How did you become a photographer and what type or genre of photography do you enjoy most?
I played around with pocket-sized, point and shoot cameras when I was younger, recording life experiences while traveling but it wasn't until after a visit to Stewart Island, in 2018, when I was left frustrated at not being able to photograph the rare birds I had seen that I bought my first ‘real’ camera, a Nikon P900. With my new camera and its impressive zoom, I was able to go out and play in the bush and try to get those rare bird photos.
I wanted to learn how to fully operate the camera, so I invested in online courses to further my knowledge, which was virtually nil, when it came to how to handle a camera. After six months, I reached the limitations of the P900, so I moved on to an interchangeable lens camera, while staying with Nikon. I am still self taught and soak up online courses like a sponge, always trying to improve my knowledge and skill base.
Photography as a past time, has been very good for me. It gets me out and about when otherwise I would probably be staying inside feeling isolated. I seem to enjoy nature and landscape photography the most. I like getting out in the forest, with friends, trying to photograph tiny fungi, getting a quality bird photo, or just trying to capture the beauty of the trees. I also enjoy people photography - creating memories for my friends and capturing strangers enjoying themselves at events and on the street.
What is the inspiration behind your photographs?
When it comes to the outdoors, I want to try to capture the raw beauty of our surroundings. For this, I am more drawn to moody days where there is cloud movement and changing light. I love going on road trips with like-minded friends, seeing what mischief and adventures we can get up to, stopping for scenic spots and waterfalls, or the chance of a bushwalk somewhere new.
When it comes to people and animals, I try to capture the true emotion of the moment. I want to capture that twinkle that people get in their eye, when they are having fun, or are with their loved ones. Having lost my family, I enjoy the opportunity to capture future memories for other people. So often, you don't realise what you have, until you have lost it.
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Why did you decide to start selling your work with Excio?
I was already a member of Excio, enjoying the friendly photography community they created. But it was their faith in me, that I had something that was good enough to sell, that gave me the confidence to put forward my photos for the image library. I have met some of the photographers who were there during the Beta stage of the library and I knew the caliber of their photos and felt that if the idea was good enough for them, then it was certainly good enough for me. I felt honoured to be considered for inclusion as I’d never previously considered uploading work to a traditional stock image library, thinking I had nothing suitable to sell.
Do you hope to make photography your main source of income in the future?
My dream job would be a movie stills photographer. But as that is just a dream, I would like to have photography as a hobby that pays for itself. I would have to keep up the day job as I don't expect I would make a profit since I suffer from serious lens envy. As soon as I sold some photos, I would probably be out buying that dream lens I had been hankering after, or going on a new photography trip or adventure!
Where can we find you online?
