ClickCeasePatrick Dykstra Biography - Natural World Safaris
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Patrick and the Whale

Patrick’s passion and expertise has taken him from swimming with orcas under the northern lights to filming in some of Earth’s most extreme and fragile ecosystems. As a three-time Emmy nominee, BAFTA Award–winning wildlife cameraman, and expedition leader, Patrick’s storytelling brings the natural world closer to people and inspires them to protect it.

His semi-biographical film, Patrick and the Whale (Amazon Prime/PBS), is nominated for the 2025 Emmy for Best Nature Documentary. Before that, he hosted and filmed Chasing Ocean Giants, an eight-part Discovery Channel series that aired in over 150 countries and spotlighted groundbreaking work with some of the world’s top ocean scientists. His cinematography on the BBC’s Blue Planet II earned him a BAFTA, and he’s since worked on high-profile projects for Netflix (Our Planet 2, Our Oceans, Animal, Night on Earth), National Geographic (Hostile Planet), AppleTV+ (EarthsoundsThe Year the Earth Changed), the BBC (Earthshot Prize), and others.

Patrick Dykstra Interview - Chasing Ocean Giants (Discovery +)

Vegas Film Critic (Jeffrey K. Howard) speaks to nature photographer and adventurer, Patrick Dykstra, for his new series, Chasing Ocean Giants - streaming on Discovery +.

Patrick Dykstra

EXPERT MARINE VIDEOGRAPHER AND PHOTOGRAPHER

Patrick Dykstra may be the closest thing the world has to a sperm whale whisperer. As the subject of the Emmy-nominated documentary Patrick and the Whale, his life’s work has brought him into rare, intimate proximity with these gentle giants, earning trust, observing behaviour, and forging connections most people could never imagine.

A former New York lawyer who traded courtrooms for open oceans, Patrick now spends over 200 days a year in the water with whales across the globe. He’s not a scientist by title, but through immersion, intuition, and sheer time spent, he’s become an unofficial expert, able to read subtle shifts in whale behaviour and respond with respect.

Beyond film and guiding, Patrick has contributed to scientific research, helping tag and track sperm whales, document rare social behaviours, and support acoustic studies that shed light on their communication and deep-sea lives. These efforts are helping scientists understand what whales are doing in the 90% of their lives spent far below the surface, in places and at pressures most humans will never reach.

Patrick & Natural World Safaris

Patrick Dykstra now works with Natural World Safaris all over the globe, from the frigid fjords of Norway with its population of orcas and humpback whales to the tropical waters around Dominica, home to families of sperm whales. Patrick and his team work to get you in the right place at the right time to encounter incredible marine life. He will also offer guidance on how to use your underwater photography equipment to best capture these huge creatures on camera.

Patrick has visited more than 100 countries and filmed in some of the world’s harshest and most remote environments—from diving beneath Antarctic ice to flying over erupting volcanoes in the Congo. He is a certified rebreather scuba diver, wingsuit skydiver, and paraglider pilot, and brings that same spirit of adventure and respect to every wildlife encounter.

Sl Patrick Dykstra

"Working with NWS really changed my life. Knowing that you can fill basically any trip that I can dream up and run is incredibly liberating. I probably wouldn't have been able to work on Blue Planet 2 or other projects if it wasn't for this support. NWS are awesome. I look forward to more great trips going forward."