How and when did photography enter your life?
I first became interested in photography growing up in India where my father was a missionary doctor in one of the tribal states of North East India. My father had an Agfa 35mm rangefinder camera and I learned to take photos with that. When I was a student at Massey University in the late 70s and early 80s, all I could afford was a cheap second-hand compact film camera that I would take with me on hunting and tramping trips into the ranges. It wasn’t until I was married and my first child was born in 1984 that I was finally able to purchase an Olympus OM-10 SLR.
Which genre of photography do you enjoy most?
I mostly enjoy wildlife and landscape photography, although I also like astrophotography and photographing events such as fund-raising concerts for Special Olympics and I’ve photographed a few weddings.
What is the inspiration behind your photography?
We live in a beautiful world and universe. I love trying to capture the beauty of nature in a way that does justice to the Creator. In terms of inspirational photographers, I will mention Mike Ashby for his amazing bird and wildlife images, and I also greatly admire Ansel Adams for his famous landscapes.
Have you sold your images before, either through a traditional stock photo library or via print-on-demand, traditional print sales, etc.?
Yes I have sold some photos through an image library, but the level of remuneration they pay is very low, sometimes only a few cents per download.
I have also sold some photos through art galleries here in Palmerston North, but also via requests generated from my website and Facebook page. A few years ago I ran an exhibition of my photos in the Palmerston North Hospital Chapel. Half of the proceeds went to support the Chaplaincy service.
Why did you decide to start selling your work with Excio?
Initially, I was approached by Ana Lyubich, the co-founder and the more I read about Excio, the more it appealed to me.
I like what Excio has set out to achieve. It’s not just an image library that will pay photographers fairly, but a community of photographers who can encourage each other through the various platforms such as the Facebook group, the blogs and the Excio journal.
Do you hope to make selling photographs your main source of income one day?
Selling photos is still a part time business for me as I am still working full-time as a Veterinary Epidemiologist, but I hope eventually to devote more time to photography.
Can you tell us about a couple of your favourite photos?
I have two favourite photos so far - one a landscape and the other a bird portrait.
The landscape photo is a panorama of Mt Ruapehu with fresh snow and sheep in the foreground, taken on a crisp winter morning. We were driving to Taumarunui to visit our daughter and left Palmerston North early. While driving past, I noticed the scene and stopped the car and jumped the fence to get the panorama. I actually got an electric shock as the top wire was electrified!
The bird photo is a close up of a Hoiho (Yellow-eyed penguin) taken in Stewart Island. I was part of a DOC and Ministry for Primary Industries mission a few years ago to investigate why Hoiho chicks were failing to fledge. This portrait made it to the semi-final stage of the World Wildlife Photography competition one year.
Where can we find you online?
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