Southern Cross Photo is Nick’s individual site whilst being part of larger group of photographers based in Durban, Kloof and Ballito. They can fill in for each other, or often assist each other when more than one photographer is needed for a certain shoot or assignment. Together, they can offer virtually any type of commercial photography for their client base, with the exception of weddings, which none of them like to do haha.
About Nick
Nick is a professional photographer based in St. Lucia, South Africa, and has been in photography for about two decades. Formally trained as a biologist as well as a safari guide, Nick revels in being in nature, and if possible, with a camera in hand! Originally from The Netherlands, he has traveled extensively to Australia, Asia, and South America. However, while backpacking through East Africa in 2003, he got bitten by the ‘Africa Bug’ and lost his heart to the African continent… He immigrated to South Africa in 2008 and has never regretted it. The friendly and warm African people, the incredible nature with its iconic wildlife, and of course the pleasant climate, were all good reasons to leave The Netherlands behind.
Through Southern Cross Photo, Nick offers a variety of photography services from his studio in St. Lucia and is passionate about ‘teaching’ photography to others. He is loved for his practical, clear, and easy way of explaining things in layman’s terms. Together with a colleague photographer and friend, he also founded Nature’s Light Photography Tours, and has guided many clients to iconic destinations all over the world.
Nick in action as a photo or videographer, or teaching clients on workshops.
Awards:
Nick’s work has been published in various magazines, a few coffee table books, and he was won various awards. Most notably he won the Landscape Photographer of the Year title in 2016 in the prestigious Nature’s Best Photography Africa Competition and even got another image of his in the ‘highly honoured’ section of the same competition. The African Wildlife Foundation published one of his images on their annual calendar in 2017. In 2020, one of his images was a semi-finalist in the Windland Smith Rice Awards. His work has been exhibited amongst others at the Iziko Museum in Cape Town and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, USA.
Private life and interests:
Apart from being a photographer, in his daily life, Nick is truly a Jack of all trades. He is the CEO of the Van De Wiel Travel Group, the owner & managing director of the 5 companies this group entails, a part-time teacher at a safari guide academy and a dedicated husband and father.
