Kyle Vollaers is a South-African adventure and lifestyle photographer, currently freelancing throughout the world. Kyle is known for his soft cinematic style of photography, and his unique ability to capture seemingly ordinary locations in a beautiful way. Kyle began his creative career as a street artist and musician on the bustling streets of Cape Town, South Africa. He transferred this creative energy to photography in 2016 and has since amassed a stunning portfolio of travel, landscape, and lifestyle photos. Kyle is hyper-focused on using his photography to create positive change in the world, and his current body of work reflects this. You can imagine that we're super hyped about the fact he's working with us! Make sure to checkout his work on Instagram!
Let’s get to know Kyle a little bit better by asking him some questions about himself, his travels and why he’s working with Cortazu!
HI KYLE, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR YOURSELF
Hey there! My name is Kyle Vollaers and I am a 27-year-old Travel & Lifestyle photographer from Cape Town South Africa. I picked up a camera 3 years ago and haven't looked back since. I manifested and managed to take my passion for creating and turned it into a career by staying consistent and putting in the work. I now work full-time as a travel photographer/filmmaker and couldn't ask for a better career. It definitely has its ups and downs, but I embrace every part of the process and try to give it my all on a daily basis.
WHAT ATTRACTS YOU TO TRAVELING AND PHOTOGRAPHY?
What attracts me the most to travelling and photography, is discovering the unknown, immersing myself in new cultures, discovering unique landscapes, and sharing all of these facets with people who are not as fortunate to do the same. Telling stories and Inspiring others through the frames I capture is what drives me as a photographer.
WHAT’S YOUR BEST TRAVEL MEMORY?
I would say that my best travel memory is the sunrise I caught at Bromo, East Java - 2019. We took a jeep up to the main viewpoint and then hiked to a little plateau that was just off the beaten path and out of the view of the rest of the tourists. We watched Bromo smoke as the first light painted the spines of the volcano lit the sky on fire. As the sky exploded into colour, a cloud inversion crept into the valley and made the sunrise even more surreal. This is definitely one of my favorite travel memories.
INSPIRE US. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE DESTINATIONS?
I have quite a few destinations that go head to head at the top of my list, but I would have to say the Sahara desert and the west coast of Greenland take the cake on this one. I am fascinated by abstract/minimal landscapes and both of these destinations have some of the most beautiful views that I have ever seen. The vast golden rolling layers of the Sarah are by far my favourite landscapes to shoot and the colossal icebergs of Greenland are just as incredible.
WHY DO YOU THINK YOU MATCH WITH CORTAZU SO WELL?
First of all, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Cortazu gear is some of the best designed/high-quality gear that I have ever worn. I feel that I match with Cortazu because I believe in the same core values and Ideologies as the Cortazu team and firmly believe in producing high-quality gear that will last for years. That mixed with the vision of re-greening our planet with the JustDiggit initiative makes for a perfect and more sustainable approach to the production of outdoor gear.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE CORTAZU ITEMS?
The Mountain Mid-layer paired with the Mountain Hardshell make for the perfect combo and withstood 10 days on Kilimanjaro. These are definitely my favourite items, but I am excited to see what products Cortazu has in the pipeline as they are such a fresh company with a massive future in the Outdoor and adventure market.
