About
Most of my career has been about understanding what motivates people and how to achieve results through them — leading teams, influencing without authority, and, more recently, consulting work focused on executive effectiveness. Eisenhower put it well: leadership is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it. Photography and that instinct run through three generations of my family.
Underwater
Unlike leading and managing people, you can't rush or “lead” wildlife — particularly those with lots of sharp teeth. It's a completely different skill set. A hundred feet below the surface, you can't force the moment. You can only position yourself in the right place at hopefully the right time, and be ready when it arrives.
The best wildlife photography advice I ever received came from Moose Peterson, who said that to make superior wildlife images you need to understand the animal's biology. Intimately. Only then can you anticipate behavior — knowing what they are going to do next is essential to capturing the peak of action. Nowhere is that more true than underwater, photographing large animals. You study them before you enter the water, and you read them constantly once you do.
My underwater work focuses on the creatures and environments most people will never see firsthand — sharks, open water pelagics, coral reef ecosystems, and the interplay of light beneath the surface.
Three Generations Behind the Lens
Jim Bates, 165th Photo Signal Company
On D-Day 1944, my grandfather, Jim Bates, parachuted into Normandy with the 82nd Airborne Division as a combat photographer with the 165th Photo Signal Company — reportedly in the second plane over the drop zone, the generals wanting photographers on the ground first. He went on to film the Battle of the Bulge, the liberation of a concentration camp, and — most famously — the Cologne tank duel, some of the most famous tank battle footage of World War II. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service.
Jim's story is told in Adam Makos' New York Times bestseller Spearhead — his footage became the book's cover art — and in the Scenes of War documentary produced by the Pikes Peak Library District, where he tells his story in his own words — including a remarkable encounter with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
His son — my father — ran the Bamberger's photo studio for Macy's for decades, shooting catalog and commercial photography with large-format cameras. I grew up surrounded by cameras, lights, and the smell of darkroom chemicals.
I wrote more about all three generations — and what Jim's camera taught me on a Nova Scotia road — in Three Generations Behind the Lens.
On my mother's side, Cle and Jean Kinney — my grandfather and step grandmother — were former advertising executives who retired to write and illustrate. They produced many books together, among them a series of earth science books for children. The series was born from a single question I asked on a trip to Martha's Vineyard — “What does the tide do?” — which became the first book and inspired the two that followed: What Does the Cloud Do? and What Does the Sun Do? My cousin Trey Anastasio (you may have heard of him) was the grandchild featured in the second book.
Leadership & Consulting
Before I came back to photography, I spent 35 years in the insurance industry — at MassMutual, MetLife, and Manulife Financial — as head of life product marketing, leading teams, driving product strategy, and navigating the kind of large-scale organizational change that comes with major acquisitions. I was involved in product design and development and served as a company media spokesperson, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Business Insider. I led the MassMutual acquisition of MetLife's agency distribution, and our team's work earned patents and was featured in national television advertising.
For the last decade I've worked as a leadership consultant and executive coach at Bates Communications (now part of BTS), writing on leadership effectiveness — including a piece for The Enterprisers Project — and specializing in executive presence and team effectiveness. I hold an MBA from Boston University's Questrom School of Business and a BS from New York University. I'm a certified Bates ExPI™ coach — the same executive presence framework I used to coach C-suite leaders is what I bring to understanding how presence translates through the camera lens. Read more about how the ExPI works →
Executive Headshots
When I'm not underwater, I photograph executives and professionals at my studio in Sherborn, Massachusetts. The corporate experience gives me something most photographers don't have — I've sat in the chair my clients sit in. I understand that their time is valuable, that they make decisions quickly, and that they are deeply discerning about how they present themselves. I don't need to guess what executives care about. I've lived it.
Based in Sherborn, Massachusetts
My home base is Sherborn, a small town about 25 miles west of Boston. When I'm not diving or behind the camera, you'll find me making music, chasing roads on a bike, or planning the next expedition.
Available for presentations, podcast interviews, and speaking engagements on underwater photography, conservation, and executive presence. Speaking & Media →