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

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

 

Great Horned Owl in Black & White

I've had countless encounters with great horned owls over the past decade, and it never gets old. I so admire these wise, stealthy raptors, and was once a guest on the local NPR program "Hometown Alaska" where I discussed my interactions with owls and how I've captured some of my best images of them.

Taken yesterday in Eagle River Valley, AK.

Colin

 

The Trees Have Eyes

The trees have eyes...

I had countless encounters with great horned owls while residing at the Eagle River Nature Center. Several images from those encounters are in my book (and 2025 calendar), and I was once a guest on the local NPR radio program "Hometown Alaska" where I recounted capturing some of those photos and how I developed an eye for spotting owls despite their capability to camouflage themselves quite well.

A few nights ago I was playing my guitar when I noticed something in a birch tree behind my place that had a distinct and familiar shape. I continued to strum until I saw it move and knew immediately what it was. I grabbed my camera and got quite a few frames as this owl scanned the area and watched me with fixated curiosity.

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 🇿🇦

 

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

October 2024 Namibia Tour

Namibia just celebrated 34 years of independence and remains one of the best functioning democracies in all of Africa. With an array of beautiful scenery and wildlife, coastline, vibrant culture and more, it is one of my favorite destinations in the world.

I look forward to returning to Namibia this October, where Mike and I will be leading another tour with Nat Expo Tours. We still have a few spaces open, if you or anyone you know might be interested. We’ve added a few days to the itinerary this year to include the Caprivi Strip of northern Namibia, Botswana, and Victoria Falls.

Dates are Oct 11-25, 2024. Cost is $7,895 per person and includes all transportation & lodging in Namibia and Botswana, breakfast & dinner every day, all locally guided tours & park fees, photographic instruction (for those who would like), and more!

Please contact me if you are interested or visit our site for more info and a detailed itinerary: https://natexpotours.com/2024-namibia/

Cheers!

Colin

 

Sossusvlei dry ancient lakebed, Namib-Naukluft National Park

Etosha National Park

Himba community

Flamingos in Walvis Bay

Elephant herd in the Caprivi Strip, northern Namibia

African Wild Dogs in the Rain, Kruger National Park

African wild dogs in the rain, Kruger National Park, SA.

This pack of wild dogs (painted dogs) had a litter of puppies and gave us some great photo ops. The falling rain added a nice element and made for great expressions on the dogs' faces. These are some of my favorite images of the endangered canines.

Have a great weekend out there. It looks like we might have a bit of aurora borealis - perfect timing for my aurora & nighttime photography class at the Eagle River Nature Center tomorrow night (Feb 20). I would have shared the registration link but the class literally filled overnight, before I had a chance to post it. I will look into offering another class in late March.

As always, thank you for following,

Colin

 

African Wild Dogs

The African wild dog, also called the painted dog, is one of the rarest mammals in Africa. We were fortunate to have wonderful encounters with three different packs in Kruger National park.

I'm getting back around to editing through my images from last year's trip Namibia and South Africa. I will have more to share in the coming days...

Cheers!

Colin

 

Leopard in a Tree, Kruger National Park

Spotted leopard, Kruger NP, South Africa. This was probably my favorite sighting in Africa last year.

I was really hoping to see a leopard in a tree and toward the end of our week in Kruger, my wish came true. We watched this beautiful cat as it napped in the branches and then stealthily descended the tree to stalk an impala.

I still have a lot of images and videos to edit through, so stay tuned for more...

Cheers!

Colin