A Year of Wildlife Photography Adventures
Team member Bret Charman shares his highlights from behind the shutter after an action-packed year of travelling across the globe, leading several of our dedicated wildlife photography tours.
The year began in Japan, where, alongside Sean Weekly, I immersed myself in the wintery wonderland of Hokkaido and Honshu for our wildlife photography special. Red-crowned cranes, Steller’s sea eagles, bathing Japanese macaques and even a pod of orca were amongst the many highlights of this unique and fascinating landscape.
Then it was on to the antipodes for the Australian Wildlife Photo Safari. Focussing our efforts in Victoria and on the island of Tasmania, we were treated to exceptional encounters with koala, kangaroos, wombats, wallabies and endemic birds galore, but for me (and many of the group), the undoubted highlight was our time with the wild platypuses.
From the planet’s southern reaches, it was time to head north to Iceland and photograph the Arctic foxes of Hornstrandir Nature Reserve. The wild surrounds of Kviar Lodge provided us with unrivalled photographic opportunities with the area’s iconic blue-morph Arctic foxes. The stunning backdrops, snow-covered slopes and inquisitive foxes made this amongst our most rewarding photography tours of the year.
With spring progressing in the Northern Hemisphere, I found myself in India, leading our Nagarhole Photo Safari. I remember watching a young tigress stalking a herd of gaur, a giant species of bovine, and positioning ourselves to see what may unfold. Instead of a successful hunt though, the gaur caught her scent and charged towards the tiger. In her panic, the tigress turned and started running directly towards our vehicle before turning at the last moment and disappearing off away from danger. What excitement! What drama!
After a few weeks back at home, it was soon time to head across to Finland and lead back-to-back trips in the remote boreal forests. Here, both groups were treated to exceptional moments photographing wolves, wolverines and bears. I never tire of sharing these magnificent predators with people year after year.
It wasn’t long before I was jetting off across the Atlantic and North America, to South-east Alaska, photographing whales galore and so much more. You can find out more about this extra special trip in my blog on Alaska's wildlife.
This year, I also I had my first opportunity to lead our Brazil's Big Five Photo Safari in the Pantanal and I leapt at the opportunity. Unsurprisingly, it was jaguars that were the main focus for much of our trip and in turn provided the main highlight too. As we cruised along one of the many waterways, a large male jaguar descended a bank and started to swim, seemingly in search of a meal. We spent the next 10 minutes or so slowly motoring along on the far side of the river as this hulking male swam before us. It was just a magical way to spend an afternoon and the photography was exceptional too.
As summer turned to autumn, I found myself heading back to Uganda in search of primates on our photo safari. With a small group, we visited the stunning mountainous forests of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Here we enjoyed two magnificent treks and came face-to-face with mountain gorillas. For me, nothing comes close to the experience of meeting these gentle giants. Quite simply, it's a life-changing experience, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Finally, with the nights drawing in, I was back in one of my favourite haunts - Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park. I started by leading our dedicated photo safari, with Ben Sutcliffe, before joining our Festival of Wildlife at Mfuwe Lodge. Needless to say, South Luangwa delivered on so many levels, and we were treated to some extraordinary sightings of leopard, wild dog and lion.
View all our wildlife photography holidays with Bret Charman or to find out more about our trips contact our friendly team.
