Wildlife photographer and biologist Roy Toft has spent more than three decades in the field revealing the hidden lives of the world’s most extraordinary animals while advocating fiercely for the places they call home.
His work appears in National Geographic, Audubon, Discover and more, and has earned him accolades in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Nature’s Best competitions.
Between global expeditions for Toft Photo Safaris, from Costa Rica to Botswana to the wilds of Patagonia, Roy came to Ecopia to spend some time immersed in our 150-acre private wildlife sanctuary.
Welcome to Eco Leaders, a curated interview series by Ecopia. Each conversation invites you to slow down and sit with people who are reimagining how we live, lead, and care for the planet.
Some of our guests have stayed with us here at Ecopia. Others are planning their first visit. But they all share something in common: a deep commitment to living with intention, heart and with a reverence for the land and its ability to restore us.
We hope Roy’s perspective inspires you to travel more mindfully… and to treat every animal encounter as a privilege.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us what you do?
My name is Roy Toft. I’m a wildlife photographer and photojournalist, and I actually spend most of my time leading photo tours nowadays — five to seven photo tours around the world — bringing people into the field to show them photography, show them wildlife, and educate them about our natural world.
Your photographs have appeared in some of the world’s most respected outlets. What do you think resonates with audiences?
With wildlife imagery, it’s something we’ve all been looking at for a long time. So anything that’s different and unique — detail, clean images, compelling images, behaviour, and storytelling — those things resonate. It doesn’t have to be just a pretty picture. We’ve been looking at pretty pictures of wildlife forever, and that’s great, but the compelling images tend to tell a story. That’s what I search for in my images.
You lead safaris to extraordinary places. How do you choose where to go?
It has to be kind of a slam dunk. You have to go to places where there’s plenty of approachable wildlife so people can be successful.
Some places I photograph on assignment wouldn’t be conducive to bringing clients — too rough, too difficult. You need that mix of accessible wildlife, great photo opportunities, and comfort. Places like Ecopia really have that mix: wildlife right out your front door, and amazing luxury in a sustainable, small-footprint eco-lodge, so these are the places I look for.
What’s one moment in the field you still think about years later?
There have been a few. I’ve been in the field a long time.
One moment that really stands out is photographing harpy eagles. I’d wanted to see one since I was a young boy — it’s one of the largest eagles in the world.
About six or seven years ago, I finally had the opportunity in Brazil. The nest was about 100 feet up in the Amazon canopy. I was hoisted up into the tree and had a small blind set up. I spent about 13 hours a day up there, for ten days, watching a mother harpy eagle raise her chick while the male brought food.
It was difficult — hot, bees, wasps — but it was pure magic. Being a fly on the wall, watching that family, was something really special.
A lot of your work shows the beauty of wildlife but also the threats. How do you balance honesty with inspiration?
As a wildlife photographer, it’s always about telling the truth. Yeah, we make beautiful images, but if there’s negativity in a story, you have to show that too.
Purely beautiful images— and perpetuating the idea that animals are living in these beautiful environments without any harm coming to them or any possible threats— is doing nature a disservice by doing that, because everyone thinks everything is hunky-dory. So it’s important that, along with the beautiful images that draw people in, you can’t start a story with the gory details — but you can thread those into a story. It’s important to show the beauty, but if there are any threats to that, you have to show them and bring them into the story.
What’s your number one tip for having ethical, respectful, wildlife encounters?
We do want things close. Photographers are a little different than other user groups that enjoy nature. A birder can see something very far off and that’s still great for them. We need things a little closer. But the ethical part is that you always want an encounter where you’re not changing the behaviour of that animal. A lot of times that means a longer lens. We’re not approaching wildlife with an iPhone, because we all know how close you have to get with an iPhone and that becomes problematic for you and the wildlife.So: have the proper gear, and don’t rush a situation. Animals get used to you being there if there’s no plausible threat. Instead of approaching that animal directly — which a lot of people do — because walking straight at an animal is a threat, I’ll wander, zigzag, getting closer without seeming like I’m zeroing in on them.
I’ll sit, look in another direction, point your camera in another direction. If you spend your time sitting and waiting and let the animal get used to your presence, it’ll often just go back to its natural behaviour and that’s when you get compelling imagery.
You’ve just spent time at Ecopia. What struck you most about the property and its wildlife?
First off, beautiful property, beautiful grounds. I see big areas where they have some fencing to have kind of a restoration of the wildlife, restoration of the plants. I know there were huge fires in this area five or six years ago. I don’t know if this area actually had that. These beautiful hair tree plants from Australia, I love, are all around the property. We came on the property and we saw kangaroos all over the property. We had several echidnas. And coming into the property, I think we had three koalas on the driveway coming in, so it slowed us down on arrival just a little bit. Beyond the wildlife here, it’s a beautiful sanctuary area. I think it’s about 150 acres of protected reserve. Beyond that, to be in a beautiful accommodation — sustainable, solar, small footprint. They do recycling and composting of all your foodstuffs. So all that is important to me. I feel like I’m part of nature instead of coming into a place and just going to view nature. I’m part of it here. So that’s what I like. Yeah, it’s been a gorgeous day here and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Why would you recommend Ecopia and Kangaroo Island to a fellow wildlife lover?
I mean, look— purely approachable wildlife. It’s not afraid of you, within a beautiful scenery. So that’s a reason to come just to the reserve and spend time. And then, of course, to spend the night in one of these beautiful villas. We love the food, oh my gosh. We did the barbecue and they just laid out some amazing BBQ. Everything is farm-to-table— just top-notch. My wife is making sure I mention how amazingly delicious the food was.
If you could invite three people to join you on a nature retreat here, who would they be?
Well, I think the correct answer is for sure you, my love — Stella Toft. So Stella Toft should come with me. I think Jane Goodall. I would love to have Jane Goodall come here with me, the amazing conservationist Jane Goodall. And also another wonderful conservationist who has passed now, E.O. Wilson. I would love for him to be here and just enjoy being in Australia.You can follow Roy Toft’s work on his website and on Instagram.
