Why I Became a Wildlife Photographer — and What I hope you’ll find on our Wildlife Photography Site

I didn’t set out to become a wildlife photographer. I set out, quite simply, to be outside in nature.

Back in the day, it was the pull of wild places that got me out of bed before dawn — the feeling that something extraordinary might be happening out there, just beyond the edge of what I could see from a window. The camera came later. It was a way of holding onto moments that would otherwise slip away. A golden eagle on a thermal over a Scottish ridge; an otter pausing head up, watching.; a pine marten running up a tree after a squirrel, or a fox nervously appearing with cubs from the undergrowth all captured on film or a memory card to remember, to bring joy once again.

Over the years, the photography became more serious. The gear got better. The knowledge deepened. But the reason I’m still out there before sunrise, in all weathers, in some of the most remote corners of Scotland and Scandinavia, is exactly the same as it was at the beginning: I just love being where the wild things are.

Peter and I have spent more than thirty years living and working on Scotland’s West Coast. It was not always the easiest life — the weather has opinions, the midges have opinions, and sometimes the animals you’ve spent hours waiting to photograph simply don’t show up. But it has given us something that no amount of reading or course-taking can replace: a deep knowledge, and lived understanding of how wild animals actually behave.

We know where the otters work the shoreline at different tides. We know which perches the eagles favour at first light in winter. We know, in a particular wood, on a particular kind of still morning, what will be there. That knowledge — built patiently, over decades — is what we bring to every trip we lead.

We started leading trips because people kept asking us to. Photographers who wanted to access locations they couldn’t find alone. Naturalists who wanted to photograph species they’d never encountered. Complete beginners with a new telephoto lens and a dream of an eagle shot. We found we loved sharing what we knew. And we were, apparently, quite good at it.

What this wildlife photography blog is for

This is where we will write about the things we love most: the wildlife we’ve encountered, the places we work in, the techniques that actually make a difference in the field, and the stories behind the images.

You’ll find practical posts — how to approach a golden eagle hide, what lens to bring on a Scottish otter trip, why fieldcraft matters more than megapixels — alongside more personal pieces about what it means to spend a life paying close attention to wild places.

We will write about Finland and Sweden and Iceland, about the Scottish Highlands and the islands off the west coast. About bears and wolverines and wolves, golden eagles and gannets and puffins. About the shots we got and, just as usefully, the shots we didn’t.

We will also write honestly about wildlife photography ethics, because it matters to us. We are members of Nature First, and we believe that no image — however extraordinary — is worth disturbing a wild animal. You’ll hear more about that here too.

Who this wildlife photography blog for

Whether you’re an experienced wildlife photographer looking for new destinations and species, someone just starting out who wants to understand how to get better images of the natural world, or simply a person who loves wild places and the creatures in them — you’re very welcome here.

Our trips are small and personal — we take a maximum of three guests on our Scottish expeditions, and never more than six internationally — and there aren’t always spaces. But this blog is open to everyone, and I hope it gives you something useful, something beautiful, or simply something worth reading on a cold morning when you’re thinking about wild places.

Thank you for finding us. I’m glad you’re here.

Tina Boswell

Boswell Wildlife Photography

www.boswellwildlifephotography.com