🎁 A Little Late, Still Full of Great Gifts

Hey Reader,

I’d hoped to send this in mid-November, well before inboxes turned into holiday traffic jams. But life, projects, and parenting had other plans. So here we are, fashionably late with the annual Best Gifts for Nature & Landscape Photographers.

Even with the delay, I think you’ll enjoy exploring this year’s roundup. I curated this year's best books, tutorials, travel-friendly gear, and small-but-mighty tools that actually make time in nature easier and more comfortable.

One quick update, the giveaway will now happen in January. That feels like a calmer and more joyful time to send a surprise your way anyway.

Cheers,

THE OBSERVANT LENS
Spotlighting the stories, makers, and creativity that shape our craft

The 2025 Best Gifts for Nature & Landscape Photographers Is Here

At the end of each year, I gather valuable tutorials, inspirational books, and essentials that made photographing in nature a little easier, a little more joyful, or a little more comfortable throughout the year. This edition highlights a mix of independent artists and small businesses whose work deserves the spotlight, along with a few bigger names whose offerings remain genuinely valuable for photographers.

Think of it as a curated bundle of this year’s standouts, meaningful gifts you can give to others or quietly forward to anyone asking what’s on your list.

See the Best Gifts List

CAST YOUR VOTE

What should I cover next newsletter?

Tales from my recent mammals naturalist course

Why winter's stick season is secretly wonderful

What it is like working with commercial clients

Any and all of the above!

FOCUS POINTS
To utter, repeat, and shape our mindset

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back
and realize they were the big things."
— Robert Brault

TRAIL FINDS
Curated resources, news, and inspiration for your journey

1.) Rayleigh Scattering in Nature and Landscape Photography
Michael E. Gordon beautifully explains Rayleigh scattering and how this atmospheric effect shapes the color and quality of light in nature photography, with examples from his California desert work.

2.) Matt Payne’s New Scotland Gallery
Enjoy a fresh and stunning collection of images from Matt Payne, which were created over an extended period in Scotland while photographing alongside NLPA co-founder Tim Parkin.

3.) 113 Years Ago, the U.S. Tried to Outlaw “Fake” Photographs
PetaPixel explores a fascinating 1912 proposal to regulate manipulated images, revealing how early debates about photographic truth shaped the ethics and expectations we still grapple with today.

4.) Learn Nature Photography Video Tutorials Return to Market
The Light Collection and Workflow Collection are back and available to purchase for a limited time at Learn Nature Photography, now through December 2, 2025.

5.) Michael Kenna Exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery
The Photographers’ Gallery in London presents Michael Kenna: Shin Shin, an exhibition featuring his meditative long-exposure winter work, including the multi-hour exposures of snow images reveal atmospheric subtleties beyond what our eyes perceive.

6.) Michael Bollino's New Fall Image Release
Michael Bollino has released a new collection of thirty fall images, created across Olympic National Park, southwest Colorado, the Columbia River Gorge, and the oak forests of southern Washington.

7.) David duChemin, “Is It Getting Better?”
David duChemin reflects on creative growth, the long arc of personal progress, and why improvement in photography often shows up quietly rather than dramatically.

8.) See the Winners of the Nature Photographer of the Year (NPOTY) 2025
The Nature Photographer of the Year competition has revealed its 2025 winners, showcasing standout wildlife, landscape, and macro photography from around the world. The 2026 NPOTY contest opens on December 8, 2025. Explore the full gallery of winning images.

9.) Lightroom Hacks Every Outdoor Photographer Should Know
Outdoor Photographer shares eight practical Lightroom tips to speed up your workflow, strengthen your edits, and make organizing and developing your images more efficient.

10.) Beth Pratt on Yosemite’s Wildlife and Conservation
A profile piece on author and conservationist Beth Pratt, exploring her deep connection to Yosemite, her advocacy for wildlife corridors, and her efforts to help humans and wild animals coexist more safely.