Kerry Fox Photo MS

I was in Gisborne 1 January 1990 taking photos of the ‘Tall Ships’ arrival as part of New Zealand’s sesquicentennial. That’s when I first met Kerry. She was enthusiastically taking photos then and still is.

At the beginning of January this year I ran into Kerry at the Gisborne Museum where she was arranging her images in their sales area and introducing a new acrylic based photo product.

For much of the intervening 19 years she has worked for someone else and her photography was a sideline, now that’s changed as she steps out into a new venture. It was always more than just a hobby though, her success in the Agfa – Listener Timeframe competition in ’96 said “…yes – you can do it!”

That enthusiasm has driven her to be probably the best known photographer on the East Coast. Her images are in books, calendars, as canvas prints and now acrylic blocks. It began when she about 12 and was given an Ilford Sprite 127 camera. “We lived in the Hawke’s Bay and we went on Sunday drives. My Nana had an 8mm movie camera. My dad had one as well and also took slides. At school photography wasn’t seen as a girl’s activity so it wasn’t after school that I joined a camera club.”

For much of the last 20 years she has been an Olympus camera user and only in the last few years has moved to the Nikkor lens systems. However much of her time has been working for Barry Teutenberg of D&K Studio – a long established business in Gisborne. “Barry has been a tremendous photographic technical, creative and business mentor over the years. The last few of those years I’ve been photographing schools on his Nikon-based Kodak DCS camera. Before that I spent time photographing children on his Mamiya 6X7 film cameras.”

Gisborne has been good for Kerry and her family. “It’s a good lifestyle, all amenities and very busy with visitors December to March.” The visitors in that period are also good for sales of her printed products which cover landscapes and locations in the region.

Her regional knowledge combined with her photography has given Kerry a national client that she enjoys working for, Bayleys Real Estate, who publishes a number of property magazines. Kerry works on both ‘Country’ and ‘Waterfront’ that feature farming/horticulture and coastal property. “Those assignments take me all around the coast and into the Hawke’s Bay. Often a farm shoot can take a full day as well as aerial photos to cover all the aspects. And often to short publishing deadlines.”

Her equipment now is primarily digital but film, particularly Fuji Velvia with its vibrant colours, is the standard everything is measured by. “I have a Fuji S3 which I still love to use, a Nikon D200 and a very recent purchase, the Nikon D700. I shoot RAW files and do all my own post processing; it seems an hour shooting is at least an hour on the computer. I also have a Bronica SQ 6X6 system and a Hasselblad XPan that I intend to keep shooting film with for some time.”

She also has a Nikon D70 that she bought as a backup at one stage and is about to have it converted to be a dedicated infrared camera.

The D700 has changed her digital experience, “… being full frame I feel I am seeing more… it feels good.”

At a recent ‘Rhythm and Vines’ festival she shot night and day for a commercial client, over 3,000 images. “I was very impressed by the quality of the low light shots, fine grain in situations where I would normally be struggling.”

Her other passion is travel although it seems to involve a lot of photography. Each year she and her husband make a major 5 – 6 week expedition, travel light, choose local buses, boats and get to less travelled parts. Recent years have included trips to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Her last trip resulted in over 10,000 images! “We love to experience the locations, the travel, but mostly it’s the people.”

Her training has not been formal but her learning has been by practice and great mentors. “Barry provided the hands-on experience, Craig Potton and Peter Eastway I have always looked up to and been inspired by. Freeman Patterson has been a brilliant guide. I read the books – it was so me! I attended three of his workshops. In essence I find that the more I shoot, the more proficient I become.”

So 2009 begins for Kerry with a new direction. “It’s been a passion, now I will make it a business.”

Her energy, ideas and talent will drive it.

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