I have always had an interest in nature and photography. As a teenager I played around with my first serious camera, an Olympus OM 2, and went on bike trips to capture the beautiful natural environment, the historic mansions and treelined roads in the neighborhood I grew up in south of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
In 2010 I got back into the game which now turned completely digital. I took up one of the most challenging areas in photography: wildlife and nature. It is challenging because you are at the mercy of nature with constant changing conditions and no guarantee over a successful outcome. Over the years I honed my skills, and through hard work and dedication I am able to create images that make a connection with the viewer and that leave a constant urge to look at them again. Once you have created an image that draws your attention, you know you met the challenge, and hit the jackpot.
Throughout my business career I have lived in different countries, lead various organizations, and worked with multi-cultural teams. My wildlife photography adventures brought me to faraway places such as Antarctica, South Georgia Island in the Southern Ocean, the Arctic and Alaska. All these wildlife photography experiences have taught me some great life lessons that also apply to business and leadership.
Visualize the outcome
I remember the first time I landed on a beach in South Georgia Island I was completely overwhelmed by the amazing landscape and abundant wildlife at the scene. I did not know where to start taking pictures, it was really a sensory overload. So many species, so much action, and most of all such a beautiful scenery. Instead of walking around and snapping pictures left and right, I decided to sit down and take in the environment around me. I tried to visualize what I wanted to accomplish that day and what kind of images I wanted to come home with. Taking a step back and thinking about your ultimate goal will give you the focus you need to create a plan on how to realize the intended outcome. This is so true in business as well. Daily distractions are numerous and we all get caught up in them. It pays to step back once and a while, sit on a rock and take in your environment from a distance. Only this way you can visualize the outcome, create focus and start making a plan.
You need to have a plan
When I got the idea for my underwater golden retriever project during COVID I had visualized a black background to focus all the attention on the subject. I also wanted colorful dog toys to enhance the images with a splash of color. I had visualized the outcome, but now needed a plan to carry it out. Part of that was preparation, from finding a black tarp for the swimming pool, to finding the toys and making them neutral buoyant by cutting them open and filling them with water. Experimenting with underwater lighting to freeze the dogs while they hit the water. Lots of things to think through before you can even start to take the first picture.
A couple of years ago I sailed to Antarctica on a 60-foot sailing yacht. The yacht had quite small quarters with 9 people on board. It took five days to cross the Drake Passage before we set our sight on Antarctic land. If you forgot anything that you needed to fulfil your mission, then you are literally dead in the water. You can’t go back, you can’t buy anything, there is no help, you are on your own. Thorough planning is crucial to eliminate as many uncertainties as possible and make your expedition a success. It’s the same in corporate life, planning is everything, as it creates focus and direction, motivates the troops, establishes guard rails and enhances your chances of a successful outcome.
Know that you can’t control everything
We all know from our own experiences that nothing is as unpredictable as the weather. The same holds true for the natural environment especially now that the impact from climate change becomes more clearly visible. Wildlife has their own schedule as they spontaneously decide whether to show up or not in certain places. There are no guarantees that you will see wildlife or even get treated to great action during the times you venture out in nature to take images. You need to learn to live with the unexpected and be prepared to change course when nature shows you it’s will. Don’t fight it and just go with the flow. If you keep trying and showing up, you will eventually get rewarded with a very special natural history moment.
Instead of focusing on what you can’t control make sure you control what is under your own influence. Know your equipment and study your subject. This will greatly enhance your chances of executing flawlessly when your subject does show up.
The same holds true for business. You can’t control people, customers, competitors or the economy. What you can do is apply your creativity, experience, knowledge and skills to the areas that you can control and act within your own sphere of influence to make an impact. Stop worrying about the things you can’t control, instead control the way you respond to what’s happening around you.
Operational execution
When I started to get serious with wildlife photography, I had a long learning curve ahead of me. There are a lot of elements that come together in creating a great image. I had never used a long lens, struggled with sharpness and exposure and wasn’t paying attention to composition or backgrounds. It was overwhelming to be honest and frustrating at times. By focusing on one element at a time I was able to quickly get better to the point now where I don’t even have to think about it anymore. Today it comes naturally because it is ingrained in my brain.
Most wildlife encounters happen unexpectedly and are over within seconds, especially when you are photographing action. To be successful comes down to 80% just being there and 20% operational execution. Knowing your equipment inside out and understanding exposure in various light conditions will help you tremendously. You can’t afford to fumble with your equipment when the moment of action presents itself.
In the corporate world executing a flawless delivery of services and products is key to having an edge on your competitors and creating a constant following of new and existing customers. Product knowledge and the right procedures combined with continuous training and educating your teams will only benefit the operational execution in a constant changing business environment. Without the 20% of a well-oiled machine, the 80% of just being in the market won’t cut it.
The Art of Story telling
A picture says more than a thousand words. We can all relate to this and have once experienced an image that draws us into a scene and makes our mind wander away and think about what happens next. Well executed images that tell a story can be very powerful and stick out with head and shoulders above the millions of images taken each day. For me it comes down to engagement by bringing the viewer with me into the image at the same level as the subject. In my images you typically have eye contact with the subject and can literally look them in the eyes. To make this happen I oftentimes go down in the mud or lay in the penguin poop to get the right perspective, many times frowned upon by bystanders shaking their heads with disbelief. In the end, its all worth it.
Story telling is also the art of persuasion, which is very important for business leaders. Every day you need to appeal to customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders. By telling compelling stories you take people with you on a journey that creates an emotional connection. People remember stories and love to share them, as we all know that people buy stories and not products.
Character traits in wildlife photography and business
One thing I have learned early on is to have respect for the natural environment and the animals that live in it. You are visiting their home turf and they decide if they let you into their world. If you respect the animals, they will let you approach and allow you to document their life. I have had many encounters with brown bears in Alaska and never once felt unsafe. If you sense excitement then you are too close and need to back off.
Wildlife photography is often a game of patience and perseverance. You don’t know what you are going to find, and oftentimes you will find nothing of interest. But, don’t quit! Sometimes the things you are hoping for come at unexpected times.
Exciting wildlife encounters don’t often happen next door. You need to travel far and long under conditions that do not sound appealing to most people. Long sea days, sea-sickness, sub-zero temperatures, wet and cold conditions, it all takes a lot of determination and dedication to excel at your craft.
You are often dependent on others: a field guide, naturalist, ship’s crew or a bush pilot. A lot comes down to teamwork. On my trip to Antarctica on the sailing yacht, I was the leader, but without the rest of the team I would not get anywhere. We had around the clock watches outside, needed to cook our own food and do the dishes in ice-cold salty water, and sail the yacht through the roughest seas on the planet: the Drake Passage.
As a business leader many of the same virtues are needed to be successful. You also need to realize you can’t be the best at everything. You need to listen to what others have to say and bring people on your team who are best at different things and get them all to work together.
Know your subject
If you study the behavior of your subject, you can anticipate what their next move will be. You can put yourself in the right position or location to create the image that you have visualized in your mind. Most animals and especially birds are creatures of habit and will often show the same behavior time and time again such as feeding, mating, nursing or hunting behavior. Once you cracked the code it puts you at an advantage and makes it so much easier to create engaging images.
As a leader you need to understand your business environment and area of work to be able to guide and support your team and inspire them to make a difference. Your role as a leader is to bring out the best in others, even when they know more than you.
Sharing is learning
In the beginning of my wildlife photography adventure, I shared a lot of my images with other photographers. My main purpose was getting feedback on what to improve, both positive and negative. Those critique sessions greatly improved my photography as it made me see things that otherwise would go unnoticed. You always have a chance to take a better image. Even though I have hundreds of great bald eagle images, the best one still needs to be taken!
Social media made it possible to look at other people’s work. I follow a lot of other photographers and enjoy looking at their work and learning from it. The field of photography is changing constantly with new equipment, software applications and even AI. There is so much to learn and improve upon which ultimately makes me a better photographer.
One thing you have to remember: It is not a competition. I don’t compete with other photographers. I only compete with myself by striving to take a better image every time I hit the shutter button.
In your role as a leader you need to be a life-long learner and expose yourself constantly to new learning opportunities. Every time I made a career move, I asked myself if I would learn or experience something new. If the answer was “yes”, I did it. I have also switched between industries and had to learn new ropes quickly, but this has also helped me see things that I otherwise would have missed. Another lesson for leaders is to stop competing with others, but instead focus on improving yourself. Competition needs to be replaced with collaboration, continuous improvement and innovation. This will benefit yourself, your team and your company.
Staying grounded
As a final note I believe it is very important for every business leader to have a passion or hobby outside of the work environment. It really does not matter what it is as long as it keeps your mind off work. You need it to avoid a burn out and maintain your mental well-being. Recharging the battery is important when you work in a high pace and high stress environment.
For me it is wildlife photography and cycling. I love the connection with nature where everything seems to work perfectly and is in balance. The cycling keeps me fit which allows me to carry heavy photography equipment into the field without passing out.
Remember that only when you are at ease with yourself you will be able to positively impact and lead the people around you.
All images are copyright protected 2023 © Clemens Vanderwerf