Onne Van Der Wal
Award winning nautical photographer and Canon Explorer of Light, Onne van der Wal, will take you on a visual journey that most can only dream about accessing: prepare to get wet and salty, at least viscerally. For over 25 years van der Wal has surrounded himself with water and the nautical world and his imagery speaks volumes to his expertise and vast experience in this challenging environment.
Once a professional sailor, van der Wal circumnavigated the world as part of an all male team trying to be the fastest boat in the 1981-82 edition of the “Whitbread Around the World Race.” When van der Wal, a native Dutchman raised in Cape Town, South Africa, and his teammates aboard the Dutch entry FLYER won the race, his unique and technically impressive photos from this epic journey were sought after. Sailing and adventure magazines flocked to van der Wal to gain access to his images and the rest is history; He hung up his sea boots and took to a life and career photographing the yachting world rather than competing in it.
Since that time, van der Wal, has honed his eye and technical skill behind the lens, carving out a name for himself and his revered work. While he prefers shooting in his home waters of Newport, Rhode Island, which is rich with sailing and nautical history, his work and clients have taken him again around the globe shooting exotic destinations – many of which can only be reached by boat. Expeditions are his favorite, and he has quite a few under his belt. He has been to the farthest reaches of the world, preferring the poles to the tropics, but his collection of over one million photographs proves that there are few places van der Wal cannot make look worthy of exploring.
