Aussie Photographer Dominates Awards

Australian wedding and portrait photographer Jerry Ghionis was recently honoured at the 2009 Societies Convention Awards in London, picking up no less than eight awards, including the Photographer of the Year Title.

According the British Journal of Photography, Ghionis managed to dominate a field of 23, 000 images over 33 categories, taking out the fashion and photojournalism categories.

The photographer picked up over $17,000 worth of photographic equipment, including a sparkling new Nikon D3s.

The Melbourne-based photographer began shooting professionally in 1994 at the age of 20, Ghoinis has regularly been listed among the top ten wedding photographers in the world.

‘The trophies I have won are just glass but if they show I have been in some way helpful to other photographers through my images and my workshops then that is praise indeed,’ the photographer told the BJP.

Image by Jerry Ghionis

Harold Mason: Dean Mackenzie, 2007 Epson/NZIPP Photographer of the Year – TPM 172

Dean Mackenzie’s rapid rise to the top award in New Zealand professional photography has raised a few eyebrows. Considering he has had no formal training and only set up his Christchurch photography business three years ago, his rise is particularly meteoric. This prompted me to look beyond his winning portfolio and into his portfolio of commissioned work. Was the award a fluke?

Certainly not! His work overall displays a maturity and competence that many photographers never achieve. I was intrigued and spent a fascinating afternoon with Dean listening to his life story. His photographic success is the result of a wide range of life experiences, personal study, many hours of experimenting and hard work. And until his recent award publicity he has been a quiet achiever, steadily building a solid advertising and editorial client base. So who is Dean Mackenzie?

Dean was born in Wellington 37 years ago and educated in Christchurch. Chef training didn’t work so he went to Australia surfing and working in cafes. Back in Christchurch he continued to work in hospitality until signing up for the Tai Poutini Polytechnic, Greymouth, one year outdoor recreation course. This led to a year as a Department of Conservation hut warden on Stewart Island followed by time in Takaka where he started rock climbing. The next couple of years were spent working evenings and snow boarding at Wanaka and Canada. Following a period in the West Australian mining industry as a geological field assistant, Dean travelled for two years in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia and as so often happens, his interest in photography grew while recording his travels on his first 35mm SLR camera. He was particularly “… inspired by the rich, fantastic colours of Asia”. Returning to New Zealand in 1999 he worked as a gofer on the Hollywood production ‘Vertical Limit’ being filmed at Mount Cook and Queenstown, followed by contract work for Geovert, a company specialising in industrial rope access. At the same time he helped a school photographer on shoots around the South Island, started shooting editorial assignments, a few catalogues and his first commercial commissions shooting outdoor adventure sports like rock climbing and snowboarding. Three years ago he made the decision to set up an inner city office and become a full-time commercial photographer.

Perhaps being self-taught is the secret of Dean’s success. He admits to a lot of photographic reading and experimenting and is always on the Internet checking out photographers and photography. “I’ve still got heaps to learn but when what you do is your passion you do it a lot,” he says. His interest in snowboarding and mountaineering have helped develop his love of the
New Zealand landscape and he is especially adept at campaigns that use the outdoors as their backdrop. He is no stranger to danger – scaling extreme rock faces or dropping into snowbound ravines to get the right location. However much of the magic of Dean’s photography comes from his ability to interact with people from all walks of life. After years of travelling overseas and living in some of New Zealand’s more “eccentric” areas he is equally at ease photographing Maori matriarchs as he is with top business people. His own genuine and light-hearted nature puts his subjects at ease while his disarming sense of humour brings out their smiles. In his editorial work he has photographed many interesting personalities including Marc Ellis, The Topp Twins, Hamish Carter, Julia Hartley Moore, Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, Georgina Beyer, Culum Manson and Bob Jones. Work for Redken, Chalky Digits, Hereford Holdings, AgResearch, Kingswood Skis, Top Gear, Dual, Te Karaka, Zone, Fairydown, Destination and construction images on Sydney’s South Coast for Geovert Ltd all grace his portfolio.

Dean’s equipment includes Canon 1D Mark II and 1Ds Mark II bodies, teamed with 14mm f2.8, 16-35mm f2.8, 24mm tilt and shift f3.5, 28-70mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4, 70-200 f2.8 and 100mm macro f2.8 Canon lenses. Controlled lighting comes from a Bowens Gemini electronic flash location kit using Pocket Wizard wireless radio triggering. Computers are the new Intel Macs, iMac G5 and a Mac Pro G5 with 30-inch Apple Cinema Display.

Dean’s next move is from his present High Street office base to a studio, hopefully close by the Savoy Brown coffee bar.

I am sure we will see more quality creative photography from Dean Mackenzie.