Personal Work

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary

We were flopped on couches after the cocktail evening for jurors and IPA winners at head judge Susan Baraz’s NY apartment. It was November. (How long ago that seems.) We were discussing the extraordinary exhibition Hossein Farmani and Susan curated for the Paris UN Climate Change conference in 2015. Renowned photographers from around the world

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A beginners’ mind

It was just after my 16th birthday, and my friend Joan and I had jumped on the train to London, each clutching our brand new SLR’s close to our side. In Covent Garden Joan pointed her camera at the buskers performing. She shot flowers on a stall and pigeons on cobblestones. I shot the crowd.

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A beacon of light

Over the last month I simultaneously launched 2 programmes. I edited a folio, blitzed work, and mentored my VIP’s, Bootcampers and Series Project Makers through discoveries, bumps and successes (and this happily continues). I attended a yoga workshop and injured my back (to the point of not being able to use a computer hence…crickets for

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The inevitable tide of change

It was 2pm. I was planting veggies in my garden. The sun was shining and there was a gentle summer breeze stirring the Nikau Palms. As I worked, everything darkened. I looked up to see an eerie sepia tone washing over an ashen sky. Pink roses popped and everything else receded. My blue sparkly harbour

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A born leader

Photo credit: Andrew Martin   It’s exactly one week since the horrific killings of 50 people in the mosque attack in Christchurch, and I want to thank you for the beautiful messages I’ve been receiving from around the world. In New Zealand we are still reeling. I am not a Muslim, notr do I live

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What makes you happy?

One of my clients recently won a grant to attend a New York workshop with one of her heroes. After announcing her dates in my programme community group, some of my New York clients rallied together and just this week hosted a meet-up with her in a Brooklyn studio. Imagine landing in a foreign city

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Stop paddling backwards

Sometimes, when I review a photographer’s work and identify their hero shots I am met with an incredulous look. ‘But how can that be my hero work? It’s so easy for me!’ No shit Sherlock. It may come as a shock, but doing what you love, especially if you’ve been doing it for a while, can be a breeze. You

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