ABOUT US
A Passion for Conservation, Education and Communities.
At nature and photo we want you to experience beautiful places, have truly immersive experiences, take a pocket full of good memories home with you and, above all, feel like you have contributed to taking care of nature.
Since November 2019 Nature and Photo brought people outside to experience the creative power of photography and the transformational power of nature.
We are a small and growing company, but from the start we wanted to do things the right way.
These are our Core Values
Create unique and personal experiences
Our mission is to get you as close to nature as humanly possible and we pride ourselves in finding the hidden photography gems (we pioneered bird photography workshops on the Berg River) and we aim to take you to those places where nature offers a truly unique experience. These are not always the most famous places, but by the time we have extensively tested locations and offer them to you, we are confident that you’ll have an exceptional experience there.
All our instructors are handpicked for their love of nature and people. Then we train them to ensure they are well-rounded photography instructors and knowledgeable about the subjects they provide instruction in.
Nature first
The animal, bird and habitat is more important than the photograph. That is why we put together our “good practices for ethical and safe nature photography”. We researched international standards and used those guidelines to create our good practices guide. All our instructors and avain surveyors are expected to promote these guidelines during our experiences.
Support local communities
Our bigger purpose is to promote the well-being of nature. We believe that the key to taking care of the natural world is to form partnerships with local service providers. From creating partnerships with the most knowledgeable skippers, renting a 4x4 from a local entrepreneur, sourcing the best coffee in town from a local roastery, or asking a local family owned business to print our branded t-shirts.
If local communities do not benefit from our nature experiences, how can we ask them to take care of nature?
It’s that simple.
Teach
We want to use our knowledge of nature and photography for good and in the beginning of 2021 we started YELA (Young Explorers Leadership Academy) to equip tomorrow’s leaders for nature stewardship. We also partnered with local Paternoster NGO, Westcoast Kids, to bring the YELA program to disadvantaged communities.
Since then the Young Explorers Club was born from YELA. Here we are focussed on helping younger students to develop their personal skills....... with mud on their boots.
Use our business to help nature
We always look for ways to support local conservation efforts and recently teamed up with The Owl Orphanage, near Velddrif on the West Coast of South Africa, by supplying free photography services and printed images to help them promote the invaluable work they do to rehabilitate injured birds and other animals.
Meet our core team!
Hi!! I'm Ron Moller
Nature Photographer and Founder, Organiser and Photography Instructor of Nature & Photo
My photography career started many moons ago under the watchful eye of Ilford World Press Photographer winner, Peter Stanford. Now it spans almost two decades and included a variety of disciplines during this time:
Photographer, production manager and producer.
Through these disciplines, I've had the opportunity to work on many international brand campaigns, like Coca Cola, Nokia and The Times (London). I shot for some of the best local clients, like the Cape Town International Convention Centre and raced across countries as part of a reality television production team - producing the exciting Pechino Express for Italian television.
Now, I live a much slower life.
I swapped the adrenaline of corporate and commercial productions for the natural rhythm of fynbos, sea and wildlife.
There is a soulfulness that comes with spending time in nature, connecting with wildlife and sharing these experiences with other people, that I find particularly rewarding.
I love sharing my knowledge and I am a natural teacher.
Stay in touch and consider joining one of our activities - I’d love to meet you there and share some stories with you over a cup of coffee.
Hi!! I'm Jacques Myburgh
Guest Instructor
Fanatic Photographer and Professional Life & Business Coach
*** MEANING THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY ***
Photography for me began as a pastime in the late 1990s when I received a camera as a gift from a dear friend. Eventually it grew into a hobby and a way of capturing memories. Some years later, my sister Teresa Ueckermann and I attended a photo workshop at Temenos, McGregor. Through lots of humor, she was instrumental in my understanding of the technical foundation of photography – the triangle of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.
During 2016 my craft was formalized when I assisted Vernon Chalmers, a professional photographer in Cape Town, with workshops and photo walks, doing birds-in-flight, landscape, and macro photography. I am tremendously grateful for those opportunities because few things teach you more about a topic than when you must explain it to someone else!
At about the same time I exchanged a corporate lifestyle for my private practice of coaching, consulting, training, publishing, and research. Photography remained important in my life, and I honed my skills during wonderful nature photography expeditions, notably to the southern region of Namibia and the Chobe River in Botswana.
Though I love the sound of a clattering shutter following a fish eagle in full flight at 10 frames per second, I appreciate how photography and images can be used in a mindful and meaningful approach. I am therefore incorporating photography with the coaching concept of reflective practice. Think Wabi-sabi Photography and Slow Photography. At this stage I am also furthering my studies to include Therapeutic Photography.
It will be a pleasure to share my knowledge, ideas, and thoughts with you during our excursions, so please do join our outings.
Hi!! I'm Angelique Rosant
Senior Instructor - Youth Programs
I'm a freelance lifestyle and portrait photographer and senior instructor at Nature & Photo's Young Explorers Club.
I've always loved community work and nature and joined the Darling Wildflower Society committee in 2016 where I manage the educational outings, walks and talks for the youth. I was a group leader at the Darling Outreach Foundation and previously participated in various creative projects for a variety of organizations - including Darling Music Experience, Darling Voorkamerfest and dARTling.
My curiosity always gets the better of me - in a good way - and through my short working life I’ve always remained open minded and child-like.
Children and nature encourage me every day and give me a kind of peace I didn't know I needed until I learned to sit still and pay attention.