meet the team

Welcome to Wild Planet Expeditions — your ticket to adventure far off the beaten track.

Founded by Photographers Scott Portelli and Matty Smith, Wild Planet Expeditions is about exploring remote, extraordinary destinations that few people ever see.

Scott and Matty are much more than photographers — they’re seasoned explorers whose work has been featured by BBC, Australian Geographic, The Guardian, and The Weekend Australia Magazine. Along the way, they’ve earned impressive accolades, including finalists of the London Natural History Museum WPY and the overall winners of Australian Geographic’s Nature Photographer of the Year. They’ve also been speakers at the Australian Museum. Easygoing and approachable, they have a talent for turning every trip into an unforgettable experience.

With decades of experience capturing the raw beauty of the natural world — from the icy waters of Antarctica to the vibrant reefs of the Pacific — they’ve crafted Wild Planet Expeditions for those who crave adventure. Their carefully curated tours take you way beyond the familiar, giving you incredible opportunities to hone your photography skills, soak up breathtaking landscapes, and experience true off-the-grid exploration.

At Wild Planet Expeditions, every journey is about more than just getting the shot — it’s about pushing boundaries, embracing the unexpected, and seeing the world like never before. Join Scott and Matty on an expedition of a lifetime — and get ready for an adventure you won’t forget.

Awards & Recognitions

  • Scott was recently awarded Wildlife Photographer of the Year (single capture) at the Australian Photographic Prize 2024 awards and Portfolio winner at the HIPA awards in 2023. With multiple awards at the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the year in 2022 and 2016. He was also announced as the winner in the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2021 & 2024. He was awarded 1st place as part of a team representing Australia at the World Photographic Cup 2021. Also included in his accolades, he was announced winner at the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2021/2024. Some of his more noteworthy awards include national winner of the Sony World Photography awards 2016.

    His conservation documentary ‘Saving the planet, one cause at a time’ also took out two awards at the prestigious French Film Festival in Marseille 2016. And his film piece on the behavior of competitive humpback groups, ‘The Art of Capturing a Heat Run’ was highly honored at the prestigious Nature’s Best, Windland Smith Rice International Awards 2018. More recently his film “Gentle Giants” was selected for the International Ocean Film Festival in San Francisco 2020 and Ocean Film Festival Australia. His new documentary “Real Men Bottle Things Up” was awarded at the Sienna International Photography Awards 2021, selected at the Sydney Lift-Off Film Festival and the The Seattle Film Festival in 2021.

    An accredited licensed RPAS/UAV/UOeC pilot, Scott has worked on aerial projects for some of Australia’s most sort out tourism destinations as well as in Antarctica, Arctic, Azores, Macquarie Island, Falkland Islands, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island and South Pacific. Working in extreme conditions, Scott’s practices take a high quality, low impact, approach to filming wildlife in their natural environment in a non-invasive way to capture natural behaviour.

    For a character feature visit: https://vimeo.com/132677858

  • Matty is an ambassador for Nikon Australia & Aquatica Digital Water Housings. His award-winning images have been exhibited in over all around the world including the London Natural History Museum in the UK and the Australian Museum in Sydney. He also regularly speaks publicly about his style and approach, writes for several popular dive and nature magazines as well as conducting regular underwater photography teaching classes.

     Matty’s work has been used and published by The BBC’s Blue Planet 2 Documentary, National Geographic, Ocean Geographic, BBC Wildlife Magazine, GEO, The Washington Post, The Australian and The Guardian amongst many others, as well as featured in TV appearances and The Discovery Channel, Channel 9 (Australia) and Channel 7 (Australia). He has also won over 30 international photography awards of runner up or above including the London Natural History Museum’s “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” Underwater prize 2024.

    Most Recent Notable Accolades:

    NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year – Underwater Winner 2024

    Australian Geographic Animals in Nature Winner Category Winner 2023

     Ocean Photography Awards - Portfolio Winner 2022

     Underwater Photographer of the Year -  Best British Photographer 2022

    Ocean Geographic/Brian Skerry Award of Excellence 2020

    National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2018

    Australian Geographic Portfolio Prize Winner 2018

    Australian Geographic Threatened Species Category Winner 2018

    Australian Geographic Animal Habitat Category Winner 2018

    Australian Geographic Animal Portrait Category Winner 2018

    Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Prize Winner 2014

    Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Overall Winner 2014