Personal Work

New fences, old fences

We stood on an almost empty parking lot outside a Rotorua hotel staring up at the distant windows, some with faces peering out, some of those offering a resigned wave to possible relatives or friends. Between us and the building were two soldiers and a 10ft high fence. We were collecting our daughter from her

Success in scary times

After 9/11 strategic coach Dan Sullivan wrote a “Scary times” success manual. Since then it has been a popular read in subsequent crises including the GFC and again during the current global situation we are in. In at least 3 recent calls with clients I have directed them to this amazing resource so I decided

It’s time to re-examine

‘I live 2 blocks from the George Floyd murder’ I heard, repeatedly yesterday, as I ran a 3.5 hour folio review marathon with photographers based in Minneapolis. ‘I had my bag packed and was ready to flee in case our building was burned down’ said one. ‘Please let there be change’, they all said. Starting

Last week, in response to the situation in USA, I froze. What to say? What to do? So I said nothing. I posted my black square and cancelled my AMA Facebook live to allow black voices to be amplified. I’ve tried to educate myself and think about what I’m doing to prevent black photographers approaching

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

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.