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Andris Apse | Tim Pitman
Andris Apse
Please visit Andris' website at: http://www.andrisapse.com
The Rangiora Photographic Society is proud of the fact that Andris Apse is one of its esteemed patrons. He was very active in the club from the early 1970's through to the mid 80's and has held the position of club President.
He is now one of New Zealand's best known landscape photographers, featuring in voluminous amounts of magazines and major book projects both locally and internationally.
Andris Apse was born in Latvia in 1943 and spent 5 of his first six years of life in a refugee camp in Germany. On emigrating to New Zealand, he and his mother Kamilla lived in Pahiatua, and Auckland before settling in Paihia, Bay of Islands.
The decision to become a landscape photographer was stirred at the age of 18, by his first journeys into New Zealand's natural wilderness as a woodsman with the New Zealand Forest Service. He became a professional photographer in 1969 and purchased a commercial studio in Rangiora. North Canterbury, combining landscape photography with wedding, portrait and industrial work.
By the 1980's he was completely devoted to photographing landscapes and had established a photo library. As his reputation grew he was more and more commissioned to illustrate magazines, books, tourism promotional material and corporate profiles here and in many other countries
He has three children Julian, Tristin and Megan and lives with his partner Lynne in Okarito, South Westland.
Profile at a glance:
- Full time landscape photographer since 1983.
- Winner of the animal behavior section of the International Wildlife Photographers of the year competition, run by the Natural History Museum. Great Britain.
- Winner of the Olympus Seventieth Anniversary Photographic competition. Japan.
- Winner of the Gold Award in the Pacific Asia Travel Association travel photograph category. Hong Kong.
- First prize in International Magazine Advertising. Awarded by the Advertising Club. New York.
- Guest exhibitor at the International Photography Hall of Fame. Oklahoma, U.S.A.
- Twice awarded the Bronze Axis Award by the Advertising Institute of New Zealand.
- Third prizewinner in the Linhof International Photographic competition. Germany.
- Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers.
- Corporate profile photography in USA, England, Australia and throughout New Zealand.
- Commissioned assignments in Hawaii, Singapore, Great Britain, Japan, Canada, Thailand, USA, Australia, Tahiti and New Zealand.
- Freelance Photography in Chile, Latvia, Russia, India, Sub-Antarctic Islands, Italy, Tonga, Maquaire Island, Antarctica.
Tim Pitman
I am delighted to be part of the Rangiora Photographic Society's new web site and the welcome it extends to the photographic world.
The Society has a long history not only of involvement with the local community but with photographic clubs and groups throughout Canterbury and New Zealand. My personal association dates from the late 1950's when I moved my base from Christchurch to Rangiora and joined the society, I have been a member ever since.
We have seen great changes over that time throughout photography as you all know, from the fully Black and White Chemical pre 1950 to colour transparency , then colour prints at reasonable cost and now to Digital. Perhaps the greatest change however is the gender of the membership from mostly male to the very fine group and artistic lady photographers we have today throughout the country spreading our membership much more widely.
My own personal photography has ranged through building my own enlarger a popular pass time in the 1950's, developing Ferania transparency film you had to mix the developers from basic chemicals on the night as they had a very short keeping life, to colour printing at home always a challenge .
Cameras ranged through Rolliflex 2-1/4 square cameras and the various stages of 35mm as they became more sophisticated. I am also pleased to have bridged the technical gap to Digital some 10yrs ago.
Of all the subjects available to us alpine plants and their natural habitat have perhaps given me the most pleasure and reward although they created the greatest challenge to get access to, much easier now with our improved roads to the ski fields'.
Contact with club and PSNZ members has been very rewarding and time consuming spending more than 40yrs on the PSNZ judging panel . Today I still keep my hand in by attending regular club nights in Nelson and am the co convener of the Trans Tasman Inter club held between PSNZ and Australia each year.
Tim Pitman