LIGHT & LANDSCAPE

Included in this exhibition for the first time is a number of his Platinum/Palladium prints, made using a century old printing process that results in archival qualities of incredible longevity that produce rich detailed sepia toned prints of exceptional quality. Apse studied the process in San Francisco, producing a series of prints himself. The images in this exhibition were made by Stuart Clook, a well-known Banks Peninsula expert in alternative printing processes. Signed copies of a selection of Apse’s beautiful books will also be available.

Andris Apse is one of New Zealand’s leading contemporary landscape photographers. Born in Latvia in 1943, he spent five of his first six years of life in a refugee camp in Germany before emigrating with his mother to New Zealand. Inspired by his first journeys into New Zealand’s natural wilderness with the New Zealand Forest Service, Apse decided to become a landscape photographer at the age of 18. He became a professional photographer in 1969, initially combining landscape photography with other genres, before making this his entire focus by the 1980s. He has had his images featured in prestigious publications, such as the New York Times, and has produced a number of major books, some of which are available for purchase at the exhibition.

The quality of his work has been recognised through numerous accolades, which include the award of Member New Zealand Order of Merit, Honorary Fellowships of The New Zealand and Australian Institutes of Professional Photographers, Olympus International Photographer of the year and winner of the animal behaviour section of the UK Natural History Museum’s International Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. After being based for some years in Ōkārito, he has recently relocated to Diamond Harbour.