I’m an old hand at photography-themed trips and have seen it all—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and so I consider myself a fair-minded judge of quality and value. I can say without hesitation that my trip to Tuscany (June 2019) with Nathaniel Smalley was hands-down my favorite photography trip to date. And the funny thing is that it wouldn’t matter if I were talking about a trip to Tuscany or a jaunt through my own state of Massachusetts. Nathaniel Smalley runs a company that, in my opinion, is the standard bearer that all other outfits should follow. As a person, Nathaniel is extremely intelligent, organized, efficient, conscientious, not to mention clever and fun. As a trip organizer and leader, his knowledge and desire to create the best trips possible are incomparable. Finally, as photographer, he is truly gifted and serves not only as an exciting inspiration to have on a trip from a creative standpoint, but also as an extremely generous and patient mentor who doesn’t hold back when sharing his tips, tricks, and hard-won techniques, unlike other professionals, who might. As for trip logistics, I never had to worry about a thing. Nathaniel is a true leader, who does a  yeoman’s job of making sure that everything runs smoothly—and without being a parent-like task master, which can get annoying eventually. He does an outstanding job of looking after a group to ensure that everyone is set up to enjoy themselves. His uncanny ability to instill confidence in everyone, whether pro or amateur, to shoot at their best is what makes his trips stand out. The bottom line is that Nathaniel always puts his clients first—a real test of discipline, given how tour leaders can easily forget why they’re on a trip, wander off, and prioritize for themselves. Under Nathaniel’s guidance, Tuscany, a first for me, was AMAZING. We were treated to so many special destinations, and every day was filled with fresh subject matter under an atmosphere of easy camaraderie and more than enough laughs to go around. (Although sometimes it’s the luck of the draw when it comes to the personalities of trip attendees, it’s ultimately the tour leader who sets the tone for how things go.) From the trip’s beginning to its end, I had the best, most memorable time, walking away not only with wonderful memories and newfound friendships, but with improved photography skills. This is why I’m looking forward to my next trip with Nathaniel. Book quickly, because I’m right behind you!

While there are a lot of choices for Fall photography workshops and tours in Maine, I couldn’t imagine finding someone any better than Nathaniel to learn from and appreciate this beautiful state. Having grown up there, he knows the land, ocean, back roads, and weather like no one else. Plus he adds fun stories and showed us the best restaurants for the real taste of Maine. He has the patience of a saint dealing with every level of knowledge in photography, from guiding the new person who doesn’t know how to ask what they don’t know, to encouraging those with more experience, and all the levels in between.

Costa Rica 2023 was my first destination with Nathaniel. His diverse itinerary guaranteed a broad range of bird and wildlife species, climates and terrain. Every detail, from Nathaniel’s choice of quality local guides, to accommodations that ranged from luxurious to simple, (each serving delicious meals) was well planned and coordinated. The many customized photo ops balanced with free time was a perfect combination for me as an intermediate level photographer. Although this tour was not billed as a workshop, I learned soooo much from Nathaniel’s generous sharing of knowledge. From camera settings to creative technique and positioning, Nathaniel and his team offered us the best chances of getting photos we could be proud of, yet we always had the freedom to do our own thing and opportunities to wander and explore during our downtime in environments where we could feel totally safe at all times. Since most of Nathaniel’s clients are referrals from other happy clients, it was no surprise that everyone in the group was warm, inclusive and fun! A highlight for me was our time spent in the mountains - Costa Rica’s beautiful cloud forest region - where we were graced with the appearance of the magnificent Resplendent Quetzal! This was not a guaranteed sighting - we’d heard of other groups who’d come and not glimpsed them at all. Once we arrived at a prime location, as always, Nathaniel gave us the best viewing positions and made sure we were set up properly before he took his own place. And then we waited. To our delight, a juvenile male appeared, then an adult female, and finally a mature male materialized in full breeding plumage! Although I’d seen photos before, being there in person to admire his long covert feathers gracefully wafting with the breeze was mesmerizing! I experienced several magical moments like this in Costa Rica for which I am immensely grateful. If, as the famous saying goes, genius is 98% perspiration and 2% inspiration, I wholeheartedly attribute 98% of the success of my Costa Rica visit to the many years of hard work that Nathaniel and his team have dedicated to curating and refining it. Because of their expertise, level of care and personal attention to detail, I know that every location that I travel with them in the future will be just as amazing and I highly recommend them!

Nathaniel is a wonderful tour guide. I observed him for almost a year before booking with him. He truly believes in the “leave no trace behind” principle, he does not like baiting animals for a shot and he limits his workshop sizes so that everyone gets time with him one-on-one. Before booking with him, I asked him questions and he was very kind and attentive. Another feature that I appreciated is that he took care of all of the accommodations and he checked every room before handing us our keys. He spends time helping each participant while processing pictures and he provides personal as well as group instruction. He is easy going and truly cares about all of us. It is important to feel very comfortable with the person who you book with and he/she should be approachable.

I just got back from Iceland after attending Nathaniel Smalley’s summer workshop, what an incredible experience! He turned day to night, only shooting after 9pm and out until 4 or 5am, thanks to the midnight sunset and 3am sunrise – what sweet light we had!! We had the added bonus that no one else was there despite hundreds of tourists. We had every kind of weather from bright sun to “you can’t leave the hotel” 50mph wind gusts. However that day turned out to be a gift of extra sleep and editing time. We were rewarded for not whining with glorious weather and light the next day. The beauty was overwhelming… miles and miles of lupine, a personal favorite, that has been planted to prevent erosion. It turns out the Vikings came and clear cut everything to plant crops – restoration will take decades, but is has begun.  There were no trees until we moved farther north and east. Geothermal steam provides the majority of their power and it rises here and there all over the country with large pipes carrying it to where it’s needed. Sheep were very abundant and usually curious enough to stand still for photos. We saw Icelandic horses just outside Keflavik and again out far east – so beautiful! Churches are almost as abundant as the sheep. We travelled many miles, moving almost every day to see it all. We ate delicious meals – they typically have two kinds of restaurants, gourmet and fast food, so of course we did gourmet and always dessert! I am jet lagged, but less than you would expect with a 7 hour time difference. My theory is that my body never knew what time it was! Of course, I’m exhausted, but still smiling from one of the best photography experiences I have ever had, and I have been blessed with many! Thank you Nathaniel!

I enjoyed my trip to Alaska with Nathaniel photographing the Coastal Brown Bears so much in 2018, that I joined the 2019 trip in addition to going with Nathaniel to the Arctic to photograph Polar Bears. Nathaniel provides safe and unique opportunities to photograph these magnificent apex predators and so much more in his Wonders of Alaska Photo Tour and Polar Bear Experience. He has gathered the finest guides in the best locations, transports and accommodations all wrapped in a package with your comfort, pleasure and photographic education at the center. Nathaniel is a delightful, polite, educated and fun instructor, leader and trip organizer. My photography skills and general nature photography knowledge has improved exponentially because of his thoughtful and effective guidance on all of the trips I’ve been fortunate enough to attend. I look forward to my next adventure with him.

Tuscany 2022 was my third encounter with Wicked Good Photo Tours, so I was prepared to learn and experience only a top-notch Tuscany adventure. In 2019 my husband and I went to New Zealand with Nathaniel and thoroughly enjoyed the tour. So we knew we had to sign up for Nathaniel's Tuscany 2022 tour. What an experience it was! This tour provided a variety of photo opportunities including Medieval villages, lush countryside and coastal hillside towns. Nathaniel is the most outstanding photo tour leader I have experienced. Since 2013 I have participated in many photo workshops with a variety of leaders and I can truly say that Nathaniel is at the top of the league for his organizational skills and photography expertise. He is a professional in every sense of the word. In addition he uses expert operators to help with the logistics of transportation and knowledge of the locales to photograph. He is caring of all participants and ensures everyone is comfortable not only with the photo location, but with the particular camera settings needed to capture the perfect image. I learned a lot on this trip from Nathaniel as well as from other participants. Thanks to Nathaniel we laughed, made new friends, ate great food and have amazing images. Thank you!

I have been looking for a photography professional that conducted workshops and/or tours of international locations that I have long had on my bucket list. I have been on a great number of workshops in North America with some of best professionals that I have met. Finding a ‘fresh face’ that measured up to my previous experiences was a concern, but Nathaniel met my high expectations with flying colors! His knowledge of photography is amazing and his interactions with the participants is outstanding. He creates a great camaraderie with his participants and does it while having a very fun atmosphere. I have been shooting for over 40 years and I still learned a lot from Nathaniel. The biggest testimony that I can give Nathaniel is that I will be attending more tours of his in the future.

Nathaniel’s workshop is one of the best I’ve ever taken. The trip was very well organized and with enough flexibility to modify our schedule to be at places when the light was beautiful and the crowds weren’t there. With Iceland being such a popular destination, the ‘must see‘ places get completely overrun with visitors. The times Nathaniel arranged for us to be at many of our spots was when we could capture images of these places looking pristine. We also visited some more remote, off the beaten path locations, which I appreciated very much. Our accommodations were also good selections – from clean and comfortable to luxurious. I don’t think I could have had a more enjoyable experience with any one else and gotten the amazing images I took on this trip. Nathaniel is also very helpful with all levels of photographers and I believe that everyone improved their skills in his workshop. I plan to take another workshop with Nathaniel.

Recently in 2018 I guided Nathaniel and his photo workshop participants at one of Alaska’s premier bear viewing lodges. As the senior guide there for the past 8 years I have worked with countless photo workshop leaders. Nathaniel stands out as one of the very best! He is hands on, giving each participant 100% of his attention. His knowledge in photography such as camera use and image processing is impressive. (I even picked up several valuable tips from him!) Overall if you want to learn more about photography Nathaniel is your guy! You will take away a wealth of information and with his help capture some amazing images!

My wife and I know a little bit about Norway. She’s Norwegian and grew up in the far north, above the Arctic Circle. I lived in Norway for several years before we moved, and moved again (long story). On a recent trip back to visit family, we decided to couple that with Nathaniel Smalley’s photo workshop in the Lofoten Islands. Uff da, but that was a good decision! He took us to some absolutely stunning locations and is a very effective teacher of landscape photography – including how to edit the photos you take. He keeps his groups small so he can provide lots of individual attention and coaching. We stayed at nice places, ate well (get ready to appreciate pickled herring and sweet brown goat cheese) (or not), and were catered to night and day. Nathaniel is easygoing, good at problem-solving, and quick to make everyone feel comfortable. We were also lucky with the weather on our trip. I don’t know if he can deliver more of that, but we would recommend him to others without hesitation. We came away with great experiences and also some pretty darn good photographs!