From a very early age Wim was involved with photography being brought up in a house hold where photography was not only a hobby but rather a life style. Photography was always a very private affair for the van den Heever family and the values and morals instilled were instrumental in setting the mindset for Wim's career ahead. One such value was to always produce work you liked and not to worry about opinions rules and formulas of others. This was instrumental in shaping the eye of the photographer without outside intervention. This resulted in a very unique style of photography that sets Wim's work apart from the rest.
Of course it helped that Wim was exposed to top professional equipment from a very early age and from about the age of 9 years old Wim father handed over a Canon FTb and Novoflex 400mm lens with 640mm conversion for his hobby. This all manual equipment, which at the time was top the class, help cement a thorough understanding of cameras and light and the intricate workings thereof, something that was invaluable in Wim career as photographer later on.
Wim started off his career in the IT industry and very soon realized that his passion and interest was with photography and the great out doors. In 2005 Wim started investigating and putting plans into place to enter the professional side of photography. It was also around this time that Wim made his final move to digital photography initially starting off with a Canon 20D and quickly moving on to the Canon 1D series cameras after seeing the benefits thereof.
In 2006 Wim took the final plunge moving form a serious amateur photographer to one that earns an income off it.
He started off by hosting wildlife photography workshops and safaris in the Sabi Sands and later opened up in addition to this a camera and lens rental division.
In 2007 Wim and Hedrus combined forces to form a new company that rents out camera equipment and offers photography safaris and outings.
On the professional photography side Wim currently has two agent that market his work internationally. In 2007 Wim signed up with Tetra Images a New York based agent and recently signed up with Gallo Images in South Africa. His work can viewed on numerous web sites including the market leading sites such as Getty Images.
Recently Wim has made the transition to the Nikon brand and uses Nikon equipment exclusively for his professional work.
If you would like to learn more about Wim,
or read some of his other articles,
please visit his profile on ODP Magazine
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