in Gold awards that broke new ground and
he referred to as the ‘babble’ in photography –
taught us to see differently.
the distracting things that get in the road of the
communication of the story. He loved images
This was the way Tony taught – by doing it
himself and then taking us by the hand, walking
that told stories and would often say to his
us through the process of understanding
fellow judges after speaking for a print, ‘I would
and then applying the thought to our own
encourage you all to look and consider this
photography.
print just one more time … closely’”. And we all
did and always found something worthy of his
He was a visually literate man who loved to
ask questions of his fellow judges.
request.
He referred to photography as ‘visual
Tony was a gentle man with a soft voice and
communication’ and that to document
a subtle sense of humour. The twinkle in his eye
something visually is to ‘testify to it’. He believed
always alerted you to his love of life and the love
in the decisive moment as being a very
he had for sharing his knowledge, which he did
important part of the photographic process
constantly.
and regularly emphasised how important it is as
a photographer to be in the right place at the
knowledge will stay with us all forever.
right time and with the right framing.
Left: Tony Whincup. Right: An example of Tony’s wedding photography which at the time broke new ground in the way we work.
His presence will be long missed, but his Farewell, my friend the aesthete!
More importantly, he taught us about the
importance of the ‘Intent’ of the photograph
Mike Langford is a past president of the NZIPP, a
and to understand the purpose of what we do
Grand Master of Photography and Fellow of the
and how we do it.
NZIPP, and a Master of Photography and Fellow of
the AIPP.
He warned us not to get distracted by what
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