Delve into Dana Cama’s bio, and it appears her life path was destined to result in her position as social media supervisor for Natural Habitat Adventures.
Dana Cama and her canines, Maggie and Bodhi, go to the Grand Canyon. © Dana Cama
After committing to conservation at an early age, Cama went on to review environmental science earlier than graduating with an arts diploma at Parsons School of Design. She then labored with a number of nonprofits, together with Long Beach Animal Hospital and Evolution Haiti, touring to far-flung locations and promoting her pictures to assist conservation and philanthropic efforts alongside the way in which.
In between journeys, Cama additionally traveled independently all through the U.S. and Canada in her trusty Subaru wagon, monitoring and photographing wildlife and turning her prints into income to assist their trigger.
Nat Hab: A Natural Fit
“Nat Hab’s values and mission of conservation through exploration aligned perfectly with mine,” says Cama, talking of her need to work for the corporate. “Everyone here is passionate about conservation, something that’s paralleled what I’ve been working towards in my own life for a long time,” she provides. “So, it’s kind of a coincidence that I found Nat Hab, but I’m really grateful that I did.”
Whether discovering Nat Hab was a coincidence or destiny, we’re grateful she did, too! Cama brings a aptitude for pictures, a ardour for conservation and a radical understanding of social media to her new position.
Social Media Success
And she’s already garnered nice success: In her first two months alone, “she managed to snag us our first viral video [a jaguar attacking a caiman on one of our Jaguars & Wildlife of Brazil’s Pantanal trips], taking our TikTok channel literally from zero to more than 50,000 followers in a matter of days,” says Nat Hab content material advertising and marketing supervisor Valerie Gleaton.
To debut our new sequence spotlighting Nat Hab workers, Good Nature Travel caught up with Cama quickly after she returned from her first Nat Hab journey, our Alaska Grizzly Encounter: Kodiak to Katmai—an acceptable journey for a self-professed “animal nerd” and somebody with a spirit bear tattooed on their arm.
© Dana Cama
Read on to get Cama’s tackle subjects starting from the position social media can play in conservation to why communing with Alaskan grizzlies introduced her a lot peace.
Our Interview With Dana Cama, Nat Hab’s Social Media Manager
Q. What impressed you to work at Nat Hab?
Along with creating impactful wildlife experiences for individuals, I like that Nat Hab is a pacesetter in conservation. What’s so cool for me is that the corporate at all times walks the stroll, to the purpose the place staff are routinely inspired to talk up if we see any room for enchancment. Even on my latest Grizzlies of Katmai journey, I used to be requested to report again if I noticed one thing that I felt didn’t dwell as much as our sustainability requirements.
Dana Cama (heart) and Nat Hab Expedition Leader Brad Josephs (second from proper) in Alaska © Dana Cama
Q. How does your expertise as a photographer align along with your new position?
Tracking and photographing wildlife by myself journeys actually familiarized me with the content material I’m engaged on. Also, in my position, you’ll want to be visually savvy to attach with individuals in an emotional means and know which content material will make an imprint. My training and expertise educated me to make these choices each day at work—to place content material on the market that makes vacationers wish to have interaction with Nat Hab, journey with us and contribute to conservation.
Q. What was one of the best a part of these early pictures journeys?
Seeing the affect that my pictures had and realizing I used to be in a position to elevate cash for good causes by way of the prints I bought. I used to be immediately hooked and knew I needed to do extra of this.
© Dana Cama
Q. So, can pictures assist change the world?
Definitely. I noticed plenty of the locations I used to be visiting weren’t spots that many individuals would ever see, but it surely’s doable to lift consciousness about conservation and philanthropic wants in these locations by way of imagery. You can describe a spot or an animal, but it surely doesn’t essentially carry the identical emotional response that a picture does.
Q. What about video’s position in conservation?
People are such a excessive inflow of nonetheless pictures all day lengthy that photographs right now must be further impactful to essentially make somebody cease and assume. I feel video is changing into more and more in style and highly effective as a result of we will add extra storytelling components.
Q. What’s the key to impactful social content material?
Sharing actual individuals’s experiences and making different individuals really feel they could be a a part of these experiences, too. It’s much less about posting tremendous polished promotional movies and extra about connecting with individuals in a real means. What Nat Hab vacationers expertise within the subject is all about actual individuals having actual moments. Our jaguar video that not too long ago went viral was shot on a mobile phone, and I feel individuals related with it as a result of they felt like they might be there in that second. So, I’m making an attempt to share that type of user-generated content material as a lot as doable.
Q. Can you share a few of your different objectives as social media supervisor?
I’m planning on collaborating extra with our Expedition Leaders within the subject. Brad Josephs, my Grizzlies of Katmai information, had an countless variety of tales to inform, and our company love him. So a lot of our guides are like that, and plenty of them are additionally extremely proficient photographers, so I’m hoping to showcase extra of their work and inform their tales.
I additionally plan to make use of our social channels to focus on all of the sustainability initiatives we’re engaged on with our conservation associate, World Wildlife Fund. We shared a latest video on how we’re serving to save monarch butterflies, for instance, that was particularly highly effective.
Q. How else can social media advance eco-awareness?
Social media is usually a good studying instrument as a result of it’s tremendous digestible and reaches such a large viewers. I feel it’s additionally essential to encourage individuals to go to wild locations—experiencing these locations in the end conjures up individuals to look after them. Understandably, there are a lot of who could by no means expertise locations like Greenland and Antarctica, however our social media is usually a voice for these locations, and I feel it’s essential that Nat Hab continues to share their tales by way of our content material.
© Dana Cama
Q. Speaking of untamed locations, what was your Alaska Grizzly Trip like?
It was very emotional for me. I’m somebody who loves bears, however I’ve spent a very long time having to maintain a distance from them within the decrease 48, which implies I’ve by no means actually been in a position to {photograph} them nicely. So, having the ability to expertise grizzlies at an in depth vary was unimaginable. I’ve by no means felt so peaceable and comfy in my life.
Q. Comfortable—close to grizzlies?!
Absolutely. They’re simply curious, and our Expedition Leaders have such an amazing understanding of their conduct and tips on how to talk that we imply them no hurt, so it’s completely protected. You’re in a spot the place bears and people have this understanding. They’re simply strolling up and down riverbanks feeding on salmon, and so they’ll stroll proper previous you, figuring out you aren’t a menace.
Q. What else did you’re keen on concerning the journey?
Returning to our small ship, the Natural Habitat Ursus, after photographing bears all day, we’d see whales, sea otters and different wildlife. That a part of Alaska is simply essentially the most stunning place. I’ve by no means felt extra at peace or reduce off from the world. Brad, my Expedition Leader, had a lot data concerning the space and love for these bears. It was clear he’d do something to guard them.
Q. What are your high suggestions for photographing grizzlies?
Shoot at a excessive shutter velocity and use a versatile focus level which you could maintain your finger on to regulate and transfer with the bears, particularly after they’re fishing.
Learn extra about photographing grizzlies from The Natural Photographer.
Q. What’s subsequent for you when it comes to journey?
I not too long ago transformed a camper van so I can proceed to journey independently and {photograph} and assist wildlife as I am going. For Nat Hab journeys, gorilla treks in Uganda and Rwanda are particularly excessive up for me. The skill to be that intimate with wildlife is what I like most. It’s so uncommon to have the ability to join that deeply with animals, and these are the sorts of experiences I really feel I can solely do with Nat Hab.
© Dana Cama
You can observe Cama’s social media work for Nat Hab on our Facebook, Instagram, TikTook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages!