Gallery release: ‘Aotearoa’
In October of 2023, I set off from the mainland for the first international trip I’d ever taken solely for the purposes of photography. Granted, it was only a few hours to Australia’s quirky cousin to the east, but the prospect of finally being able to explore some of New Zealand’s incredible landscapes was tantalising. I had been to the land of the long white cloud once prior in 2015; however, travelling with one’s family as a 15-year-old less than 2 years into my photography journey meant the resulting images weren’t all that crash hot. I was keen to change that this time.
I must thank Michael McGee, Wellington local and brilliant photographer, for being a fantastic travel buddy; notably for being the sole chauffeur for 16 days, showing me some precious local haunts, and for having an inspiring creative drive which certainly pushed me to take better photos during the trip. A big thank you must also go to the amazing William Patino, who allowed Michael and I to share an incredibly special morning with him in the mountains of Fiordland amongst the last major snow dump of the year.
As you’ll see in the gallery, we covered a huge amount of ground of this remarkably beautiful country - from the North Island to the South Island, from alpine goblin forests and canyons to glaciated mountain valleys, rugged coastlines and limestone gorges. Though the gallery feels all-encompassing in terms of subject matter, I know that I barely even scratched the surface. I actually struggled quite a bit with naming this gallery due to the variety; as a result, a simple nod to the Māori name for New Zealand felt most appropriate.
I found myself overwhelmed by the beauty often throughout the trip, and I have many more plans for future visits.
Aroha, Aotearoa.
