1. One word that might describe you best and why?
I'm a 'Swiss Army knife' well that's more than one but still that's how I would describe myself regarding my profession.
2.Tell me where it all started, your background, growing up, what or who inspired you to want to pick up a camera and get behind it.
Oh gosh this is a big question, I guess it really all started when my private eye/debt collector uncle gave me one of his spare Nikon cameras in like 99', it shot film but with digital metering so it was a pretty flash one at the time and I was quite envied by my classmates in 6th Form photography class.
My background is a bit all over the place started my life growing up on the North Shore of Sydney, but our family was mainly all Kiwi and we moved back to Hawke's Bay when I was 12, I wish I had picked up a camera sooner but at that stage I was probably meant to be a builder as my dad is a builder ha but what really inspired me I think was maybe the mix of growing up in Aussi in and around the beach culture but then back in New Zealand we were constantly going to Mt Ruapehu with my family in the early days and playing around in the snow with the family video camera, that's what I really think sparked my thought process around capturing moments.
3. What's your vibe? Describe your style?
My vibe would be if I had to choose water and reflection with sunrise/sunset in the mix, sooo what do you call that...i don't know, but I have been described a few times as my style to be quite vibrant!
4.Tell us about a photographer whose work inspires you, what do you like about their work?
I guess I don't really have too many people I am constantly looking to for inspiration. It's more of a general feel I get from people's work and a body of work that inspires at points in time during the ever changing face of photography now that Instagram has taken a hold :P local people I am inspired by Richard Brimer with his classic quality and body of work and then crazy fast editing pace and style of Jusy a young man who's just so new and refreshing.
5.Mentors or someone who has helped you greatly, encouraged you in your photography passion along the way?
To be honest I am quite the self taught guy even though I went to film school haha, I've had mentors in the past and people I have looked at for guidance but nothing that has been throughout all the stages of my career, I did spend five years at Xero Accounting Software doing their filming and photography so my boss and creative director of the international film team there would be probably my most pivotal mentor who threw me in the deep end a lot of the time and watched me swim haha.
6. Favourite all time place to relax(and get the best photographs) that is your 'happy place'.
Well that's an easy one for you favourite place is on the coast shooting the sunrise.
7. What's in your kit and what’s your must have with you always accessory or extra bit of kit, favourite lens.
Good question my camera kit is always getting incrementally upgraded but at the moment i film and photograph on a Sony A74 and A73 for 2nd unit. With all types of lenses, but I will mainly as a hobbyist shoot with my manual Russian glass set. Or as a professional on client work I will normally shoot with a 24-70 f2.8 Sigma art, 50mm, 35mm, 85mm Arts too!
8.Tell us about a recent image you shot that you are really proud off and why?
I shot some images of a Te Awanga sunrise the other day I was pretty happy with here...https://www.instagram.com/p/DIMuq1Hz_dE/?img_index=1 or this one with my daughter trying to touch the rainbow! https://www.instagram.com/p/DGJhAHSzZr-/?img_index=1
9. Tell us something about you that no one would know!
I have been getting up at 5am every day :P To get work done before my 2 toddlers wake up at 8am!
10. Do you have another interest other than photography that people may not know about, ie collecting stamps!
My other interests are mainly sports...like snowboarding, surfing most times there's swell, anddd I'm quite the inline skater these days, i used to really go hard with it when i was 16 but yeah im getting back into it a lot, i've actually just competed in the X-Air competition last month :P
