Having left University in 1980 I drifted for a while before getting a job in a hospital lab but since getting the money, and over my fear of foreign places, I have been abroad many times since 1990 when having turned 30 it was obviously time to travel.
Photography and Natural History have been interests of mine for over 40 years now and my tastes are general with a tendency towards insects (butterflies especially), orchids, birds and mammals but not being adverse to anything else that is on offer. And as of 2019 tropical underwater photography (snorkeling only) had started to become rather addictive but of course Covid put an end to that flight of fantasty (at least for the near future).
Since 1990 I have coupled these interests with travel and have visited over 20 countries, many of them several times. For natural history, historical sites and travel Turkey is hard to beat, Mexico has proven very good but for a while Africa was the continent of choice with several trips to Ghana (four times), Ethiopia (three times including Nov 2015), Malawi and Tanzania. I have now finally made it to South America with Panama (being fairly close) and then Ecuador in 2023 and Colombia in 2024. Some people like to "collect" countries but I prefer to revisit and see more the second time around! My favourite places would include Eastern Turkey, the area around Lake Van is fantastic for many things, and the worse kept secret in the natural history world Bobiri in Ghana, perhaps the best place in the whole of Africa for butterflies although I can now add the coral triangle (SE Asia) for corals and fish and Ecuador for hummingbirds and butterflies.
On the photographic equipment front I have been using Nikon D750 cameras since 2014 and really do not want to change as I really like using the camera. A fixed 500mm lens has helped on the bird front !
2014 - my photography was on hold for several months this year due to a twice detached retina. Not to be recommended to photographers or anyone else for that matter... And since 2015 a lot of my images have been on Alamy.
2019 - Retired and had a cataract op towards the end of the year. A worrying time but the eyesight in the right eye is the best it has been for decades although seeing in 3 D again was a revelation and scary at the same time! Never realised how close to me people actually came before....
2020 - Retired for a year now and loving it. Have spent more time travelling and can go out and not worry if I get photos or not as there is always tomorrow! Been snorkeling in tropical waters for the first time (Western Papua and now New Britain and New Ireland the other side of Papua New Guinea) and love it as I hope the relevant galleries indicate.
2021 - Published an e-book (see Links) early in the year (thanks to Alan!) and carried on with the local wildlife photography as had happened during most of 2020. Covid took my Mum in Jan 2021 and it has been hard but we have to keep on going. Also found how to put PDFs onto this site so a few added and some more to come.
2023 - More eye worries but still taking photos. Only a few trips this year but all long haul, Mexico (Chiapas again) , Panama (very good and close to South America) and finally Ecuador - my first real South American trip and despite being a "bird trip" it proved pretty good for butterflies and moths as well!
2024 I started with 3 weeks in Colombia and a few months later 3 weeks in SW Turkey. Towards the end of September a retinal tear in the left eye gave me a bit of a scare but still managed to get to Mexico for the Day of the Dead and some good natural history too...
2025 Still having eye issues so just one trip to SW Turkey (yet again!) this year so far.
Nigel Sawyer, April 2025
