February 25th 2025: Mixed bag

This week's edition of Box of Light is a mixed bag of images spread over the past few weeks. I've been busy with a string of commercial work that has taken me away from the coast and into the mountains. That's a good thing – I love working on commercial projects. Being able to shoot a diverse range of subjects and styles is something that makes photography so attractive to me. Every day is a new challenge and a fresh adventure.

It's like getting to surf in a wide range of conditions – no matter what you're presented with, you still get a buzz paddling out or building a set of shots. Like surfing, the craft of photography is a lifelong journey, complete with plateaus, surges of passion, down days and days when you're really in rhythm. Like surfing, you have to learn to enjoy all those states – and learn when things go wrong.

Unlike surfing professional photography is changing rapidly. The gear has never been so good or so easy to use, but the value in high-end images has been diminished – mainly by the free content revolution that has emerged within social media. Some people reading this won't know a time before Facebook or Instagram. They've both carved deep into the marketing pie of large institutions that used to pay professional photographers to tell their stories. These direct-to-consumer campaigns are cheap to produce and their effectiveness is wishy-washy at best. But they're here to stay.

Professional photographers have to adapt constantly to a new reality in a storm that is yet to see where all that dust is going to settle. Now that's a challenge ...

See you at the beach ... Derek

PS Our latest book, New Zealand's Best Gourmet Pies is getting great reviews and is available in all the best bookshops throughout New Zealand. If you haven't bought a copy yet you can order a signed one directly from me here. Make sure to check out our special edition tea towel to go with the book – buy both together and get a special price.