Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Gettle And Nicole Sudduth.
Hi Steve, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Steve started with his photography nearly 40 years ago. Over the course of his career he has done many things – from traveling around the country and selling prints at fine art shows to owning a gallery. This led him to teaching other photographers and leading photography tours around the world. Throughout his career, he has been represented by Minden Pictures, which represents Steve’s work worldwide to editorial markets. Over the course of his career, Steve’s work has appeared in publications that include: National Geographic, Canadian Geographic, BBC, Sierra Club, Audubon etc.
In 2017, Steve met Nicole Sudduth and they became a wonderful photography team and couple. Nicole has over 15 years of nature photography experience. Her passion is for conservation and connecting with wildlife. She truly enjoys discovering and sharing wild connections with others.
The progression of this naturally led to us leading nature photography tours around the world as a full time career. This has been a great direction for us because it allows us to share our love of both photography and the natural world with others While we get to travel to some of the most epic nature photography destinations on the planet
Currently, Steve and Nicole are on the road about 300 days a year and they offer photography tours to about 30 locations around the world on six of the seven continents and over 25 countries.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The main obstacle to building a business like this is developing a body of work and the name recognition that goes with it which enables building a big enough client base to fill the trips. Once we decided to go in the direction of leading photo tours, the transition was very smooth and we had no problem filling trips. But then Covid hit. We went from 100mph to zero over the course of a month and we cancelled all of our trips for two years. Since no one was traveling, we made what in hindsight a brilliant decision which was to market and grow our base. We put together a dozen “how to” photography programs and offered free zoom presentations to camera clubs and other photographic organizations around the world. Over the course of those two years, we did hundreds of programs and grew our mailing list exponentially and many of these people still travel with us today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As nature photographers, what sets us apart is that we truly enjoy photographing everything in the natural world. Most nature photographers specialize in one genre of nature photography, ie., a landscape photographer, a bird photographer, a wildlife photographer etc. We also really enjoy sharing our knowledge with others and seeing them develop. Many other photographers are reluctant to share the secrets of their process.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck has not really been a major factor. It has been hard work, diligence and determination. The luckiest thing that has made our business a success is meeting each other. The fact that we can be together 24/7, 365 days a year, even in what many people might consider stressful situations has been amazing. We play off each others strengths and have forged an amazing partnership together. Doing what you love with someone you love is a gift.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stevegettle.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevegettle
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.gettle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SteveGettle
