Large Groups

One of the key aspects of photography I enjoy the most as a working professional, is the variety of people I get to work with. From schools and conferences,  to weddings and businesses, I get to meet a huge variety of folk. Yet at the end of the day, they choose a photographer to deliver some form of visual record, and it is my job to secure that in a timely and professional manner.

This week I have had the pleasure of working with two large groups, each after an annual group photo, that will form an important visual legacy within the archive of each organisation.

While the value of photography is immediate (‘Oh, there I am there!’), I believe the enduring record of photography is far more important. Photos serves as a time capsule far into the future, and why I am a huge proponent of print. If you think about your own family, and those passed, there are few other links to generations gone by. I know in my family, one treasured hierloom from my Scottish forebears, is a tattered black and white photo my Great, Great, Grandfather and Mother, with their large brood of children. They are posed outside their tiny cottage in North Otago, which would have been a big deal to have taken back in the day – most likely on a large format view camera by a travelling photographer. Dating from the 1870’s, other hierloom treasures do not connect as directly as this visual record that they left for us.

I enjoy the concept that in years to come, older folk will get to reflect on their youthful looks, that we can to laugh at fashion from time gone by (think back to the 80’s now!), that there is something to show for a valued filled life. That taking photos, is to value history.

It isn’t always about how often you look at something either. Rather, is about memories, and how you feel when you do look back at photos.

So if you have a school or group, do feel free to make contact. Or perhaps are on a reunion or jubilee committee, belong to a community group, or help run a sports club. Maybe you are planning a prizegiving event or retirement function, an anniversary, a hui, a big festival, a tournament, regatta, rally, … the list is endless! I’d love to help. You have a little bit of my philosophy here 🙂.