NZIPP PRO Report November 2015

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Report BE INSPIRED, BE SUCCESSFUL, BELONG

NZIPP MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2015

KATHERINE WILLIAMS TALKS PASSION/ CLINTON LLOYD SEARCHES FOR SOMTHING WORTH SAYING / MEET MICHELLE PHILLIPS FROM PATINA PHOTOGRAPHY / LOOK INSIDE CLAIRE BIRK’S CAMERA BAG

NOT A MEMBER OF THE NZIPP YET? As an accredited member of the NZIPP you have the support, networking opportunities and camaraderie of your peers within your industry. It also adds credibility for your clients that you are a professional photographer. Belonging to an institute that represents all areas of professional photography in New Zealand, and through our focus on education, advice, and a wide range of membership benefits we will help you improve the success and vitality of your business.

Your accredited member benefits will include: · · · · · · ·

Epson NZIPP Iris Awards Infocus Conference Meeting and Networking opportunities Professional Development Membership Discounts PRO Report eMagazine Scholarships

Come along to your next regional meetng to check out what becoming a member is all about!

Contact info@nzipp.org.nz

MISSION STATEMENT To champion, embrace and communicate excellence and professionalism in photography.

CONTACT NZ Institute of Professional Photography (NZIPP) P O Box 133158, Eastridge, Auckland 1146 New Zealand W: www.nzipp.org.nz E: info@nzipp.org.nz

We welcome your feedback and thoughts. If you have something to say, send it through to:

Cover Image: © Michelle Phillips

info@nzipp.org.nz

PRO REPORT is a publication of the NZIPP © NZIPP 2015. All rights reserved.

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20 09 CONTENTS Executive Updates 04 Presidents Report 06

Directors Report

NZIPP News 08 NZIPP on Facebook/Q Dates for 2015 09

Congratulations Mike Langford/ APPA’s

Regional Updates 26 Auckland / Northland 30

Canterbury / Westland

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Otago / Southland

Member Profile 36 Michelle Phillips What’s In My Bag...?

46 Claire Birks Photo Competitions 52

2016 Sony World

Corporate Members 53

Thanks to our Corporate Members

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EXECUTIVE UPDATE

Katherine Williams FNZIPP NZIPP President

Joining the queue of words overused in modern society, often very much out of context - is passion. Try heading into a networking group and count how many real estate agents, bankers, accountants, and insurance brokers will tell you in a dry monotone voice they are “passionate” about what they do…Naturally there are exceptions to my presumptuous statement – and to those people, I apologise.

Photographers, I believe stand in an industry that is in a special and relatively unique place – an industry filled with those with a genuine and deep passion for their craft. A strong and barely controllable emotion, is what defines passion. And for many that starts from discovery day one – as it did for me.

We stand together as an intensely curious community of individuals united by the wonderment in the beauty of life and our world. Light. Relationships. Stories. Mystery.

Imagination. Creation. Experimentation. Emotions.

A true passion belongs in more than just your sales spiel, for it lies in your heart and even after years the joy of capturing something magical can hit the bottom of your gut with excitement and send streams of goose bumps rippling across your body.

For many of us as business owners in the photography

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industry much of our time may be spent solo, potentially resulting in our passion getting a little sidetracked by day to day operations and often without the good company of other like-minded individuals to connect to. To the astute buyer, there is some transparency in that if your passion wanes it can be pretty hard to fake it, especially if you are asking for a significant investment level for your services. Fake it for too long and you may suddenly find yourself dispensable in your chosen market and scratching your head – why?

Now it’s true for most of us that not every job is going to give you goose bumps – and we probably can’t expect it to. I think these ebbs and flows aren’t uncommon and I’ve certainly been there myself. But I am a firm believer that you must continue to look for ways to re-stoke that fire when it needs it, sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone and looking for personal growth by experimenting with new genres, techniques or subjects.

That a-ha moment from day one may return and this in turn feeds your passion and you can be authentic with your business declaration of being a passionate photographer, thus keeping the paid work coming through the door. Connecting with other creatives, making a conscious choice to grow your skill level and keeping in touch with that sense of awe is all part of the picture that will provide great levels of value to your

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business offerings and how your clients perceive you.

The connection with other passionate and inspirational photographers in a multitude of genres is an experience that keeps that fire burning, and one that can hold great value to do as many times a year as time allows you through educational events, professional awards and social gatherings. Last month I had the pleasure of experiencing some amazing connections and meeting many outstanding photographers at the Australian Professional Photography Awards – the APPA’s in Melbourne. A fantastic event hosted by our sister institute the AIPP. When time allowed sitting in the back of the judging rooms it was possible to literally hear hearts pounding, see authors hold their breath with great angst and see tears of joy falling. Hearts are so invested, and it is so worth doing that for passion. Opportunities to speak with authors of the work and learn the story behind the imagery provide an absolute highlight.

The connection with other passionate and inspirational photographers in a multitude of genres is an experience that keeps that fire burning.

Sprinkled amongst the stunning prints on the wall it was a real pleasure to see prints from fellow kiwis gracing the walls of the awards gallery. Capped off by attending the APPA’s Awards Dinner to take away the Trans-Tasman Cup from the Australians back to our home of passionate, talented and inspiring image-makers.

Be brave, be passionate and don’t let go.

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EXECUTIVE UPDATE

Clinton Lloyd FNZIPP NZIPP Director

How would I have anything worth saying? I’ve only been full time in the industry for several years, I haven’t won any ginormous awards, I still freak out about our cashflow, I haven’t taken a photo that changed the world, I don’t have millions in the bank account.

But I tell myself It’s ok, I’m still young right? Not in the “I get asked for ID at the supermarket” or “what’s a Walkman?’ sort of way but more in the “gosh I still have a lot to learn and a lot I want to achieve sort of way.” But age isn’t really that relevant if you don’t believe you’ve got anything to say.

And the thing you need to know is that I’m not being “oh so kiwi” humble, and “oh so cute” self-deferential…. I just didn’t believe I had anything to say.

Here in lies the problem. Where is my story? Where is my voice?

I’m a photographer, you probably are too (unless you stumbled upon this link while searching for some bizarre kind of porn… sorry to dissapoint) And as photographers we are story-tellers, so to not believe in my own story creates a bit of a problem. It’s a bit like Dan Carter with no legs, or John Key with no smokescreens.

Sorry my analogies are a bit lame, but the point is that the reason I haven’t started that personal project, the reason I haven’t sat down to plan and dream some

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crazy shoots that may never happen is the same reason I hadn’t written this blurb…. That I don’t believe I have anything to say.

But don’t worry, despite the text above it’s not all doom and gloom at the top of Mordor…there is a thread of hope.

Part of this thread arrives in the book variety. I’ve recently started reading a book that is shaping that.

I bought ‘The War of Art” by Stephen Pressfield in April 2014 and it sat in my drawer for over a year until miraculously making it into my hand. I actually bought it on a whim after a great NZIPP Canterbury meeting with Matt Greenslade who in a passing comment recommended the book as a good kick up the backside sort of book for creatives.

It is. My backside has most definitely been kicked. While only half way through I would recommend it to all creatives.

The book introduces the concept of Resistance.

He defines it this way “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two lies resistance.”

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Your craft, your art, your passion are things the world need. Please for all our sakes, join me as we each fight our own resistance.

This is a concept I get, without being too carried away I would even say it resonates within me. Pressfield presents this in an sadonic, disarming and “non-motivational” sort of way. (I’m not a Tony Robbins kinda guy, I would probably be the guy throwing rocks at his seminars.)

Further he explains, “Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It is the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and we’re born to be.”

This is deep stuff, sorry, and I know it dances all over the famously taboo topic of emotions, double sorry (actually not sorry.)

But at the core of this is a voice that awakens within me that says that my story, my life, is a story the world needs in some form, it might not make the front pages or the covers of beautiful books. But it’s the story that will shape the lives and dreams of my two kids, of my marriage and of my journey as a creative. It’s not a story of quick success and perfection, but of fear, bountiful failures and a redemptive thread that brings hope of where this journey still has to travel.

Those personal projects I’ve never started because I was worried they wouldn’t work out good enough, those conversations I’ve never had because I wasn’t sure where they would go and decisions I never made because I was too scared they may end in failure…all of these things share the same origin; not believing I had something worth saying.

In an ironic twist, after trying so hard to disqualify myself to dispense wisdom now I finish trying to do just that lest my scrambled writings change nothing.

But please let me tell you this; Your story is a story worth telling.

Your story is NOT the profit margin on your prints, the clever software packages you run the studio with, the awards you have on display, the red ring around your lens or the clever ways you can sell clients more… your story is in the life that you bring to a couple when you approach their wedding with the same significance that they do, it’s in the value you add to someones self esteem during a shoot when for the first time since birth they have had someone spend an hour intentionally complementing them about what is good about themselves and their body. It is choosing to let the mountain of post production wait for a day when you take a day off to focus solely on the kids that adore you.

It’s choosing to pursue projects that have been nagging at you for years, even though they may not have any monetary value attached to them.

Your craft, your art, your passion are things the world need. Please for all our sakes, join me as we each fight our own resistance.

I’m going to stand out on a limb here and suggest I’m not alone in this. It’s not a problem specific to creatives but I would think creatives are certainly overrepresented in those with their hands up on this.

That precarious knife-edge between creating from vulnerability and presenting an illusion of success has the effect of mobilizing the greatest forces of resistance possible…and we are often left paralysed in motion.

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NZIPP NEWS

NZIPP on Facebook / New Q Submission Date

MARK THIS DATE IN YOUR DIARY NOW! The new Q submission date for 2015 is...

November 17th, 2015

Find NZIPP on Facebook

Q Submission Date Change

If you’re not already part of the NZIPP National Facebook group and regional groups, check out the links below and send us a ‘join group’ request....

For those who aren’t qualified yet it’s time to start planning for your Q submissions. Once successful you’ll be able to work towards NZIPP Accreditation.

NZIPP - National • NZIPP - Auckland/Northland Region

The new Q submission date for 2015 is...

• November 17th, 2015

• NZIPP - Waikato/BOP Region

The address for submissions is:

• NZIPP - Central Districts • NZIPP - Wellington Region • NZIPP - Nelson/Marlborough Region • NZIPP - Canterbury/Westland Region • NZIPP - Otago/Southland Region

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Tracy Stamatakos 92 15th Ave Tauranga 3112 For more information login to the NZIPP Members system www.nzipp.org.nz and select ‘Login’.

NZIPP NEWS

APPA’s Congratulations Mike Langford!

Image © Mike Langford

A huge congratulations to Mike Langford who has become a Grand Master of the AIPP at the recent Australian Professional Photography Awards (APPA’s).

Mike is also a Grand Master of the NZIPP. Dual Grand Mastership is an amazing achievement!

Check out some of the entries submitted in to the APPA’s from NZIPP members. Click here to check out the winning gallery.

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Mike Langford 2x Silver with Distinction 2x Silver

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Image Š Mike Langford

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Penny Nichols 1x Silver with Distinction

Image Š Penny Nichols

3x Silver

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Esther Bunning

Image Š Esther Bunning

4x Silver

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Jackie Ranken 1x Silver with Distinction 3x Silver Image Š Jackie Ranken

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Kaye Davis 4x Silver Image Š Kaye Davis

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Adam Buckle 3x Silver with Distinction 1x Silver

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Image Š Adam Buckle

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Cassie Emmett 4x Silver

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Image Š Cassie Emmett

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Katherine Williams 1x Gold 2x Silver

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Image Š Katherine Williams

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Jason Naylor 1x Silver with Distinction 2x Silver

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Image Š Jason Naylor

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Roger Wandless 1x Silver with Distinction 3x Silver

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Image Š Roger Wandless

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REGIONAL UPDATES

Auckland / Northland Region Words by Chris Traill FNZIPP - Auckland Chair

As a committee it’s our commitment to bring monthly meetings to our members that are a good balance between educational and inspirational in their content.

So last month it was back to school! Ucol in Newmarket hosted us, and we were treated to a workshop of clever lighting tips by educator/lecturer/photographer/ Ian Rotherham. He covered mainly single bulb and led lighting and I know everyone in that room, irrespective of their experience in lighting came away with a few more tools and techniques to add to their studio lighting artillery.

Thanks to those for taking their turn to model for Ian. ( I even got a free portrait out of it...not often the cameras are turned on us...thanks Ian.) But without a doubt the model of the night was Louise Franklin. Hope you enjoyed your gift. It was well worth flying you up to Auckland Ian, thanks again for sharing your expertise.

We also presented Ilan Wittenberg with the Auckland NZIPP Photographer of the Year trophy, which is

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calculated purely on Iris Award success. Congratulations Ilan, you are without a doubt one of the most hard working, dedicated and ambitious photographers in the institute, so it’s well deserved.

The workshop finished about 8pm and we went and enjoyed a meal and a few ales at the Lumsden. Thanks Nina for hooking that up and looking after us.

UPCOMING MEETINGS… Our next meeting will be all things ADOBE. NOV 11th at The Stonehouse in Mission Bay. We’ll meet there at 5.30 for a bite to eat and a korero then the Adobe presentation begins at 7pm.

XMAS FUNCTION: Dec 9th.

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Congratulations Ilan, you are without a doubt one of the most hard working, dedicated and ambitious photographers in the institute, so it’s well deserved. .

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REGIONAL UPDATES

Canterbury / Westland Region Words by Kate Christie - Canterbury/Westland Chair

Awesome meeting in Christchurch in October. We ran another 20/20 Chit Chat event where we had 9 amazing people share a little bit about their lives. The Chit Chat runs like this, each speaker has 20 images and is allowed to speak for 20 seconds per image. Any topic they choose. These evenings are fun, fast paced and always entertaining.

Again this year we had a wonderful variety of guests from a TV3 reporter to a volunteer from the Sea Shepard.

Infrared photography is way cooler than I first thought and printing images onto canvas then painting on top is just amazing!! We were treated to a wee look inside the world of wearable arts and taken on a journey through the eyes of those who love to travel. A little bit of crazy adventure stuff involving sky diving, sleeping in a van and a hospital visit. Photographers who write books and

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share personal happenings from their younger days. And the best photo of an egg I have ever seen, made me want to eat eggs!!

Big thanks to the following speakers who give up their time to entertain and educate us all a little more.

Jendy Harper - Current Affairs Reporter Jenny Reeve - Food/B&W/Commercial Heather and Doug Richardson - The Records Louis Trerise - Adventure/CPIT Student Maria Buhrkuhl - Past & Present Work Steve Trevella - Sea Shepherd volunteer Wendy Burton - World of Wearable Arts Wendy Clarke - CPIT instructor/Fine Art

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REGIONAL UPDATES

Otago / Southland Region Words by Nicola Wilhelmsen FNZIPP - Otago / Southland Chair.

Images from Dan Childs.

It’s been a busy few weeks! Lots of events happening around the place.

I went along to my very first official Pecha Kucha night in Dunedin; it was the 27th one that has been held in Dunedin. There was a great variety of speakers; it’s such a great and fast way to present a body of work or an idea. This Pecha Kucha night was based on the Photo Forum exhibition that is currently being held in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.

We have had the same Pecha Kucha format at a previous regional meeting which we called ‘Chit Chat’ and I wanted to bring it back again. For those of you who don’t know what Pecha Kucha is it’s where each presenter shows 20 images for 20 seconds each and speaks along to the slideshow.

We used this format for our recent meeting in Wanaka where Jen Corish, Ruth Brown, Andy Woods and myself (Nicola) presented.

Ruth spoke about some recent commercial work she completed at Morven Hills Station in the Lindis which is for her client’s autobiography. I went back to where my

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photography started at high school and through my crossed processed film days at Art School. Jen showed some recent personal work she has been shooting on film and Andy shared some amazing images from his recent trip to Bolivia.

It was a great night finished off with some yummy Italian food and a long drive home for me.

Another event I attended recently was a celebrant’s workshop, where I was asked to come along and speak about weddings from a photographer’s perspective.

As some of you may know I’m not the most confident at public speaking but someone told me the more you do it the better you get at it, so I gave it a go.

I was a little worried that I was going to get all of the celebrants coming at me with all sorts of bad stories about wedding photographers they had come across.

But it wasn’t the case at all! It was lovely!

I actually didn’t know beforehand how many people were going to show up, could have been 5 or 50!

I have to say I was happy to arrive and see a group

of around 25 ladies. I don’t know why but I felt more confident speaking to a group of women, it also wasn’t as formal as I thought it was going to be, so I immediately felt more comfortable.

UPCOMING MEETINGS… Dunedin Coffee Catch ups Fortnightly on Mondays, 11.30am at Vogel St Kitchen.

Of course I brought images with me as I needed something else for them to look at and not just me.

I talked to the celebrants about the parts of the wedding I was most nervous of and the parts I was most looking forward to.

We talked about having unplugged weddings (they hadn’t actually heard of the term which was surprising but it may have been a generational thing). We also talked about where they stand during the ceremony and the benefits of them moving around.

Of course we talked about the most important kiss shot too!

They were actually really interested in our whole process and appreciated how hard we work on the wedding day.

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MEMBER PROFILE

Michelle Phillips www.patinaphotography.co.nz

Firstly congratulations on receiving the NZIPP Classic Wedding Photographer of the Year! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself…?

Thanks so much Harriet. It was pretty amazing, and equally as amazing to win alongside my husband James who runs this business with me.

I’m a Wellington photographer. I like to occasionally frolic about and make up crazy songs for people while photographing them and just have fun. I’m also known as a cat lover, who frequently meows at people, and this sometimes sneaks into conversations and occasionally emails. And I feel like there’s is no such thing as too much tea.

How long have you been a photographer? And was it wedding photography that got you hooked from the start?

Before I had a camera I used to get out the {M.I.L.K} photography books from the library, I would look at them, scan them, would put them on the wall. Images that were full of emotion, happiness or something happening. I just loved them.

So wasn’t so much weddings as just the idea of capturing emotion and telling stories that got me hooked on photography, although I was and still am pretty excited about weddings.

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What’s the most important thing you want potential clients to know about you?

I think I’d want them to know it’s okay to just be themselves around me.

I find I’m super sensitive to how people are feeling; I want them to feel comfortable, included and accepted. And more and more as I look through shots I really like, it’s like the people forgot I was there and felt comfortable and free to be themselves, quirks and all. Since I know you never really forget the camera is there, I think it’s that they have come to a place that they don’t feel judged; they are feeling like “cool I can just be myself here.”

And that’s awesome. Because when that guard comes down, those are the images that people connect with.

So yea, I’d love my clients to think of me as a friend and they will be able to come away feeling really encouraged.

Can you describe your style?

I’m really drawn to soft light, emotion, movement and documenting little things that could easily be forgotten.

I love when an image is simple, whimsical, soft, and authentic.

Images © Michelle Phillips

Images © Jess Burges

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Images © Michelle Phillips

The hardest part of your job….and the easiest part of your job?

I actually find for wedding photography people with their cell phones really tough, it’s hard to see past the cell phone to their expressions and emotions, and that’s what I really want to capture. So that’s a current trend I find hard.

Things that hinder emotions, people being stressed and wanting things to be perfect, or being stressed out about things not going as planned – these are all hard for me, on the flip side you sometimes get that couple, that even when its wet, they are like “this is awesome, it’s raining” - I love that and it inspires me to do my best work.

I notice a big difference between an engagement shoot and a wedding, even though there is less time and more pressure, I find a wedding easier; it’s an event, a special day full of emotion and there is always something happening. As people in the industry we see weddings constantly but for most people this is their one big day, they’re excited, and they’re a little nervous, and when they’re surrounded by all their favourite people who they love and who love them...right from the morning, and that sense that the day is finally here, to walking

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down the aisle and the incredible feeling of seeing the person you are about to marry at the end, to the wild dancefloor with the relief that formalities are over and now you can party with your friends…I’m always reminded how special this is and we get to come in and record all these things that happen throughout the day – it’s a huge privilege and I love it.

Do you have any tips for people wanting to start out in the photography business?

Some people seem really amazing, and seem to get there overnight, I’m not one of those people. It took a long time to get where I am and I’ve got a long way to go to where I want to be and that’s okay. Everyone’s journey is different. So I’d really encourage those starting out to persevere and not expect too much of yourself to start with. It might take a while but it’s worth working at.

One other little thing: care less about getting the shot, and care more about showing the emotion. The photograph that stand out to me always make me ‘feel’ something.

Images Š Michelle Phillips

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Image Š Michelle Phillips

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Image Š Michelle Phillips

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Is there anything you would have done differently during your photographic career?

I would try to worry less about what other people think, and not compare myself so much with other people, in the same thought; I wish I was better at putting work out.

I also really love shooting with my husband, he sees things so differently to me, and I think our styles really complement each other and we’ve learnt a lot from each other and would maybe have started to collaborate with others sooner.

What type of cameras do you shoot with?

Canon 5d mark iii, and Canon 6d.

If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?

I don’t know, maybe I’m too greedy to have a favourite lens! I love primes and always thought it was a 50mm, but more and more I’m leaning towards a 35, and 85.

I still quite like the 50 though and love playing at f1.2.

How do you feel about cropping an image?

I learnt on film, so used to crop in camera, but lately, I’ve been trying to give my images more space, to not crop them in camera so they’re able to be cropped in post.

I also feel like I break the rules a lot with cropping.

What is your favourite image you have shot recently?

Can you describe its creation in regards to location, lighting, composition etc.… and what the image means to you?

I did a pregnancy shoot recently for this beautiful Maori girl, Leilani in a natural light studio. She bought her late nana’s korowai, and I thought it was pretty incredible how she was incorporating her culture into her shoot.

I also love pregnancy shoots, as it’s this special time of waiting, and dreaming about what your baby will be like, and I love capturing that.

Leilani was gorgeous, and had these amazing freckles, and her family was all there edging her on to take something really fierce, and she was just calm, just wanted a really simple kind of photo and I really enjoyed taking it.

Technically it was very simple, diffused natural light, poly board for bouncing light back in – I love working with natural light, the way it envelopes a person and you can see exactly what you are going to get.

What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing imagery?

I had this quote that was floating around in my head for a while “to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” that recently inspired me to do this blossom styled shoot in Hawkes Bay. I think in general I find heaps of inspiration in poems, song lyrics, photographers and other artists, who speak, write, and sculpt about thoughts and feelings.

I love interesting colour tones, I enjoy a limited colour palette, and am really inspired by watercolour. And light – I’m always looking and seeing interesting little patches of light.

What has been your most memorable assignment and why?

There are many, but one recent one sticks out in my mind. Leading up to Emma and Liam’s wedding I was really sick with a lung infection. They were getting married at Boomrock – this stunning spot on the edge of a cliff in Wellington on what turned out to be the coldest day in 100 years. Some couples would be put off but they were like “oh, well we chose to get married in winter”. So I wrapped up tight. Wearing lots of layers and even stuffing hot water bottle down my front.

Liam and Emma were fantastic despite the freezing temperature; just before she walked down the aisle it began to hail. People started to rush inside but she said “let’s go” and we did it. On the edge of a cliff, in hail.

They got married. And it was awesome.

If you could shoot a wedding with another photographer who would it be and why?

Elizabeth Messina – I am in love with her work and the way she describes her thought process. I am also a huge fan of Ale Vidal of Imaginale. Her film work is incredible.

For both of them, you see their work, and you just have to wonder what the process was. It would be pretty amazing to see how they work and what you could learn.

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I’m a Wellington photographer...I’m also known as a cat lover, who frequently meows at people, and this sometimes sneaks into conversations and occasionally emails. And I feel like there’s is no such thing as too much tea.

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Images © Michelle Phillips

Where would be your dream destination wedding to shoot?

I’ve always been inspired by soft colours and light, so somewhere with a little more air pollution and softer light, California, the south of France and Vienna have always interested me.

If not a photographer you would have been?

I’m not really sure, Photography is what I’ve always been into and going towards maybe an artist or something to do with interior design or fashion.

What’s the main way you market Patina Photography?

Do you advertise in bridal magazines?

We have a Facebook page, Instagram and Website that we try to keep updated. Most people who know me, know I’m a wedding photographer – I think running a business like this it becomes something that is just part of you, by being excited about what you do, you’re a walking, talking advert. I believe you don’t need to be pushy and ‘sales-y’, just talk to people.

At weddings I try connect with people, get excited about who they are, hug them and tell them funny stories and just try to get to get to know them. I’m quite good at asking people what they do, and telling them what I do.

And we love making friends with other photographers and referring work to each other when we’re booked, Wellington is super friendly like that.

We may look into other kind of advertising in the future.

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WHAT’S IN MY BAG

Claire Birks MNZIPP www.bellacreative.co.nz

Whats in my bag??? Not much at the moment, it’s off at the doctor getting a once over.

My what’s in the bag is kinda different to most, solely by name. I am a Sony shooter, and have been for a very long time since I upgraded from a Minolta SLR. I still have the first Sony DSLR in my kit, and I can still get some pretty mean images out of it.

My love for Sony’s will never end! Amazing colour straight off the bat. I almost jumped ship to Nikon a few years back when the new SLT’s came out, I was unsure on

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what I was getting into, I test trialled some Canons and Nikons and wasn’t entirely impressed (sorry guys) and after a lengthy phone call to a commercial Sony shooter with a kit to die for, I wasn’t quite so scared of moving to an SLT. I have three Sony cameras at the moment, they all get used for various things, A100, A550 and the fullframe A99.

I mainly shoot using a 50mm, 24-70mm and a 70-200mm.

I have a heap of other lenses that I barely use sitting there collecting dust, including my Lensbaby Muse. I have a love hate relationship with this lens, I really want Image © Amber Griffin

Images © Claire Birks

to love it, but I ultimately hate it. I refuse to get rid of it in case one day I can love it.

I shoot with a mix of natural light and strobes/speedlites, so amongst all my crap I have lighting gear and all the bits to go with it, speedlights with random stuff that goes with that, pretty sure it’s the same as most of you would have.

I bore easily with editing images (OMG shock horror a photographer that’s not keen on hours in PS) but I couldn’t do without my Wacom tablet, not only did it save my arm from RSI, it just makes life easier.

- Swiss Army Knife…again, another must have. I have a few different knives stashed away in different bags, on the odd occasion I’ve taken one out and then needed it on the job, so I always make sure I have one packed.

- Chapstick...I’m addicted and am always losing them, so have a stash in bags too.

- Imperial mints… my choice of sugar fix while working.

- Bottles of water.

What’s always in my bag???

- Electrical tape…never leave without it, it’s amazing how handy it is.

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Images Š Claire Birks

Image Š Claire Birks

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Image Š Claire Birks

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“ ” xxxxxx.

Images © Mel Waite

Image © Claire Birks PRO Report / Magazine of the NZIPP

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PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITIONS

2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Professional Competition Enter the world’s largest, and one of the most respected, photography awards for free today.

The Professional competition rewards excellence across a broad spectrum of photography styles and each year offers undeniable global exposure and recognition to not only its winners, but also its shortlisted photographers.

Categories New for 2016, the 14 Professional categories are now divided into two distinct groups: Documentary and Art. More information at: https://www.worldphoto.org/ competitions/sony-world-photography-awards-2016professionalcompetition/ NZ National Award To enter the National Award you must submit your work to any of the ten Open categories Basic Members - up to 3 photographs for free, submitted into one category or spread across multiple categories Open for entries in to the 2016 Awards: https://www. worldphoto.org/national-award-2016/

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