NZPhotographer Issue 46, August 2021

of my early work was built around these vistas and
while I’m happy with the images, there are only a
couple that offer a truly personal expression of the
landscape. The others could easily be recaptured to
similar or better quality on a return journey and could
be captured just as easily by another accomplished
landscape photographer. This being the case, how
can I make my images stand out from the work of
others?
I often travel to these iconic NZ landscapes
(sometimes multiple times a year) to guide groups
on tours and workshops. The participants are mainly
motivated by the goal of capturing these scenes
for themselves, and sometimes they produce a
representation that is “better” than what I have in my
own portfolio. I don’t usually shoot the scene myself
on these trips, as my focus is on helping those I am
there to teach and guide. I also feel I won’t be saying
anything new by simply capturing a better shot than
I already have. That being said, there are times, such
as sitting in a conference room the following day
reviewing the stunning photographs captured by the
group, that I do wish I had “got the shot” as well. But
what I really enjoy about working as a tutor is having
the opportunity to visit these amazing locations with
people from all around the world, and discovering
everyone’s unique visions, something which comprises
a very important part of the workshop environment.
There are times when the whole group sets up their
tripods in a line to capture the same vista but there
are also times, at other locations or with a more
considered approach to what they are capturing,
when everyone ends up with their own unique image.
I particularly enjoy taking people to lesser-known
locations for this reason. While everyone has a hit-list of
images they hope to capture on the trip, the unknown
locations are often the real gems. Arriving with no
NZPhotographer
August 2021
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