What’s your story my bro? How did you first pick up a camera, what’s the go?
I’ve been creating content for as long as 2 – 3 years now going from Fashion to Design and through to now doing Photo and Video Content.
I had been doing content for fun for a while but it wasn’t until my partner bought me my first camera for my birthday in 2022 and when it changed the narrative from me, it went from being a hobby to having the potential to be something bigger with my creative skills.
After that, I experimented with photography, a friend noticed me learning and asked me to work for his agency to upskill myself, I didn’t think much of it at the time
Being a māori artist, do you find that this guides your process or is it a leading part of it?
Being Māori does help me to deeply understand the kaupapa I work in. I mainly deal with kaupapa Māori so loving to be a part of wānanga and catching that mātauranga, with the cultural understanding I have it helps me know what to capture as well as when not to shoot and understanding the Tikanga behind it. Outside of kaupapa Māori, being Māori is like my power, being a super connector, and sponge and making it easy to build relationships just like I would on the marae and really shining light on the concept of whakawhanungatanga and applying it everywhere.
If you could create a campaign where you were lead creative, what would that look like? Who would be involved?
It would probably be a Kapa Haka to the world campaign of some sort showcasing the power Kapa Haka has in today’s day and age. Outside of that I would love to create a campaign that showcases young up and coming creatives who are Indigenous and Māori absolutely killing their creative niches, showing our rangatahi that there are more options than the social norm to become successful in your own right.
What’s the dream as a creative? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
The Dream is to execute my list set out for the dream clients and contract I would love to take a hold of. But beyond that I want to have built the largest Indigenous Creative Agency in NZ and give young Māori the opportunity to learn and execute in this space using the mediums of technology they are already using and help them to monetise those current habits. Then after scaling my business, helping communities and rangatahi achieve their vision, as I would have done.
Who are some fellow creatives that you’re vibing with at the moment?
There are soo many, waay too many to count. As I get deeper and deeper into the industry I find myself loving other creatives, within different industries, and not only their creative work but their work ethic is super inspiring.
What does your process, if at all, look like? How do you start? Are there any must haves involved?
When I am on a shoot, more often than not it isn’t really ‘planned out’ per se (my clients must hate it), I let the wairua from the kaupapa I am a part of take over and I shoot according to my environment. Some of my best work has been produced in the spaces where I have had the most freedom to go out and just shoot with nothing holding back.
When I am on most client shoots in another context I am very particular in terms of my workflow, I shoot and edit on the fly and would try to deliver within the day to my client, other times and client require a different level of attention and would take more time to develop the end result.
What’s your all time favourite thing you’ve captured?
Izzy @ Juicy Fest 2022: This particular photo will always be a highlight for me as it is attached to a fond memory of me first meeting Izzy who I really do admire. Not only that but the fact that during this time, Xzibit was absolutely hyping up the crowd and Izzy coming out on stage just took it to another level. An unforgettable moment in my career and life.
There is something about going out there and working while vibing with the atmosphere of the crowd and collaborating and feeling the energy of the artist performing. It is an energy that is just sooo exciting and can’t be mimicked in any way. Live Shows, Festivals and Concerts are definitely a favourite to capture and most likely where I have produced some of my favourite material to date.
