The blank slate…
On location at Muchenje Safari Lodge, Botswana
This is my first blog post of 2025, so here’s what I hope to do this year...!
Goals
I never make New Year’s Resolutions, but if you asked me what my goals were for 2025, I’d probably come up with the following list:
Travel as much as possible
Grow my photography business
Take at least one photograph that makes it into the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.
The first one is a little vague, I admit, but I’m a little short of funds at the moment, so if I want to spend any more time in Africa, I’m probably going to have to rely on the kindness of strangers…!
I do have the luxury of being able to borrow money from my bank to finance trips to Africa and elsewhere, but I’d rather not have to do that. I’d much prefer to take advantage of possible gigs as a resident photographer.
The second one is pretty much guaranteed. It’s just a question of how much growth I can manage. My photography revenues have increased almost every financial year since I turned professional in 2013 after my trip to climb Mount Kenya and go on safari. The only exceptions were 2017-18 (by less than £1,000) and 2023-24 (by around £7,000).
Revenue is obviously less important than profit, but I daren’t even work out that number! I’m afraid it’s very hard to make a living as a wildlife photographer, so I’d rather not know how many thousands of pounds I’m losing every year…
My final goal is a lot more ambitious. I’ve made it through to final selection before in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, but none of my images has ever made it into the exhibition. And that’s what I’d like to change.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the only photo contest any of my friends and family have ever heard of, so whatever other awards I win, that’s the one that really matters. And it’s very hard to make an impact when so many other wildlife photographers enter the competition.
Fingers crossed…
Trips
Red Run
Resident Photographer
My days as a ‘resident photographer’ started in 2019 after I happened to read an online article by a photographer who’d managed to wangle a whole year’s free accommodation out of various African safari lodges. “I could do that!” I thought, so I did a bit of research and emailed my portfolio to around 50 companies. Within a few weeks, I’d received 17 invitations!
In the end, I spent three months with &Beyond in Tanzania and a month with Cottar’s in Kenya. It was a fantastic opportunity, and I’ve managed to arrange a resident photographer gig every year since then apart from 2023.
There are about 20 camps and lodges that agreed in principle to host me—including one in Estonia! A few of those dropped out over the years, and a few of them didn’t really offer what I was looking for. However, almost all of them agreed to provide me with free accommodation in exchange for pictures and video of the local wildlife, staff, food and/or property.
I’ve just sent out a bunch of emails inquiring about 2025, so we’ll see what happens…
Paid Visits
If I can’t find anywhere to host me as a resident photographer, I’m going to have to book visits at commercial rates. The average price per person for a night at a safari lodge is around $1,000, so I’d really rather not have to do that! However, needs must…
I’ve already been in touch with a couple of places on Lake Clark, Alaska, about booking a trip to see the local brown bears. However, I’ll probably focus mostly on Africa again, and I have my eye on a few places with hides.
I discovered the joy of hides in South Africa last summer, so I’m keen to visit a few more! In addition, I’d like to see the rhinos at Kicheche Laikipia and Giza, the black panther, at Laikipia Wilderness, We shall see…
I always keep a ‘bucket list’ of places I’d like to visit. I don’t go on ‘holiday’ any more, so they’re all places where I can photograph the local wildlife. Here’s the current list:
Africa
Botswana
Mashatu or Koro River Camp in Botswana for hide work and leopards
Muchenje
Bushman Plains in the Okavango Delta for African wild dogs
Kenya
Amboseli National Park for big elephants, flamingoes, Mount Kilimanjaro
Kicheche for cheetah kills or volunteer photography lessons at guide school
Giza panther in Laikipia Wilderness Camp and/or rhinos in Ol Pejeta Conservancy from Kicheche Laikipia
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy for cheetahs and black and white rhinos, Big Five (and electric vehicle at Lewa Wilderness Lodge)
Lentorre Lodge for backlit hides
Terik Tours trip in May/October
Lorian Safari Camp via Arun Raj?
Malawi
Majete Game Reserve for Big Five and Liwonde National Park in Malawi for black rhinos, cheetahs and wild dogs or Kasungu National Park (Sam at Tanzania Odyssey)
Namibia
Serikafema Lodge
Cheetah sanctuaries
Teach and take pics/video at Okonjima Lodge
Photo workshop for Etendeka/Ai Aiba
Etosha and Sossusvlei lodges with Heinz Oosthuizen
South Africa
Zimanga, South Africa, from May to September for hides when BA reintroduces direct flights to Durban (or via Jo’burg and Richard’s Bay)
Lead tour group for Shahid in Sabi Sand or Kruger in November/December 2025
Leopard Hills with Mark McNulty
Madikwe for Big Five, red hartebeest, brown hyena, wild dogs, black and white rhinos. Stay at Jackie’s Lodge or Jackie’s Tree Lodge.
Tanzania
Namiri Plains for cheetahs (in February or March 2025)
GMC course in southern Serengeti for blue wildebeest calving season in January/February or Mara river crossing in August/September
Cheetahs at Singita Boulders, Singita Lebombo, Singita Faru Faru, Governors Camp, Kichwa Tembo, Namiri Plains, Phinda Vlei Lodge, Phinda Forest Lodge, Phinda Mountain, Samara Private Game Reserve (on foot), Chitabe Camp
Course with Steve Perry
Zambia
North Luangwa for black rhino
Zimbabwe
Mana Pools in July for wild dogs etc on foot or Lake Kariba for great sunsets with dead trees in the water. Vundu (owned by Nick Murray), John’s Camp (Robin Pope Safaris), Kanga, Zambezi Expeditions.
Twala for African wild dogs
Gonarezhou National Park, Singita Pamushana Lodge in Malilangwe Reserve for Big Five
The Hide or Mark Butcher at Imvelo Safari Lodge in Hwange for Big Five and African wild dogs.
Asia
Borneo
Clouded leopards in Deramakot Forest, Sabah
India
www.flameoftheforest.in for tigers
Kabini for Saya, the black panther
Tigers, leopards and panthers in Nagarhole NP
Snow leopards in Ladakh or Mongolia
Tigers at Pench or Kanha NP
Russia
Wrangel Island (favourite of Mark Carwardine) with Wildlife Worldwide Travel
Sri Lanka
Leopards in Yala (Wild Coast Tented Lodge in June/July) and Wilpattu National Parks
Elephant herds in Minneriya National Park
Birds in Kumana National Park and Sinharaja Forest
Whale watching in Mirissa and Trincomalee
Turtle hatching on the southern coastline
Europe
Britain
Bempton Cliffs for gannet, guillemot, puffin, razorbill, kittiwake, fulmar, shag and herring gull
Beddington Farmlands
Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Gloucestershire, for kingfisher, ruff, sandpipers, warblers, whimbrel, grey plover, cuckoo, Mediterranean gull and cranes
The Wick, Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, in July for puffins, guillemots and razorbills
Lackford Lakes, Suffolk, for kingfishers
Minsmere, Suffolk, for red deer, adders, stoats, bitterns, marsh harriers and bearded tit
Ranworth Broad, Norfolk, for ospreys, common terns, Cetti’s warblers
Gigrin, Rhayader, or Bwlch Nant Yr Arian in Wales for red kite feeding stations
Horn Mill Osprey Hide, Rutland, for ospreys, kingfishers, grey herons, red kites and buzzards (£80 for dawn to 0830 or 1630 to dusk)
Lakenheath Fen or Lackford Lakes hide near Cambridge with Kevin Pigney
Seal colony on Norfolk coast
Colin McCloud near Loch Marie, Westeros for rutting deer in September/October only a few feet away (£200 for argocat for four people). Go in morning.
Ospreys in June or July at Aviemore Osprey Centre (if they’ve returned) or Aviemore Ospreys, a hide costing £130 a day or River Spey for free!
Estonia
Estonia hide in May for bear cubs
Flatanger, Norway, in summer for white-tailed eagles
Kvernoboats.no for boat trips with fish in Norway
Tromso for orcas
North America
Canada
Wapusk National Park
Seal River Lodge
Baffin Island for polar bears
Tweeds Muir Park Lodge
Costa Rica
Ellie Rothney trips?
Guy Edwardes workshop
United States of America
Stay at Homestead or Silver Salmon Creek Lodge for brown bears and cubs at Lake Clark, Alaska, in July (with Tom Bol?), or go to Knight’s Inlet or Brown Bear Bay Lodge in Chinitna Bay
Barter Island, Alaska (September)
Barrow, Alaska
Baja, California, for boat rides to touch grey whales
Black bears with Charles Munn in North Carolina (Alligator River)
Elk rut in Rocky Mountain National Park
Brooks Falls in July
Oceania
Humpback whales in Tonga (rent waterproof housing and scuba dive)
South America
Argentina
Peuma Hue or Huechahue in September/October
Peru
Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica
Equipment
My new Nikon Z8
After splurging on my new Nikon Z8 and NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S lens, I’d really rather not have to buy any more new equipment this year! However, it rather depends on Sony.
It’s already brought out the ⍺1 II, which offers superior autofocus and pre-capture. If it launches a 600mm lens with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter, I might be tempted to trade in my new Nikon kit and go back to Sony.
Or maybe I’ll be sensible and wait a few years…!
Photography Coaching
A shot of a migrant hawker taken by one of my students
Workshops
I’ve booked two photography workshops this year with Handmade Workshops at the London Wetland Centre on Saturday 25 January and Saturday 22 March. If you want to come along, you can find out all the details on my Events page.
The sessions run from 1000 to 1400 and offer a mix of theory and practice—with a prize for the best photo thrown in for free! Here’s the general schedule:
1000-1100: Breakfast in the Kingfisher Kitchen with a laptop slideshow and talk on wildlife photography (given by me!)
1100-1115: Otter feeding
1115-1300: Wildlife photography practical (anywhere in the Wetland Centre)
1300-1400: Review (and competition judging)
We usually get four to eight people coming along, which leaves plenty of time for individual coaching at the otter enclosure and throughout the Wetland Centre.
Private Lessons
In addition to the workshops, I also teach photography to private clients. I have one regular student at the moment who needs help completing the coursework for her college diploma, but I always have time for more!
Awards
The Pointer
I don’t enter that many competitions these days, just Shoot The Frame after every one of my trips and Wildlife Photographer of the Year in December. Most of them have an entry fee, so it quickly gets expensive!
Shoot The Frame used to be free, but it’s recently decided to charge for entries, which is a shame. Still, it’s only $3 per photo, I suppose...
The closest I ever came to having one of my photos in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition was when The Pointer (see above) made it through to final selection. Unfortunately, it fell at the last hurdle, so I’ve never been to the Big Show!
Let’s hope I get lucky this year…
Print Sales
Pig-aboo
I don’t make very much money from print sales. My most popular print is Pig-aboo (see above), but I’ve only sold it eight times. I’d like to grow that side of my photography business, but I honestly don’t know how to do it.
I’ve tried revamping my website (under the mentorship of Jeff Brown and uploading newer, better content, but nothing seems to work. It may be that the slowdown in print sales is part of a general slowdown in the UK economy after the cost of living crisis. If so, I hope things pick up again this year.
Alternatively, I might just have to bite the bullet and start advertising on Facebook…!
Stock Sales
Easy Does It
Stock sales are an important source of passive income for me. At the moment, my stock photography business is doing well, particularly via the Adobe, Design Pics, Getty Images and Shutterstock agencies. I usually sell over 500 downloads a month, from which I make around £600, but it’s growing all the time.
I’ve now established a regular routine. Every time I go on a photographic trip, I rate, geotag and edit all my favourite images, adding titles, keywords and a variety of other metadata. I then submit lo-res versions of those files to Design Pics, which is a Canadian stock agency. Once they’ve chosen their ‘selects’, I upload hi-res versions to their servers. These are then distributed to various partner agencies.
My deal with Design Pics is exclusive, so I can’t sell their images through other agencies. However, that still leaves me with around 85% of the original images to send to various ‘microstock’ sites. These get their name from the size of the average fee, which is often only about 35¢!
Every Friday, I upload 100 images to 10 microstock sites, mostly using FileZilla. This is because I want to keep new content becoming available on a regular, predictable basis, but it’s hard to know if it works or not!
On the first day of each month, I do a whole bunch of ‘monthly admin’. This involves finding out from each agency which images have been downloaded and how much I’ve earned in commissions. I enter all the data into my Finances and Photography spreadsheets so that I can keep track of everything.
It’s nice to see the business growing, but you never really know what’s going to ‘go viral’. I’ve sold Eddie the Penguin now over 3,500 times, but I initially didn’t even give it five stars!
Every now and then, a new image starts selling like hotcakes, and it’s always fun to see that happening in the downloads figures. However, it’s obviously important to keep offering new content, so that’s why I have to keep going back to Africa…!
Writing
PHOTOHOUSE feature
Sadly, I can’t make any money writing about photography these days. I haven’t written for Expert Photography for a few months now, and I can’t see that changing. I’ve written the odd article for Wildlife Photographic
Social Media
My logo
I spend around an hour a day uploading content to various social media sites in an effort to ‘build my brand’.
I’m on pretty much all the most popular platforms, and my social media presence is growing all the time. Here are the latest figures:
Website (6.0k unique visitors, 5.7k visits, 8.2k pageviews in last 30 days)
500px (263 followers, 128.7k photo likes, 5.8m photo impressions)
Facebook (5.0k followers, 104.2k engagement, 326.8k reach, 1.0m views in last 28 days), manage Wildlife Photographers group (271.8k members)
Flickr (11 followers)
Instagram (223 accounts engaged, 4.8k accounts reached, 16.7k followers in last 30 days)
LinkedIn (1.2k connections, 2.5k followers, 2.0k engagements, 33.9k post impressions in last 28 days), Nick Dale Safari & Wildlife Photography company page (60 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 (656 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)
I hope I can carry on improving my performance on these sites over the next 12 months, but the real challenge is how to monetise the traffic. It’s hard to know exactly what online behaviour leads to sales of prints, downloads, books, lessons or courses, but there’s certainly a disconnect between the millions of people who follow me and the handful who actually buy anything!
Verdict
Panning for Gold
What gets measured gets done, so it’s important for me to set myself goals. I might not achieve all of them, but I can at least look back in a year’s time and have a look at what went right and what went wrong.
The time I spend on photography splits neatly into two: travel and home. When I’m on safari in Africa, I spend half my time taking pictures and the other half rating them—with brief breaks at mealtimes! That means I’m working around 16 hours a day, so it’s pretty full on, but it’s obviously necessary to provide me with new content.
When I’m not actually taking photos, I’m trying to sell them. That involves a lot of time spent publishing my work on social media and writing articles for my blog, plus a weekly session to upload my latest batch of images to stock agencies.
It’s a slow process trying to grow a photography business, and it’s almost impossible to make a decent profit! However, it still brings me joy, and that fits well with my ‘quality of life’ approach, so I’ll carry on taking pictures as long as I can.
As I often tell the other guests, you get a once-in-a-lifetime experience every time you go to Africa, but it’s never something you’ve seen before!
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.