I’m still not entirely sure this has sunk in.

For the second year in a row, I have been named New Zealand Professional Photographer of the Year at the NZIPP Iris Awards.

Going into the awards this year, I genuinely didn’t expect to win again. In fact, I wasn’t even sure how my images would be received. Last year was an incredible year for me, and I think when you have a year like that, there’s a temptation to wonder how on earth you follow it. But rather than trying to recreate what I had done before, I decided that this year I wanted my work to mean something very personal to me.

Family. Culture. Storytelling.

Those three things became the thread running through my 2026 entries.

I wanted to create images that weren’t simply technically strong or visually interesting. I wanted them to have something to say. Some were about where we come from and the things that connect us. Some explored family in a more playful way. Others were much more personal. My own family became part of that storytelling, which made entering these images feel particularly vulnerable. When you put work in front of a judging panel that has a piece of you in it, it feels very different. There is always that question in the back of your mind: Will they understand what I’m trying to say?

One image in particular meant more to me than any award ever could – a portrait of my dad. It was an incredibly personal image to create and one that carried a story much bigger than the photograph itself. To then have that become my highest-scoring entry of the year was incredibly special.

The New Zealand Professional Photographer of the Year title is determined by a photographer’s top six images, so consistency across those images really matters.

My six this year came from three very different areas of my photography – Creative, Creative Portrait and Newborn.

Together they received:

3 Gold with Distinction awards

3 Gold awards

But what means the most to me is that, despite being entered across different categories, they belonged together. They were connected by the ideas I had set out to explore at the beginning – family, culture and storytelling.

And somehow, that collection was enough to make me New Zealand Professional Photographer of the Year again.

Perhaps the part I’m proudest of is where all of this comes from.

Our little photography business here in Nelson, New Zealand.

The same business I started because I loved photographing children and families. The same studio where I still photograph newborn babies, kids and families every week.

Alongside that work, photography has given me this incredible creative outlet – a place to experiment, tell stories, make things that are a little strange sometimes, and continue pushing myself to see what else I can create.

To be able to do that from our little corner of New Zealand and now call myself the 2025 and 2026 New Zealand Professional Photographer of the Year is something I am enormously proud of. Mostly, though, I’m grateful. Grateful to my family for continually letting me turn my ideas into photographs – even when I’m sure they have absolutely no idea what I’m planning. Grateful to the people who have encouraged me, challenged me and supported my photography over the years. And grateful that the very personal stories I chose to tell this year were understood. Maybe that’s the biggest lesson I’m taking from 2026. Sometimes the work you’re most nervous about putting into the world is the work that’s most worth making.

Photo credit to my wonderful friend Doug for The Heather and Doug Records, Christchurch.