My Story
I took up photography about 8 years back as a budding enthusiast and what started off as a hobby quickly turned into a passion for story telling. For the first 5 years I worked in finance and took photography jobs in the weekend. Fortunately for me, my finance job took me to several parts in South Africa and as far as France. This gave me numerous opportunities to document different events and meet people from all walks of life. I think for me this was the best way to figure out what type of photography to specialise in and it led me to discover my style in photography. I have always been fascinated with travel and story telling and these 2 aspects played a major role in allowing me to discover my vision for my life and photography business. My fascination with film has also played a significant role in inspiring me to tell better stories. Travel, film and the love for people has truly inspired me to create a business I could only imagine in my dreams.
From the time I could remember, I have always been a dreamer, and film allowed me to escape to a world where I could be the main narrater and create amazing adventures for myself. My early childhood was marred by insecurity and day dreaming. I was that awkward kid that was so shy that a conversation with a stranger took allot of effort. The only time I felt at peace was when I saw myself escaping to different lands having an adventure. I guess you can say film became my escape from reality and I never stopped imagining a better more colourful adventure for myself. In those days being a movie director was the ultimate dream and I imagined myself telling stories in different lands frequently. I just loved the way a movie could excite you, make you cry, allow you to dream in less than 2 or 3 hours(Bollywood Fans;)
My fascination with film led me to love creating things and I picked up sketching and painting. I was decent in art but it just did not feel right. As I grew up and entered high school, reality led me to stop doing what felt right to me. That is, I entered a world dictated by society where passion was a luxury and security was the answer. This frustrated me but every time I saw a movie, I could dream again even just for a few hours. For the next few years I went with the flow and my aspirations for telling stories took a back seat. I eventually entered the next phase in my life, University – party time:) I saw university as a great opportunity to dream again while I ‘secured my future’. I went through the motions of university and eventually graduated with 2 degrees in business. I loved university life, I met some life long friends and had some great experiences along the way. I am really grateful to my parents whom instilled in me the right values and allowed me to have a great time. They come from a generation and time in South Africa where opportunities was limited for people of colour. Saying this, my parents provided every comfort that we needed and more and have always supported us in good times and bad. My love for travel and film can be attributed to my parents so I will always be grateful to them.
Entering the working world was tricky mainly because I never stopped dreaming of living my best life and I had no idea what type of work would suit me. For the next 3 years I worked in jobs ranging from promotions, sales and finance. I only took work that allowed me time to dream. I never stopped believing in my vision of living my best life. Finally after 3 odd years of taking meaningless work, and not figuring out what to do with my life I decided to sign a 4 year contract with a finance company. This was my first real job. What I did prior to accepting this offer was write down a detailed list of I wanted to experience and do with my life. This list included the type of job, the pay, opportunity to travel and work overseas etc. Within the first month of accepting that offer, I had a feeling to buy a camera which I did. After years of dreaming I had finally found a tool that I felt I could tell stories with. This was the best feeling ever. For the next 2 years I took images of everything and aligned myself with influential and talented photographers to learn as much as I could while working in finance. The best part is my finance job was not stressful and offered many opportunities to travel and meet different people. I had the best time learning and creating images. I think the best part was the coincidences that manifested as a result of believing in my vision. I attracted the best people in my life and I was happy. Every decision I made was connected to me becoming a full-time documentary photographer travelling the world.
Coming to the end of my contract with the finance firm, an opportunity was presented which I could not refuse. They offered me the opportunity to study french for 4 months and work in France for 3. Remember what I wrote down before I signed the contract, oh yes, I attracted the opportunity to work overseas before I embarked on my vision of becoming a full time photographer. This was the best year of my life, I learned new things, met some amazing people, travelled to some of the most beautiful places in France and created some amazing images. During this period I finally realised the power of belief and dreaming. I have always been a dreamer and manifesting my vision felt great and rewarding.
When I finally went full time into Photography, I build up a good portfolio to attract work and knew the type of people I wanted to work with. It has been a difficult 3 years but the most rewarding of my life. I have learned so many different things about business but more importantly the life lessons along the way have been inspiring. I feel really grateful to do what I love and I know that dreams can come true. I am still that awkward kid, but now, I know I have the ability to inspire and create whatever I want. I continue to make mistakes and learn everyday. I don’t work from a traditional business model: I have a dream, work hard and let the universe guide me.
I am just an introvert who is willing to dream and risk it all for love. And yes I do believe in Magic!
Love and Blessings
Kavo R
