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Christchurch, New Zealand

The Beauty of Punk & Rock.

6 photographs

By the time I arrived in New Zealand, I had already been photographing people seriously for a few months. I loved creating portraits, but I still believed the photograph itself was the reward.

One afternoon at Sumna Beach, I noticed a group of young punks sitting between the rocks along the coast. At first, approaching an entire group felt intimidating. Once I overcame my unnecessary hesitation, the atmosphere changed completely within minutes.

What began as uncertainty turned into conversation, laughter, and shared curiosity. It was the first time I realized that the real photograph begins long before the shutter is pressed. It lives in the interaction, the trust, and the genuine connection between two strangers.

While photographing, I found myself just as captivated by the landscape surrounding them. It was the first time I understood that people and places could tell equally powerful stories, and that photography could be about both.

Rapanui Shag Rock

Looking back, I think this is where I truly fell in love with photography: At this particular place: Rapanui Shag Rock.

New Zealand taught me that a photograph doesn’t have to shout to be powerful. It can simply ask you to slow down, to observe, and to wait. Standing among these rocks at Sumner Beach, I spent hours watching the tide retreat, revealing a landscape that existed only for a brief moment before disappearing again.

For the first time, I wasn’t searching for a spectacular scene. I was searching for harmony. Once I found it, I became slightly obsessed with capturing the image exactly as I had imagined it. However, I wasn’t arranging a composition, I was discovering an existing one.

In many ways, everything that followed began here at Sumna Beach.

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