COVID-19 Policy Updates

Monday 29 November

I’m operating within the COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic light system). I'll be keeping a record of each location that I visit for photo and video shoots and ensuring that face coverings are worn where required. If you’ve got any questions or concerns about your shoot just get in touch and I’ll be happy to help!

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Monday 18 May

Following NZ’s return to alert level 2, I’m now able to provide a variety of photo and video shoots. I’ll be working in accordance with the Government’s guidelines on health and safety, as well as NZIPP’s guidelines for photographers operating during level 2.

For bookings, please fill out my contact form or flick me an email at sam@sampfordcathie.com and I’ll be happy to tee up a time and plan for your shoot!

Cheers,

Sam

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Tuesday 28 April

With the recent change to alter level 3, I’m now able to provide zero-contact photoshoots and video shoots.

Starting from today, if you have a residential, retail or commercial project that’s available to be photographed, and that site is currently vacant or closed to the public, please book a shoot by using my contact form or by emailing sam@sampfordcathie.com and I’ll be happy to tee up a suitable time and action plan for your shoot.

If your project is residential and is currently occupied, please be aware that I will not be able to conduct a shoot until the alert level is lowered.

Once the alert threshold has been shifted to level 2, I’ll be available for all photo and video shoot bookings.

Cheers,

Sam

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Monday 23 March

Following the government’s recent escalation of the COVID-19 alert level to level 4, I'll unfortunately no longer be available to shoot for the next four weeks while NZ is in self-isolation.

I'll still be working from home during this time, and am more than happy to assist with any remote requests, including video editing and image retouching.

During this time you can reach me via email at sam@sampfordcathie.com

Cheers,

Sam

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Monday 16 March

The safety and wellbeing of my clients and my team is my top priority. Here’s how our process is changing in response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Keeping our distance

As of mid-March, my second-shooter Charlotte and I are independently working from home and taking precautions to minimise the risk of exposure to the virus. This includes -

• Following the government’s guidelines for hand-washing and cleaning

• Keeping hand sanitiser available on all shoots 

• Avoiding touching any surfaces or objects when shooting on-location where possible

• Avoiding physical greetings, including handshakes

We’re also adhering to recommendations outlined by the NZIPP for photographers operating in NZ - including:

• Taking minimal gear to sessions where possible

• Defering sessions if any team member of client feels unwell

• Cleaning surfaces regularly

• Deferring shoots for 14 days if a client has been overseas, or in contact with someone who has been overseas.

For Architecture & Interior Shoots

Thankfully, the majority of our work is low-contact and involved only a handful of personnel.

• To help avoid contact, we recommend that (where possible) clients meet us at the shoot location to let us in, and then distance themselves from us during the shoot.

• We’re also happy to pick up & drop off keys for access, or if you have a door with a keycode, consider setting us a temporary entry code for the shoot date, so that you don’t need to be there.

For Video Shoots

• We’ll again be keeping physical contact to a minimum and avoiding crowded areas.

If you or anyone involved in an upcoming shoot are unwell or have recently been overseas, please let us know.

Whilst the situation is evolving constantly, we will continue to review these processes. At this stage we will continue to offer bookings for our clients.

If you have any questions or hesitations about your shoot please get in touch to discuss these. Again; everyone’s health, safety and wellbeing are our highest priority. 

I’ll also be monitoring the Ministry of Health guidelines for updates - available here

Stay safe out there!

Cheers,

Sam

Winning Images from the 14th Annual Black and White Spider Awards

I was thrilled to receive two honourable mentions and two nominations in the 14th Annual Black and White Spider Awards at the PhotoShow streamed Saturday, October 12, 2019. 

Two of my images, titled Zazen and Sentinel received honourable mentions in the Architecture category:

Zazen, D.T. Suzuki Museum, Kanazawa

Sentinel, Bean Rock Lighthouse, Waitemata Harbour

The live online gala was attended by industry leaders and the photography community from around the globe. 14th Annual Jury members included captains of the industry from Musee de l'Elysee, Lausanne; The Guardian, London; Contrasto Galleria, Milan; Travel/Discovery Channel, New York; Harper's Bazaar, UK; Portuguese Center of Photography, Porto; Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels; Silvan Faessler Fine Art, Zurich; ADK Creative One Inc., Tokyo; Galerie Hubert Winter, Vienna; Conny Dietzschold Galleries, Sydney; and Pereira O'Dell in New York who honored Spider Fellows with 758 coveted title awards and 909 nominees in 32 categories.

Two additional images of mine, titled Forum and Waiting, were nominees in the Architecture and People categories respectively.

Forum, Tokyo International Forum - Exterior

Waiting - Anna, Parnell Cathedral

"It's an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 6,418 entries we received this year" said Basil O'Brien, the awards Creative Director.

BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS is the leading international award honoring excellence in black and white photography. This celebrated event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honors the finest images with the highest achievements in black and white photography.

www.thespiderawards.com

Life as an Architectural Photographer with Kerataconus

Ironic as it is, I have what most people would describe as pretty bad eyesight.

Over the course of one semester at Uni, I noticed that I (fairly suddenly, to me, at least) I could no longer read the slides on the projector for any of my lectures. Sitting closer to the front didn’t help much either - the problem wasn’t that it was too blurry, but that the words were all overlapping each other.

I would later learn that I have a condition known as Keratoconus - in essence, a misshapen cornea, partly hereditary, and partly from having a lot of hay fever as a kid and rubbing my eyes a lot.

My eyesight deteriorated fairly rapidly during uni over the course of a year or so, and (thankfully) it’s now stopped deteriorating and I’ve become fairly accustomed to my new way of seeing.

So, what do I see?

Well, more or less this:

From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kc_simulation.jpg

It’s called ghosting, and it’s interesting to say the least. Obviously, it makes reading anything on a screen fairly difficult, or anything to do with lights and high contrast at all for that matter.

For example, here’s a more accurate visualisation of the ghosting effect for me using this very blog post:

Left: This blog post. Right: How this blog post looks to me.

But it’s not just for reading and writing that ghosting can be a bit of a nuisance - I see like this all of the time. Whats great is that I’ve become accustomed to the effect - I’ve dealt with it for almost 10 years now, but it’s still always there.

I can’t recognise faces at a distance, especially in the dark, or read any signs after a certain distance - but not because they’re too blurry - there are just too many of them overlapping each other. It’s too hard to single out the ‘right’ object when I’m looking at something from far away.

The great irony of this is that I actually have really great eyesight, technically speaking; I just see too many of the same thing.

So the next great question - why do photography?

I find it much easier to ‘see’ my images through the blocks of colour and shape.

Luckily, the finished products are always nice and crisp compared to what I see.

Funnily enough, to me it just makes sense. Of course, I’ve always enjoyed photography in general, but I didn’t get into photography in a serious way until just after my eyesight deteriorated so much.

I think for me the reason that I do photography is also the same reason that I shoot architecture and interiors - it’s making things tidy. It’s making sense out of the shapes and textures that are all over the place, like pulling apart a puzzle.

Fortunately for me, a lot of the art of architectural photography is about lining up compositions and creating simple, yet effective, images that emphasise shapes, form and textures.

I’m incredibly lucky that I’m able to adapt a craft that I enjoy so much into what I do for a living on a daily basis, and (luckily) I seem to have gotten used to the eyesight condition in it’s current state.

Fingers crossed, it doesn’t change much further from here, but I like to think that, these days, it gives me a bit of an edge in my work.

Just don’t be offended if I don’t recognise you at a distance!