Chobe National Park in northern Botswana is home to over 100,000 elephants, more than any park in all of Africa. I couldn't begin to tell you how many elephants we saw on the Southern Africa Adventure with Nat Expo Tours last October. The evening boat tour on the Chobe River gave us some of our best viewing opportunities...
We have started to fill the October 2025 Africa Tour, please email me if you are interested.
We could still add a couple people to the Cuba tour next month, as well as Norway in March and Nepal in May. Visit our site for detailed itineraries and prices: https://natexpotours.com/
As always, thank you for following.
Colin
Hippos on the Chobe River
There is no misunderstanding when a hippo tells you to stay back!
Chobe River, Botswana, October 2024.
Are you interested in visiting Africa? We have spaces for the October 2025 Namibia/Botswana tour with Nat Expo Tours. Visit our website for more info on 2025 adventures, including Cuba in February, Norway in March, and Nepal in May.
Cheers!
Colin
Chobe River Sunset
Sunset on the Chobe River, Botswana.
This evening certainly was a highlight of the October 2024 Southern Africa Adventure with Nat Expo Tours! We went for an evening boat ride on the Chobe River and saw a plethora of wildlife including elephants, cape buffalo, hippos, crocodiles, and several bird species. As the sun began to sink toward the horizon and morph into an orange sphere, I asked our guide to position us so we would have an opportunity to photograph the animals against the quintessential African sunset.
Please message me if you are interested in joining one of our adventures this year - we still have a few spots open for Cuba in February, Norway in March, Nepal in May, and Africa in October. You can check out our page or visit our site for more info: https://natexpotours.com/
Thank you for following my journeys and all the best for 2025!
Colin
Scenes from the Onguma Ground Hide, Namibia
Plains zebras and impala as seen from the ground hide in Onguma Private Game Reserve, Namibia.
The famous ground hide offers unique opportunities to photograph African wildlife from a low perspective. Of my four visits to the hide, this day was perhaps the most memorable (see previous posts of the bull elephants).
Our October 2025 Southern Africa Adventure with Nat Expo Tours is about half filled at this point. Please message me if you are interested in joining us and visit our site for more info: https://natexpotours.com/
Cheers!
Colin
www.colintyler.com
Scenes from Etosha
Scenes from Etosha National Park, Namibia. The giraffes and rhinos were at a waterhole bordering the Okaukuejo Rest Camp, with the quintessential African sunset. We always spend a night at the Okaukuejo Lodge on our tours with the hopes of having an evening like this.
The greater kestrel and lions were taken the following day. You may recognize the "Lion Tree" from an image I took in 2022, framed by the Etosha Pan.
Dates for the 2025 Southern Africa Adventure Oct 19 - Nov 2 and once again include Namibia, Botswana, and Victoria Falls. Please give our page a follow - Nat Expo Tours, LLC - and visit our site for detailed itineraries: https://natexpotours.com/
We still have a few spaces open for Cuba in February and Arctic Norway in March - Tromsø, Lofoten Islands, and…🤞auroras!
As always, thank you for following my journeys. Please message me if you or someone you know might be interested in joining us in 2025!
Colin
Giraffes at the Okaukuejo waterhole
Giraffes at the Okaukuejo waterhole
Rhinos at the Okaukuejo waterhole
Greater kestrel
“The Lion Tree”
Southwestern Black Rhino
The southwestern black rhino - this photo was taken at the waterhole by the Okaukuejo Rest Camp in Namibia's Etosha National Park. Etosha is a stronghold for this critically endangered subspecies of rhinoceros. While the population is strong, the park does not release numbers as poaching remains a serious threat. We were fortunate to observe two rhinos interacting at the Okaukuejo waterhole on our first evening in Etosha.
The dates & itinerary for the 2025 Southern Africa Adventure with Nat Expo Tours are up on our site (Oct 19 - Nov 2): https://natexpotours.com/2025-namibia/
Please email me if you are interested in joining us - we have a few people on the roster already!
Colin
Salvin's Albatross, New Zealand
Salvin's albatross, Kaikoura, New Zealand. Taken on our recent excursion with Albatross Encounter Kaikoura.
I'm still editing through photos from both Africa & New Zealand and will have more to share in the coming days. We're also busy planning next year's adventures with Nat Expo Tours. Please give our page a follow on Facebook and Instagram and visit our site to see a list of 2025 destinations & itineraries, including Cuba in February, Arctic Norway in March, and Nepal in May: https://natexpotours.com/
As always, thank you for following my journeys!
Colin
www.colintyler.com
More from the Kaikoura Albatross Encounter Excursion
More images from our morning excursion with Albatross Encounter Kaikoura in New Zealand last week! The first is a giant northern petrel against the early morning sky. The second is a cape petrel, also called the pintado (painted) petrel. The third image is a wandering albatross, also known as the snowy or white-winged albatross.
We are working out the details for the November 2025 New Zealand tour. Please message me if you are interested or visit our site: https://natexpotours.com/. We also have spaces available for Cuba in February, Arctic Norway in March, Nepal in May, Croatia in September, and Southern Africa in October.
Cheers!
Colin
Giant Northern Petrel
Cape Petrel of Pintado (Painted) Petrel
Wandering Albatross, aka Snowy or White-Winged Albatross
Kaikoura Sunrise & Northern Royal Albatross
Northern royal albatross, taken last week with Albatross Encounter Kaikoura. The day began with a brilliant sunrise, which made for dramatic skies and backgrounds for our bird photography. We saw 5 different species of albatross and numerous other seabirds, many of them endemic to New Zealand.
We will be leading another New Zealand tour next November with Nat Expo Tours. Please email me if you are interested.
Cheers!
Colin
Sunrise in Kaikoura, New Zealand
Northern royal albatross
Beach Sunset, Nelson, New Zealand
Our New Zealand tour has now concluded and I have arrived in Maui, where I will be spending 5 days before returning home to Alaska. There will be more to share in the coming days from New Zealand and the Southern Africa tour, so please stay tuned for that.
Please email me if you are interested in joining any of our 2025 adventures with Nat Expo Tours, including Cuba, Norway, Nepal, Croatia, Africa, and New Zealand.
Cheers!
Colin
Elephants from the Onguma Ground Hide, Namibia
Bordering Etosha National Park in Namibia, the Onguma Private Game Reserve has a ground hide that offers an experience like no other. From the hide, your lens is level with the waterhole and gives you opportunities to safely view wildlife from a perspective that is unique and nearly impossible to duplicate without the use of a camera trap.
On my recent visit, we had three bull elephants visit the waterhole for nearly an hour, drinking and splashing, throwing mud across their backs to protect from the harsh Namibian sun. It certainly was one of my best days photographing elephants, and one of my most inspired moments of the 2024 Southern Africa Adventure with Nat Expo Tours.
Please message me if you are interested in joining us next year. Dates are Oct 19 - Nov 2, 2025, and we already have people on the roster. You can view the details on our site: https://natexpotours.com/
Cheers!
Colin
Giraffes in Bwabwata National Park, Namibia
The 2024 Southern Africa Adventure is drawing to a close. We added some new destinations to the itinerary this year and spent the past few days around Kasane, Botswana exploring Chobe National Park and today we visited Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
This photo was taken last week in the Zambezi Region of Namibia. Every year provides new experiences and opportunities to create unique images, even with familiar subjects and locations.
There will be much to share in the coming days, and tomorrow Mike and I are off to New Zealand to meet another group for a tour of that country.
We are working out the details for the 2025 Southern Africa tour and we already have people on board. Please email me if you are interested or visit our site: https://natexpotours.com/
As always, thank you for for following along!
Colin
Icelandic Horses, Up Close
Since my first trip in 2018, I’ve traveled to Iceland several times and have photographed the iconic horses in several locations under varying light, weather, and backgrounds, most often with a telephoto lens. This year I decided to switch to a wide-angle and shoot from a lower perspective to capture some unique images to add to my catalog. Most of the time I wasn’t able to see through the viewfinder, so it was a matter of guessing how the photo would be framed and hoping for the best. In the end, I captured some of my favorite photos of Icelandic horses to date!
We’ll be returning to Iceland to lead a tour in June of 2026. Please email me if you are interested or visit our website: https://natexpotours.com/. We do have a few spots left in this year’s October Namibia tour, as well as New Zealand in November…
Thank you for following!
Colin
Arctic Terns in Black & White, Hofsós, Iceland
On the last full day of the Iceland tour, if weather allows, we drive around the Troll Peninsula from Akureyri back to Reykjavik. It adds a few hours to the drive and the road is narrow and winding with tunnels, tour busses, sheep, and cliffs that loom several hundred feet over the Norwegian Sea below. But the north coast is stunning, rugged, and beautiful, and is one of my favorite areas to photograph, so it’s worth the extra hours of (very focused) driving. We always stop in Hofsós to photograph Icelandic horses framed by the ocean and purple lupine flowers.
This year, after photographing horses, I trained my lens on the arctic terns flying overhead. The sky was moody, so I envisioned black & white images that would convey the sharp lines and detail in the terns, as well as the Icelandic weather. I hope you enjoy the images.
As always, thank you for following, and please message me if you are interested in joining one of our adventures. The next Iceland tour will be in June of 2026.
Colin
Skógafoss with Lupine
Beginning last year, we moved our Iceland tours from August to June to take advantage of the abundant birdlife and wildflowers, particularly the lupine. Lupine is not native to Iceland and in fact, the seeds were brought over from Alaska. In 1945, a botanist named Hákon Bjarnason visited Alaska to select plants he thought would thrive in Iceland’s harsh conditions to prevent erosion and dust storms. He returned with a collection of seeds, including lupine, and from there it thrived and can now be found over much of the country. Pictured here is Skógafoss, likely the most photographed waterfall in Iceland, with our guest Natasha capturing various angles of the scene.
Beginning last year, we moved our Iceland tours from August to June to take advantage of the abundant birdlife and wildflowers, particularly the lupine. Lupine is not native to Iceland and in fact, the seeds were brought over from Alaska. In 1945, a botanist named Hákon Bjarnason visited Alaska to select plants he thought would thrive in Iceland’s harsh conditions to prevent erosion and dust storms. He returned with a collection of seeds, including lupine, and from there it thrived and can now be found over much of the country.
Pictured here is Skógafoss, likely the most photographed waterfall in Iceland, with our guest @tascheski capturing various angles of the scene.
We’ll be leading our next Iceland tour in June of 2026. Please stay tuned for details and me if you are interested in joining one of our adventures. We still have spaces for Namibia this October, New Zealand in November, Arctic Norway in March 2025, and more…
Cheers!
Colin
#iceland #icelandtrip #icelandroadtrip #skogafoss #skogafosswaterfall #phototour #icelandtour #icelandphoto #waterfallsofinstagram🏞️ #waterfallsoficeland #waterfall #waterfallphotographyStay tuned for details or email me if you are interested.
Cheers!
Colin
Icelandic Horses, Akureyri
I returned to the US yesterday and have begun editing through my photos from Iceland. This is one of my favorite images of the iconic Icelandic horses, taken in the north near Akureyri. I used a wide angle lens to get a different perspective this time, something different than in previous years. Once again, we had a great tour and wonderful group of people to travel with!
As of now, we are planning to take next year off from Iceland and looking at June of 2026 for our next visit to that country. Please message me if you are interested.
As always, thank you for following along!
Colin
Arctic Fox near Vik, Iceland
Greetings from Iceland - 🇮🇸
Today we explored a glacial ice cave near the town of Vik on the south coast, famous for its black sand beaches, and after the guided tour we were treated to a wonderful encounter with an arctic fox! This is my sixth trip to Iceland, and previously I'd only caught a brief glimpse of an arctic fox, so this was a rare opportunity. Our guests were thrilled, as were Mike and I. Tomorrow we will make our way to Vatnajökull (Europe's largest glacier), then to the east fjords and eventually across the highlands to the north.
Cheers!
Colin
Hidden Leopard
Another master of camouflage, the African leopard. It's easy to see how prey could walk under a tree completely unaware of the predator directly above, and leopards are known to jump down from a perch onto their prey.
In this case, the leopard had been resting in the branches when, in this moment, it took notice of an impala passing by. We watched it stealthily descend the tree and stalk the impala, crawling on its belly at times. They were both soon out of sight, so we do not know how it ended up for either of them...
November 2023, Kruger National Park, South Africa 🇿🇦
Arctic Fox, Svalbard
It would be easy to scroll past this photo without noticing the arctic fox looking right at you. Masters of camouflage, their fur changes colors with seasons, from grey/brown in summer to pure white in winter.
Svalbard, Norway 🇳🇴 2022
Scenes from Svalbard, Norway, August 2022
Svalbard certainly is the most vast and wild landscape I've ever visited. It was a bucket list trip of a lifetime, though I believe I will make it back there before too long. It's also the furthest north I've been on the planet, at one point going beyond 82˚N latitude into the polar ice pack. Even in the latter part of summer, the sun never dipped below the horizon while we where there.
Colin
Our ship, the M/V Ortelius
Abundant birdlife on the ice bergs
Svalbard reindeer, a smaller subspecies unique to these islands