Having traversed exotic locations (like French lakes and coastal Croatia) to capture couples celebrating their big days, Nadine thought she had seen it all.
But she underestimated how much heart and soul she would find in photographing the places and people in her backyard of Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
“I feel like I used to walk around with my eyes closed,” she says. “This world is filled with countless vibrant experiences that I never really fully comprehended before. I knew that everyone had their own life, but I hadn’t really stopped to absorb and truly see that before.”
Nadine wakes up inspired every morning – excited about what the working day will bring.
“Every time I’m doing a photography job at council, I’m interacting with different community members, interacting in their world, and hearing their personal stories first-hand. They welcome me in and give me access to their world and trust me with their story – it’s really special. I feel like I’m getting more out of it than I could possibly give back to them. It’s giving me a richer lived experience, more than I could ever have imagined.”
She says another rewarding aspect of the role is being able to provide professional photography services to people and communities who may not otherwise have access to it.
And ensuring the captured history of the city is honest and representative of its people is something she is massively passionate about.
“I want representation across the board. I want everyone to have a chance to have their story be told – if they want it to be told – and I would like the representation to be well rounded.”
For some more insights into why Nadine loves her mahi as Wellington city’s photographer, see below, where she shares some of her favourite images and stories from photoshoots that were meaningful to her.