Kike Calvo - National Geographic Photographer, Journalist, Children's Book Author

Award-winning photographer, bilingual journalist and author, Kike Calvo has been published in dozens of international outlets. He is represented by National Geographic Creative. He also works as a National Geographic Photography Expert for National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions, where I was first introduced to him. 

1. Starting big: You're involved in so many different ventures that require a ton of energy and focus. What drives you? 

Passion and love for what I do. One of my biggest gifts in life was my ability to find my love for the world and its diversity at a young age, after my fathers death at an early age. I soon transitioned from economics, my initial formal background, to document the world and all its unique stories, camera in hand. I soon understood that our presence on this earth is a gift, and should never be taken for granted. More recently, the birth of my daughter Pilar, now three. 

She has transformed myself as a human and as a professional. She inspired me  to start developing a bilingual children book series, Little Explorer, Big World, with the aim of empowering young girls to pursue their dreams. We have currently launched a GoFund me site (www.littleexplorerbigworld.com) for those willing to pre-order the first children book or support the cause. The idea is to print additional copies, so I can give away books on my travels around the world. Also, while I continue with my regular activities with National Geographic Expeditions and Lindblad Expeditions, and my work being represented by National Geographic Creative, I decided to follow a hunch. For years I had been documenting Colombia. A country quite complex to understand, but that has given me so much at different levels. Driven by my love for this country, I started Colombia Photo Expeditions (www.colombiaphotoexpeditions.com), specialized in developing logistics, workshops and photo tours for international travel companies and photographers, who are interested in operating in the country. Using the connections I developed over the years and a deep field knowledge,  we are already successfully helping key people in the industry in their pursues down there.

2. What would you consider your biggest accomplishment? Biggest failure? From both experiences, what did you learn?

My biggest accomplishment has always been able to Never Stop Dreaming. Believing that with hard work, education and time, I could become a professional photographer, conducting photo assignments from clients globally, complementing it with helping travelers experience their adventures, helping them become immersed with the local cultures and become a catalyzer in their photo activities, amateurs or professionals. Turning my biggest challenges such as a strong accent, a Spanish origin and a lack of local network into my biggest assets, being able to navigate between the US and Latin American cultures and markets at ease. 

The list of failures will probably take several of your mailings. So I would just say I have learned to truly care about people and their own "worlds", no matter their position in society. Believing that everyone is the same no matter their color, ethnicity and religion. And probably my biggest lesson from all the failures is that certain dreams take time and hard work to blossom. Falling and starting all over until they come true as many times as needed. Never loosing hope or the ability to dream. 

3. What advice do you have for young people interested in becoming a professional photographer? What common advice should they ignore? 

To get an education beyond photography. Understanding that accounting, business and all the other topics that people never talk about are as important as the artsy part of the equation.  That Inspiration and creativity are key, but hard work and the ability to pitch projects and make them happen from start to finish, are as valuable at the creative process itself.  Being able to look back, learn from old mistakes and constantly evolved, specially in a changing world and industry.

Looking back at my own career, the odds of becoming a professional photojournalist were slim. In the beginning, I never had real mentors, and I encountered never ending obstacles to move forward. Many suggested me to do something else or spoke about the impossibility of making it happen. It is not an easy lifestyle or career, but its probably one of the most fulfilling ones, allowing us to document the human kind and experiencing its many stories. My advise, is to listen to advise, but remember that in the end, someone needs to do the job. 

“I would encourage younger people to look at those whom they admire, and beyond their work, study how they implemented their lives and logistics. ”

4. What can you not travel without? (Besides camera and lens)

I always travel with a small notebook, and more recently I have started sketching. I keep a diary of all my adventures and lessons. Everyday at the end of the day while on location, I sit down in my room, and I sketch, take notes and use watercolors to create fun entries into my travel journal. My first logged expedition was a trip that I participated as a National Geographic Photo Expert on a Lindblad Expeditions departure to Costa Rica and Panama, but many other destinations have followed.

For more on Kike, visit KikeCalvo.com.

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