Year
Best International Wildlife Photographer in the Southern Enterprise Awards hosted by SME News
Monthly winner in the Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year
2020
Gold in the Animal Portrait category of the World Nature Photography Awards
Wildlife Series in the 15th Pollux Awards/The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards
Shoot The Frame’s May Shoot The Wild competition
Fusion Art Artist Spotlight (Photography & Digital) in April (see video)
Best of Show in Grey Cube Gallery's Nature exhibition (see video)
Best of Contest in 35 Awards’ Wildlife: Mammals competition
2019
Wildlife Worldwide Photography Competition (Animal Action category)
2018
Society of International Nature & Wildlife Photographers (SINWP): In the Wild Photography Competition (leading to stories in The Times, Express, The Sun, The Daily Star and the Mail Online, followed by an interview on London Live!)
Best in Show in the Fusion Art 3rd Annual Animal Kingdom Art Exhibition (see video)
1st Place in Art Room Gallery: Nature competition (see video)
Exodus Travels calendar (February)
2017
Monthly winner in the Sunday Times/Audley Travel Big Shot competition
National Geographic Photo of the Day award twice (here and here), Daily Dozen and Best of Photo of the Day
Exodus Monthly Photo Competition in June
Other
Guru’s Top Pick in the Gurushots Up Close with Birds challenge
The Societies of Photographers: Gold Awards in the Wildlife, Nature and The Natural World categories
Picture Frames Express's All Creatures Great and Small plus BBC Wildlife, Chiiz, Digital Photographer, Dodho, Wild Planet and Outdoor Photography competitions
ePHOTOzine: two Daily Competitions, five Photos of the Week, 14 Editor’s Choice, 39 Highly Commended, 28 Guest Editor, over 100 Readers' Choice and 299 User Awards
Artist of the Week for Artlimes, Photographer of the Month for Picture Frames Express, Artist in Focus for LUMIarts and featured in Pond5’s Instagram Takeover and the May 2020, January 2021 February 2021 and March 2021 APÉRO catalogues.
Exhibitions
I’ve taken part in several art fairs and staged several solo exhibitions in Wimbledon, Chelsea and Pimlico.
Held solo exhibitions at the Norman Plastow Gallery, Lumi Arts and 508 King's Road.
Chosen by demystify.art to take part in the Nature exhibition in December 2023 (mobile only).
Chosen by the Blank Wall Gallery in Athens to take part in the Travel exhibition in September/October 2023.
Butterfly Effect online art exhibition put on by Contemporary Art Curator Magazine.
Took part in Glaziers' Art Fair, Parallax Art Fair, PhotoX Awards 2018 at the Menier Gallery and various group shows at 508 King's Road and Gabriel Fine Arts.
Took part in the Indian Photography Festival Exhibition and see | me exhibitions on Facebook and in New York.
Chosen for the online art galleries at Art Bridge, Artfinder, Art Gallery, Arthola, The Art Online Gallery, Artlimes, Printscapes and Saatchi Art.
Sold six prints of a leopard at Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year exhibitions in Melbourne, Brisbane, Cape Town, Atlanta, Dallas and Johannesburg.
Publications
I’ve written ebooks on wildlife photography and social media for Expert Photography, books on Predators & Prey, India, Antarctica and a local wedding, plus Resident Photographer: Tanzania & Kenya.
I’ve also written dozens of articles for Expert Photography, CameraReviews, Nature TTL, Fusion Art, Outdoor Photography, Wildlife Photographic, PhotoPXL, Clipping Path Creative and SLR Lounge.
Sales
I’ve sold over 35,000 images to buyers including National Geographic, Africa Geographic, BBC Wildlife Magazine, The Evening Standard, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Daily Mail Online, The Sun, The Sunday Express, The Times and Lonely Planet.
Sold my best-selling shot of a jumping Adélie penguin over 3,000 times - and it even appeared in a poster on the US TV show Atypical!
Provided the cover photo for SMT magazine.
Sold 67 fine art prints to private collectors around the world.
Sold over 1,000 copies of my Expert Photography ebooks on Social Success Strategies and Wonderful Wildlife.
Sold over 200 greeting cards and postcards at various exhibitions, Gerhold in Putney and Willow Bough Tea Rooms.
Other
Worked as Resident Photographer at Muchenje Safari Lodge in May and October 2022 and May 2024, on the Antarctica Frozen Continent Expedition in 2021, at Gabus Game Ranch in 2020 and at Klein’s Camp, Serengeti Under Canvas, Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp and Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp in 2019.
Hosted regular webinars for Wildlife Focal and the Nature Photographers Network
Gave talks at The Societies 2022 Photo Convention and online (see video), The Athenaeum Club (for the Oxford University Society), Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp, Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp, the SW19 Women's Institute, the Putney Women’s Institute, Malden Camera Club, Watford Camera Club, Putney Library, the London Institute of Photography (see video), Beckenham Photographic Society and on two Antarctic cruise ships.
Guest Editor of ePHOTOzine in July 2023
Interviewed by the Wildlife World Photographers group
Judged the 2019 Canary Wharf Wildlife Photography Competition and the Winter Nature & Wildlife category of the Irish Professional Photographer and Videographer of the Year Awards 2023 (IPPVA).
Ran photography workshops at the London Wetland Centre, Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Canary Wharf and Putney Library.
Gave private lessons to various amateur photographers.
Developed a following on my website and social media:
Website (5.0k unique visitors, 5.3k visits, 7.3k pageviews in last 30 days)
500px (263 followers, 128.7k photo likes, 5.8m photo impressions)
Facebook (4.9k followers, 14.7k engagement, 307.6k reach in last 28 days), manage Wildlife Photographers group (203.6k members)
Flickr (9 followers)
Instagram (219 accounts engaged, 4k accounts reached, 17k followers in last 30 days)
LinkedIn (1.2k connections, 2.3k followers, 4.9k engagements, 85.4k post impressions in last 28 days), Nick Dale Safari & Wildlife Photography company page (56 followers, 106 post impressions), Wildlife Photography group (148 members and 1.0k active members)
Pinterest (4.0k engaged audience, 86k total audience, 117k impressions in last 30 days)
Threads (654 followers)
TikTok (159 followers, 6.1k likes, 14.3k reached audience and 14.7k video views in last four weeks)
Vero (4 followers)
X (54 followers)
YouTube (598 hours watch time, 107.0k views, 50.5k subscribers in last 28 days)