Nat Hab Staff and Expedition Leaders

Our Story

Richard de Gouveia

Richard de Gouveia

Following a lifelong attraction to wildlife and the natural environment, Richard initially began his career as an environmental consultant, conducting environmental impact assessments for various companies. However, he found that such a role did not adequately meet his yearning for creativity and exploration, and he sought a more direct encounter with nature by becoming a safari guide. Complemented by his passion for photography, such a role equipped him perfectly for employment within the Greater Kruger National Park in his native South Africa, where he launched his guiding career. He then spent five years working at one of the world’s premier safari destinations, Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, where he became Assistant Head Ranger.

Eager to expand his guiding terrain, Richard left lodge life in 2014 to become a professional private guide across Africa. Since then, he has explored some of the most incredible wilderness on the continent with his guests, from the mountain jungles of Uganda and Rwanda to the varied biomes of Southern and Eastern Africa and the island of Madagascar. He specializes in teaching wildlife photography and finds reward in helping people learn how to make beautiful images through a greater understanding of both their equipment and the environment.

A Sony Alpha Ambassador, Richard lends his photography expertise to a diverse audience—holding workshops, testing out new gear and adding value to the photographic community he is part of. He loves sharing his images of wildlife and nature with the world, and he specifically enjoys portraying animals in their natural environment. He utilizes photography as a means of preserving nature through arresting imagery, hoping to touch people with the beauty of wild places and creatures and in the process, helping them understand the plight of these animals and their habitats. Richard believes in being ready for the moment and making images that tell a story. Through his expert tuition, you'll learn how to be prepared for those amazing moments as you also think about composition and storytelling, while Richard shares his deep knowledge of the wild animals that are your subject. Richard has also started digging deep into videography and leverages both photos and video to share his imagery with the world.

What's in My Camera Bag

My Packing Philosophy

Camera Bag
F-Stop Gear Tilopa

Camera Equipment
Sony Alpha a1
Sony Alpha a9ii
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod
Sony 400mm f/2.8 G-Master
Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G-Master
Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G-Master
Sony 135mm f/1.8 G-Master
Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G-Master
Sony 1.4x Teleconvertor
(Lenses are used in combination for the best purposes of the trip in order to meet the locational and weight requirements.)

Post-Processing Software Expertise
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro
LRTimelapse

What Our Guests Say

Richard is an exception guide and teacher. He makes each traveler feel special. His knowledge of birds, photography, astronomy, geology, mammals and reptiles is incredible. His ability to spot tiny birds and mouse lemurs at night is unbelievable. His star talk has made us look at the sky totally differently. Richard gave a one-hour presentation on photography that taught me more than I had learned in several trips. Richard is a patient, kind, intelligent guide. I am so thankful that I was able to experience this incredible trip with such an awesome person, guide and teacher.
R. Loiselle
Richard is an Expedition Leader extraordinaire! He was the best by far that we've had on any of our many worldwide adventures! The breadth and depth of his knowledge, not just directly related to our Madagascar Adventure, was incredible and really added to our appreciation of the trip. He was able to put Madagascar phenomena into a more global perspective, which was very valuable. His photography skills and willingness and patience to teach was an added bonus. He managed a very diverse group with ease, such that our group became very cohesive within the first few days. His sense of humor was fabulous and had us in stitches frequently. His passion for his work, and for our world, was inspiring. But, above all, he is a superb human being, thoughtful, caring and wise. We would love to go on other trips with him!
L. Tse
Richard was the best Expedition Leader we have had. He was extremely knowledgeable about wildlife at all three nature reserves and had good relationships with the rangers and trackers. He addressed everyone's questions in an informative and cheerful way and made each of us feel special. He gave an excellent presentation about World Wildlife Fund with his own photos. We will certainly become donors in the future. Richard is a keeper and we hope to have another Nat Hab trip with him soon.
J. Montgomery
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