Articles: Harold Mason: Paul Estcourt Chief Photographer – TPM 169

May 30th, 2008 by D-Photo « Campaign: Becky Nunes – NZTE... | Malcolm Somerville talked to... »

Paul Estcourt TPM 169

Paul Estcourt is Chief Photographer of The Herald, New Zealand’s largest newspaper. With over forty continuous years he is one of the longest serving newspaper photographers in New Zealand. Today he heads a team at the Herald of eight daily news photographers, one features photographer and three regional photographers based in Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington.

Looking through a selection of Paul’s photographs taken over his long career I am reminded of the creativity, technical ability, organising skills, his ability to work fast and meet tight deadlines and the uncompromising requirement to always get ‘the picture’. These are all skills that are needed by newspaper photographers and certainly achieved by Paul on a daily basis.

Paul was born in Hamilton. He left Hamilton Boys’ High in 1965 and started with the Waikato Times on 5 January 1966 as a trainee photographer. “In those days you learnt on the job and after eighteen months I moved to the Daily Post in Rotorua,” said Paul. After two years in Rotorua he crossed the Tasman and gained further experience working as a staff photographer for the then Melbourne News Day, the Sydney Daily Mirror and The Australian. “In those days we used Mamiya C33, 12 shot 120 roll film cameras. These twin lens reflex cameras had interchangeable lenses and the kit included 55mm wide, 80mm standard and 180mm telephoto lenses. Fill flash was used for everything. 35mm was used for sport.”

Returning to New Zealand Paul worked for the Dominion in Wellington then The Herald in Auckland. During the eighties he was The Herald’s Wellington based photographer. Between 1990 and 1995 in Wellington he went freelance as a Reuters stringer in New Zealand as well as supplying Photo Press. Since 1995 Paul has been back with The Herald in Auckland.

The equipment used by Paul over the years has been extensive. He entered the industry shortly after the end of the quarter plate and 4×5 Graflex era, starting with Rollei non-interchangeable twin lens reflex 120 roll film cameras and then the Mamiya C33. This equipment produced 6x6cm negatives. Then into 35mm with Nikon F bodies using 28mm, 50mm, 105mm, 135mm and 200mm prime Nikon lenses. Nikon F2 and F3 bodies followed. From 1982 Paul has exclusively used Canon, starting with the F1 and 17mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 200mm, 400mm and 500mm lenses. For over three decades he processed film and made prints using mobile darkroom kits set up in motel and hotel rooms and wiring photographs back to base over telephone lines. The Herald, with Paul, started to go digital in 1998 and by April 1999 was totally digital using Kodak camera bodies and Canon lenses. He marvels at the incredible growth and quality of digital photography in the eight years that have followed. Today he uses Canon EOS Mk II with 16-35mm, 50mm and 70-200mm lenses. The photo department has a collection of ‘pool’ lenses that include 200mm f1.8, 300mm f2.8, 400mm f2.8, 500mm f4 and 24-70mm, 100-400mm and 35-350mm zoom lenses. PC computers are used with Photo Mechanic software for editing and captioning and photographs are transmitted back to the office via a Vodafone card.

Jetboat TPM 169 Paul has covered seven Olympic and five Commonwealth Games. Memorable assignments include the controversial 1981 Springbok rugby tour, a three month round the world tour photographing countries that were leading the world with new technology, and accompanying Sir Edmond Hillary to Nepal in 2003 for the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Mt Everest.

As in the past, newspaper photographers edit their own photographs and the picture editor or sub-editors make final choices. Paul believes that, “photographers have to be egotists and that all good newspaper photographers are egotists.” He also believes that in the highly competitive fast moving newspaper industry, “You are only as good as your last picture.”

With the rapid growth of technology Paul sees the future will be online and include video.

Paul Estcourt shows no signs of wanting to slow down. He is a photographer of considerable talent and long may we continue to enjoy seeing his photographs.