NZPhotographer Issue 43, May 2021

Rising Star: Sebastian Tippett
Seb is a 17 year old student taking photography as a subject at Kāpiti College. A
wannabe photographer since he was a toddler with a toy camera, Seb progressed
from that toy camera to a point-and-shoot. Now with a DSLR, he is working on honing
his skills and, in the process, has discovered a passion for creative still life shots.
SEB, TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR LIFE...
Growing up on the Kāpiti Coast, five minutes from the
ocean and five minutes from the hills, has been great.
Kāpiti has the unique ability to be rural enough to
feel welcoming and calm, and yet has development
and proximity to Wellington to support creativity and
passion.
I enjoy art, photography, calligraphy, and I’m an avid
Marvel fan. I’ve never been shy of extracurriculars,
being part of scouts when I was younger and now
venturers. I play football, debate, and did seven years
of Judo from the age of seven to fourteen.
WHEN DID YOU FIRST PICK UP A CAMERA?
My love of photography started as toddler, a toy
camera that couldn’t actually take photos was given
to me and I carried it with me everywhere - a would
be photographer! My first experience with an actual
camera was a point and shoot Sony Finepix when I was
about 7. My dad gave one to me and my older brother
and despite the megapixel count of less than my age,
I loved that camera. Finally being able to actually take
images and explore the possibilities of the digital image
captivated me, even at that young age.
HOW HAS YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNEY
PROGRESSED SINCE THEN?
When I was 12 my dad took me down to the local
Harvey Norman and bartered a Fujifilm finepix JZ100
from $150 to $120 for me. With some more capabilities
and potential, that camera gave way to more
experimentation. There was no manual mode, but I
was able to fiddle with some settings and managed
to get a shutter speed of a few seconds to light paint
with a torch. There was just something about taking
photos, documenting anything and everything,
playing around with every possible setting in that
simple point and shoot camera that hooked me.
WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING WITH NOW?
Currently I’m shooting on a Nikon D3400 that I’ve
had for three years. I had wanted a DSLR for a while
prior to that, having exhausted the capabilities of my
phone camera, so getting even the most entry level
DSLR opened up a world of photographic possibilities
and since then my passion for photography has only
increased.
WHAT PHOTOGRAPHY GENRES ARE YOU
MOST INTERESTED IN, HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR
PREFERRED STYLE?
I don’t think I can describe my style of work, and I
think it’s naïve for any young photographer to claim
they have a definite style. As with many my age,
we are exploring this massive and diverse world of
photography. Locking down a particular style is not
in our priorities, rather exploring the styles, techniques,
and conventions out there. We’re figuring out what
we enjoy, and from that, eventually deriving a style.
However, to try and put a label on my style, I would
say I like taking photos that are a bit left of field, not
what you’d immediately expect.
As for genre, I really enjoy exploring a wide range
including landscapes, animals, and capturing quirky
angles of suburbia but it’s creative still life is where I
think my creativity really comes through.
WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?
I get a lot of my inspiration from the internet, I
find it’s great for finding unique styles, discovering
photographers, and developing your skills.
Looking more local than that, where I’m based is
tremendously inspirational - the Kāpiti coast has some
great landscapes, nature, and beaches, all of which
translate well into my photography.
Travel is also useful, NZ has some great inspiration out
there within both the realms of nature, and dense
urban frameworks. Places I’ve travelled like Kāpiti
island, Waiheke island, Taupo, Te Mata peak and NZ
bushwalks also provide opportunity and inspiration.
WHAT PHOTO PROJECTS HAVE YOU BEEN
WORKING ON RECENTLY?
One of my most recent projects was my level 2
portfolio last year. It was based on our pandemic
and subsequent lockdown in NZ last year. I wanted
to explore some photography around what will be an
event we’ll all remember for a lifetime.
Another was a series of landscape shots at Te Mata
peak in Hastings last October. There I stayed from late
afternoon into the night, capturing the sunset and
grassy hills, and eventually the city lights and night sky
as the city and mountain transitioned to night and the
18 May 2021 NZPhotographer