Nicholas Arthur Vaandering

A Biography

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                  Written by Benjamin J. Tolman 

            Nicholas Arthur Vaandering: The attitude of imagination, the understanding that comes from true exploration and the craving for discovery constitute the embodiment of this man.  A sharp intellect combined with a strong will that drives that mind leaves Nicholas with an indebtedness to beauty and the divine that drive his passion for the breath of all life only as it is understood. An artist of his day, his compassion for capturing life is the fuel you will soon long for. And the journey begins…  

Nicholas was born on May 19, 1986 to Arthur Vaandering and Kathleen Vaandering in Grand Haven, Michigan.  While Grand Haven is known as West Michigan’s “bright spot” and boasts small-town flavor with the splendor and majesty of sandy beaches, Nicholas’ father and mother were not consigned to have their children develop a naive understanding that comes from only being exposed to the small-town life of Grand Haven. Because of this fact, Nicholas’ parents, particularly his father, wanted to allow him to experience the lands of his inheritance. He then had much opportunity to travel the world of his history. A gift he still cherishes to this day.  Nicholas’ journeys have lead him to many worldly places: the Pyramids of Egypt, Stonehenge of England, the Alps of Switzerland, the ancient cities of Italy, temples of Greece, the jungles of Guatemala and the mountains of Panama to just name a few…  These travels also include exploring the United States, and not to forget his favorite city, Amsterdam.  These pinpoints on a map are not evidence of strictly a collection of needles but rather serve to illustrate some of the points on which the development of Nicholas’ personal tapestry began; a work that has only just been started and is not limited for his ultimate goal of “the world traveled.”           

These experiences infused Nicholas with a love of people and culture that influenced his mind to capture the moment. It was the thought of never wanting to leave that made him knowingly needing to fulfill the immediate forever.  Nicholas knew since he was very little that his fate did not lie behind a desk, but that his soul longed for the ability to have that freedom of exploration and discovery that he had tasted as a youth. He describes it as “a need to find the way to true exploration without anything but compassion; there is no other way to truly test yourself, to see the world, to understand what the world means and to remember it forever. The idea of society only limits one for there is just not enough time to waste in having someone else educate you on everything that just does not matter and for purposes that are not your own but someone else’s. To me, truth will only be discovered when you live in the midst of your own philosophy and the only way to achieve that is by understanding the true inspiration that your body shows you.”   

Knowing about the securities of formal education, Nicholas believed that that structure of knowledge was over-used and under-delivered.  As such, he believed his route to success was through the business world and it is here that he made his first foundations at the lively age of eighteen.

The Collective Works of Nicholas Arthur Vaandering is what he calls the beginning with no end.  It is now a multi-level and diverse corporation with many business ventures. He also is as much involved with developing internationally in the business world, to bring the world in his hands, to allow his humanitarian ideas and passions to be incorporated in every business venture he is involved with throughout the world, to see change at both ends.  It is his practice and philosophy that if it will not benefit the world it will not benefit him. For money is never a reason to find any true success. As he says “the mist of paper floating around the world is the one true thing that we cannot understand real depth behind, for the trees are the richest of us all.”

            Nicholas’ first hand experiences in professional photography dates back to days when he traveled to cities like Chicago and Miami to Model for Ford Models Inc.  His short road of modeling life brought him a serious start in his photography. Shooting with well-known photographers brought him an eye for fashion and, soon making contacts on the other side of the camera, brought him to where he is today. As you will see in his work, many forms of his photography bring the fast-paced, manufactured industry of fashion into reconciliation with the beauty of nature. Nicholas most loves capturing everyday life experiences and bringing them to life through the camera — having a worldly nature and structure combined with the everyday life that people that live in the midst of, or perhaps it is just the love of still, where life is away, left for another day.  Either way, both are given rapt attention and detail in his works.

            Nicholas most loves the outdoors, the exploring of every piece of land.  You will see in his work the many places he has traveled; you will also see his love of his hobbies; cycling, skiing, running, hiking and kayaking to name some of his favorites.

    His love of speed also extends to more contemporary modes of transportation. Growing up around a racetrack, as his father was an avid race-car-driver and graduated from one the top racing schools in the world, Nicholas found the thrill behind the wheel. His father and him have a vast collection of European sport cars and motorcycles.

    Nicholas now lives in his vintage 1900’s flat in the First Hill area of beautiful Seattle Washington. He also resides in Panama part of the year at his mountain home in the Cerro Azul Mountains. By the end of 2008, NAV Collective Works will have set up their international headquarters in Panama City, Panama.

            Nicholas is always reminding people of the ideas in which drove him, the ideas that make life much fuller than the knowing. Formulated as the backbone of his truths and generated from one if his most respected heroes Albert Einstein: “Education is the only thing stopping me from learning”, Nicholas has this to say about his life: “It is intuition and its everything.”

            

 

I want to give much thanks to my great and well-respected friend for enduring a humble and kind writing of my yet crazy life that I am still entering. Thank you Ben!

 

 

 Nicholas Arthur Vaandering