Posted by Brydon Thomason on Tuesday 19th November 2024 | Otters, Photography
We have been leading Otter Photography itineraries professionally in Shetland for almost two decades now and one of the biggest rewards for us, (particularly as we leave our own cameras behind, and work strictly to a ‘we lead – you shoot’ policy), is to see and share the results of our photo-tour participants. As we hadn’t put together an end of season Otter client gallery for a few years, we felt it was high time we revisited that tradition with a small selection!
Our Otter Photography season kicks off in autumn, which is the peak time of year for young cubs here, so this image gallery spans from last autumn to this. As always, it is humbling to see just how many photographers choose us, and how far they have come. Though the majority of guests tend to be from within the UK, in the past twelve months alone, we have hosted guests from countries all across the globe, including Thailand, South Africa, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia!
As Shetland is widely known to have the highest density of Eurasian Otters across their range, the interest in them here stands to reason but also, it the best place to on earth to photograph them – and this is not just our understandably bias opinion (honest!), but that of anyone who has spent time with them here versus elsewhere in the UK. This is not because they are easy here, but because Shetland offers an unparalleled wilderness setting within which to experience them. Perhaps best of all, we work alone along remote shores which is a far cry from the shared or even crowded encounters so often associated with many well-known locations elsewhere in Scotland.
To see so many returnees on our Otter Photography Tours is particularly gratifying, some of whom have been coming for many years. Shooting an Otter film for BBC Winterwatch with Brydon in November last year, Richard Hopkins is now in his 18th year with us! You can watch this lovely 5 minute film on BBC iPlayer (14:10minutes in). This gives a wonderful insight into the life of a Shetland Otter family in late autumn/early winter on one of our more rugged and exposed shorelines.
The past two autumn-cub seasons have been particularly good for Otters meaning that each family focused itinerary, particularly during the months of September, October and November has seen us working on several different families, often as many as six or seven in any one assignment. If this is of interest you might be interested to know that this week we have just launched our autumn 2025 season dates.
We thank all our Otter photography tour participants for sharing their results and hope you enjoy the images. Perhaps 2025 feels like the year for a visit? Please do get in touch if so.
Each Year we host several photography tours focusing exclusively on otters, timed perfectly to coincide with cubs emerging from holts. This season has been one of the best in terms of otter numbers and quality of images. If you want to experience the best of Shetland’s otters, there is nobody better to guide you than Shetland Nature, to quote some recent client feedback. “The best otter guides in the world”.