
Photography As Relevant And Popular As It Was 50 Years Ago
Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University opened its new state of the art 18 booth darkroom in the former Dominion Museum building last week, alongside a suite of other photographic resources including lighting studios, film scanners, digital print and alternative process facilities.
This semester, more than 70 students are enrolled in the first year Introduction to Darkroom course at Massey's Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts.
Photography Major Coordinator Shaun Waugh says as the country's longest-running photography programme, the course is as relevant as it was at its outset.
'Our programme continues to shape generations of image-makers, researchers and cultural commentators who explore how we see and interpret the world around us.'
Analogue(n.) exhibition opens today
Massey University is celebrating the 50-year anniversary with an exhibition of images provided by over 100 alumni, former and current photography teaching staff. The exhibition is being held in the Engine Room at Massey's Wellington campus from Tuesday 22 July to Saturday August 9.
The exhibition features images from photographers who are spread all over Aotearoa New Zealand and the world including Professor Emerita (fine arts) Anne Noble, David Cook, Wayne Barrar, Ann Shelton, Gavin Hipkins, and the founder of the original photography course, William Main.
Renowned photographer Peter Black was one of the students in the very first photography course offered by the then Wellington Polytechnic in 1975. He remembers using photographs from a roll of black and white film developed from his first camera (a Pentax spotmatic) to support his application. Just seven years later his Fifty Photographsshow (1982) was the first one-person show of photography at the National Art Gallery. Mr Black chose a colour image he took in 1984, Woman with Lizard for the exhibition.
Senior lecturer Shaun Waugh says it's ironic that in the same year that Massey's photography course began, Kodak built the first CCD-based digital still camera—a toaster-sized device capturing just 0.01 megapixels.
'This technological coincidence underscores a key tension explored in the exhibition: between the mechanical past and the computational future of photography, and the enduring value of analogue ways of seeing and making,' he adds.
Photography is available as a major within the Bachelor of Design (BDes) at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University. Students can complete a three-year BDes, four-year BDes (Hons) degree, a Masters in Fine Arts, Masters in Design or PhD with a focus in Photography.
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Photography As Relevant And Popular As It Was 50 Years Ago
Press Release – Massey University Massey University is celebrating the 50-year anniversary with an exhibition of images provided by over 100 alumni, former and current photography teaching staff. The exhibition is being held in the Engine Room at Masseys Wellington campus from Tuesday 22 … The art of analogue photography, darkroom processing and developing prints is in high demand 50 years after the tertiary photography course was first offered to Wellington students in 1975. Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University opened its new state of the art 18 booth darkroom in the former Dominion Museum building last week, alongside a suite of other photographic resources including lighting studios, film scanners, digital print and alternative process facilities. This semester, more than 70 students are enrolled in the first year Introduction to Darkroom course at Massey's Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts. Photography Major Coordinator Shaun Waugh says as the country's longest-running photography programme, the course is as relevant as it was at its outset. 'Our programme continues to shape generations of image-makers, researchers and cultural commentators who explore how we see and interpret the world around us.' Analogue(n.) exhibition opens today Massey University is celebrating the 50-year anniversary with an exhibition of images provided by over 100 alumni, former and current photography teaching staff. The exhibition is being held in the Engine Room at Massey's Wellington campus from Tuesday 22 July to Saturday August 9. The exhibition features images from photographers who are spread all over Aotearoa New Zealand and the world including Professor Emerita (fine arts) Anne Noble, David Cook, Wayne Barrar, Ann Shelton, Gavin Hipkins, and the founder of the original photography course, William Main. Renowned photographer Peter Black was one of the students in the very first photography course offered by the then Wellington Polytechnic in 1975. He remembers using photographs from a roll of black and white film developed from his first camera (a Pentax spotmatic) to support his application. Just seven years later his Fifty Photographsshow (1982) was the first one-person show of photography at the National Art Gallery. Mr Black chose a colour image he took in 1984, Woman with Lizard for the exhibition. Senior lecturer Shaun Waugh says it's ironic that in the same year that Massey's photography course began, Kodak built the first CCD-based digital still camera—a toaster-sized device capturing just 0.01 megapixels. 'This technological coincidence underscores a key tension explored in the exhibition: between the mechanical past and the computational future of photography, and the enduring value of analogue ways of seeing and making,' he adds. Photography is available as a major within the Bachelor of Design (BDes) at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University. Students can complete a three-year BDes, four-year BDes (Hons) degree, a Masters in Fine Arts, Masters in Design or PhD with a focus in Photography.


Scoop
21-07-2025
- Scoop
Photography As Relevant And Popular As It Was 50 Years Ago
The art of analogue photography, darkroom processing and developing prints is in high demand 50 years after the tertiary photography course was first offered to Wellington students in 1975. Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University opened its new state of the art 18 booth darkroom in the former Dominion Museum building last week, alongside a suite of other photographic resources including lighting studios, film scanners, digital print and alternative process facilities. This semester, more than 70 students are enrolled in the first year Introduction to Darkroom course at Massey's Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts. Photography Major Coordinator Shaun Waugh says as the country's longest-running photography programme, the course is as relevant as it was at its outset. 'Our programme continues to shape generations of image-makers, researchers and cultural commentators who explore how we see and interpret the world around us.' Analogue(n.) exhibition opens today Massey University is celebrating the 50-year anniversary with an exhibition of images provided by over 100 alumni, former and current photography teaching staff. The exhibition is being held in the Engine Room at Massey's Wellington campus from Tuesday 22 July to Saturday August 9. The exhibition features images from photographers who are spread all over Aotearoa New Zealand and the world including Professor Emerita (fine arts) Anne Noble, David Cook, Wayne Barrar, Ann Shelton, Gavin Hipkins, and the founder of the original photography course, William Main. Renowned photographer Peter Black was one of the students in the very first photography course offered by the then Wellington Polytechnic in 1975. He remembers using photographs from a roll of black and white film developed from his first camera (a Pentax spotmatic) to support his application. Just seven years later his Fifty Photographsshow (1982) was the first one-person show of photography at the National Art Gallery. Mr Black chose a colour image he took in 1984, Woman with Lizard for the exhibition. Senior lecturer Shaun Waugh says it's ironic that in the same year that Massey's photography course began, Kodak built the first CCD-based digital still camera—a toaster-sized device capturing just 0.01 megapixels. 'This technological coincidence underscores a key tension explored in the exhibition: between the mechanical past and the computational future of photography, and the enduring value of analogue ways of seeing and making,' he adds. Photography is available as a major within the Bachelor of Design (BDes) at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University. Students can complete a three-year BDes, four-year BDes (Hons) degree, a Masters in Fine Arts, Masters in Design or PhD with a focus in Photography.


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24-05-2025
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Fly My Pretties Release Their Seventh Album, ELEMENTAL
Press Release – NicNak Media New Zealand's most-loved musical collective Fly My Pretties present their seventh album, ELEMENTAL. Written and recorded over one week at Wellington's Massey University, the album sees the band exploring fundamental human, spiritual, and natural themes through a collection of soul and blues-infused waiata. Known for their folk/singer-songwriter sound, ELEMENTAL sees Fly My Pretties taking their sound into an exciting new direction. While famous for their big band set up, this album is relatively stripped back. The band features only 11 musicians who appear on every track, giving a constant soulful groove throughout the album, driven by musical directors Barnaby Weir and Laughton Kora. As with previous iterations of Fly My Pretties, ELEMENTAL sees a group of established and up-and-coming musicians combining. Vocalists AJA, RIIKI REID, Taylah, TAWAZ and Louis TM all bring their unique styles to the release, with the stunningly powerful group vocals combining throughout the album. The album is anchored by a rhythm section of Iraia Whakamoe (The Nudge) and Aaron Stewart (Mel Parsons, T-Bone), and complemented by guitarist Ryan Prebble (The Nudge) and Nigel Patterson (The Black Seeds) on keys. Each vocalist brought a number of songs to the table to be refined and put through the Fly My Pretties sound, all with the theme of ELEMENTAL in mind, alongside an emphasis on Te ao Māori and sounds grounded in soul and funk. The project was brought to life in partnership with Massey University in Wellington, where Fly My Pretties wrote, rehearsed, and recorded the album in just one week. Months of planning saw Massey University on board as a partner for the project, providing the use of their world-class facilities for the duration of the project. ELEMENTAL was born inside of Massey's Ahumairangi Studio, a space which has previously hosted the APRA Silver Scrolls, L.A.B, Troy Kingi and many more. The entire process featured students from Massey's College of Creative Arts involved in assisting with every aspect, from the sound and recording, to the lights and filming. With a number of past and present Fly My Pretties members involved in the staff at Massey University, the cast itself also includes two Commercial Music graduates in RIIKI REID and Taylah, who returned to Massey this time working alongside their former lecturers. In another full circle moment, Taylah also joins the cast after opening for Fly My Pretties in 2013 in Kerikeri on The Homeland Tour. After several days of writing, rehearsing and refining inside of Ahumairangi Studio, the set-up moved down the road to The Great Hall, a venue which is home to the National Academy of Screen Arts. The Great Hall was then set up to send a real-time live mix back to the studio of each track. Each performance was filmed by a range of Massey students and graduates, led by acclaimed director Shae Sterling. The visuals were created and led by Massey lecturer and long-time Fly My Pretties collaborator Mike Bridgman, and displayed using the Disguise server and giant LED screen on site inside of The Great Hall. The result was a truly multimedia experience which utilised a number of aspects on hand at the Massey's College of Creative Arts. Through three sell-out shows as part of the 2024 Wellington Jazz Festival, Fly My Pretties not only performed these songs for the first time, but the cast of 11 musicians on stage combined with over 40 different industry professionals and Massey staff, students and graduates to create ELEMENTAL. Each track on the album is released alongside an official music video, which captures the scope of these performances. As with past instalments of Fly My Pretties, the cast of musicians involved includes a collection of both familiar and undiscovered musicians. The opening track on the album serves as an intro to both the album and the concept of the show, with AJA and TAWAZ leading a mihi alongside the band in both te reo and English, a bilingual theme which continues throughout the album. Winner of the 2022 APRA Maioha Award, AJA's soulful and dynamic vocal style is evident from the outset of ELEMENTAL, with her two tracks 'Kāwai' and 'Everflowing' laying down the neo-soul-based foundations for the entire project. Multiple-time Aotearoa Music Award-winner TAWAZ brings his unique version of soul to Fly My Pretties, with him performing alongside a big band for the first time. ' AIE' and 'Tie Together' see TAWAZ combining vocally with AJA, Laughton Kora, RIIKI REID and Taylah to create a truly powerful vocal section. 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