Perhaps the sea and the sun created a mermaid. With eyes the color of plankton, hair as gold as rustling wheat, a smile that could light the night, a voice that lilts melodic when she speaks and a soul filled with the light of kindness.
Such is the delight that is Naples’ resident and Swedish-born Emma Casagrande. Her work as an underwater photographer captures her natural comfort on land and in the sea. Emma often works in collaboration with her husband, Emmy Award winning cinematographer, Andy Casagrande IV. Their efforts have been featured in projects for eBella Magazine, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and the BBC. This husband/wife team canvasses the globe to capture nature in its most pure form.
“When I was three years old my parents and I left Arvika/Varmland and lived in the African Congo for three years. It was a super happy time for me. My parents did missionary work there,” she began. “My father worked with their hospitals and my mom helped women become more independent by teaching them how to sew. I thoroughly enjoyed the country, the animals and the people. Because of that experience I learned to appreciate big, bright smiles and those who work hard, have an open heart and desire to build a sense of connection in the community. I watched women bring water to their village and everyone helped care for children and the elderly. The people co-existed with animals in their natural state, which was so important for a young girl to see. Besides the importance of working together, I also learned there is little difference between what animals and people need. Coming into every day with calmness and patience is actually good for both groups. What I experienced at three years of age still guides my life today.”
Emma’s work with natural predators has become not only a focus but also a passion for this young woman. “I became a certified scuba diver at the age of twenty-one while I was visiting Thailand. That underwater world is colorful, beautiful and peaceful. However, the reefs, like the shark, are in danger and need to be protected and both are important. We need to learn to co-exist with the shark. They have been here since before the dinosaur,” she said. “They are robust and have endurance. We have so much to learn from them so we can live longer, disease-free lives. However, it is common, that things we don’t understand, like shark, often cause people to feel afraid. Many people are scared of them and they think these gentle predators want to eat us. We are not on their menu,” she said with an understanding smile. “But, sometimes, the shark makes a mistakes. In the west-coast of California there are seals, so shark may think the black fabric of a scuba suit moving on top of the water could be a seal, which is their food. But here, we have no seals, however, light shimmering colors in the water during dusk could look like a fish. So, please don’t look like their food when you are in their region.”
Emma offers bits of wisdom and insight that seem far beyond her years, but not her experience. The ability to search for and highlight the best trait in all beings is carried throughout her work as photographer, partner, wife, mother, and collaborator. “Everyone has something wonderful and good in them. Sometimes you must look for it,” she said, “but it’s always there to find.”
She and Andy along with their two children (Nova, age three and Ace, age five), travel the world often with her mother on hand. “We are a good team,” she said. “My mom still lives in Sweden and bringing her along on our travels makes me happy. It’s good for all of us and gives my children special time with their grandma. Then Andy and I can work without worry.”
Together, this young family has traveled to South Africa, Sweden, the Bahamas, Mauritius, Costa Rica and various spots within the United States. “When kids are around a loving hand, things are perfect no matter where you are in the world,” she offered. “That is what my parent’s taught me and now we teach the same to our children.”
Like the surf that gently tugs at the sand, Emma’s insights regarding life and love flow effortlessly. “I met Andy in the middle of Africa in the Serengeti National Park,” she began. “He was on a three month assignment with the team from National Geographic and was filming The Lions of the Super Pride. I was traveling through Tanzania with my cousins and two girlfriends and arrived, quite un-expectantly for them, at their film camp in the middle of nowhere surrounded by lions and giraffes. It was love at first sight for Andy and me.
“Although I dearly love my home country and my family in Sweden, I ultimately left to make a life with him. We have found a sense of belonging in Naples where Andy has a large family, although I feel connected to everywhere I have lived. We have made this beautiful city with its gulf sunsets and lush Everglades our home. But it helps to know that Sweden is only a plane ride away.”
As a supporter of healthy environments in the land, sea, and air, Emma hopes her work and her voice will help bring much-needed light to the necessity for clean waterways and air. As a board member for Shark Angels (www.sharkangels.org) she is passionate about spreading knowledge so she may inspire care for our oceans and shark.
Additionally, Emma serves as role-model for equal treatment for working and at-home women and mothers. To further this effort, she and collaborator, Jessica LaBrunn, are beginning an online magazine, Nixie, due out October, 2019. “Girl power is so important,” she said with a grin. “I think women can do anything by believing they can make it happen and then being strong, smart and hardworking.”
She demonstrated this belief in her personal career evolution. Prior to becoming a photographer, Emma was a hairdresser in Sweeden. She stated that the transition between the two professions was not difficult, as she recognized that skills necessary in the first translated to success in the second. Transcending lines, varying degrees of color, levels of movement, quality of light and composition of standard vs. creative design are as paramount in the execution of a perfect hairstyle as in the capturing a single complex moment on film. It took her creative insight to connect the dots. As a co-founder of Naples Coastal Art, along with Monet Layton and Ann-Marie Thomas, she created an opportunity to combine her talents in photography and nature along with other artistic motifs.
Emma brings her creative, gentle and accepting insight into everything she touches, seeing the entire world as her personal canvass. “I am rarely afraid of anything. To me, the world has no limits, no boundaries. I don’t see lines between countries or between people. I see one big beautiful world, where everyone is really the same. One Global Community where we share love and care. I am thrilled to be part of it all.”
With that lasting piece of wisdom, this gentle mermaid slid back into the sea.