Back in April 2010, publisher Jack Martin, business manager Richard Aindow and editor Ben Christie launched this publication with the intention of showcasing the very best that Wellington has to offer and telling the region’s stories with style, wit and invention.
From the very beginning of the magazine, we have showcased the talents of some brilliant photographers and continue to take great pride in the quality of the work we commission. I am continually astounded at the superb work our photographers deliver to us every month, elevating our words to new heights. These ten photographs made me gasp, made me laugh, or made me cry, and I hope you’ll join me in applauding the talent and vision that made them.
Of course, this is a personal selection — there were dozens of contenders and I hope you’ll get to see more of them when we celebrate our tenth birthday in April 2020.
1: In FishHead’s first issue, photographer Daniel Allen and editor Ben Christie took a helicopter ride around the region and demonstrated that Wellington’s remarkable beauty is best seen from the air.
2: The redoubtable writer and philanthropist Jean Watson (who sadly passed away just after Christmas last year) was the subject of Emily Bain’s ‘Fish Out of Water’ column in February 2012. This stunning portrait is by Alden Williams.
3: Antony Kitchener took this shot of one of Wellington’s most familiar faces — the Lambton Quay evangelist known only by the pseudonym ‘Bob’ — for an article on Wellington’s street characters by Miriam Richdale and Max Rashbrooke in the January 2013 issue.
4: A photographer’s ability to capture someone’s character in a moment is demonstrated here with Caroline Atkinson’s shot of Wellington Phoenix midfielder Vince Lia for the October 2013 edition of ‘Capital Questions’.
5: For a December 2013 feature called ‘Made in Wellington’, Mark Tantrum shot this pair of parkour enthusiasts at the James Smith parking building.
6: Dolly Rubiano’s food photography never ceases to make my mouth water, and this luscious shot of a heritage tomato, wild herb and goat’s cheese salad by Foxglove chef Joshua Dodd (February 2014) is a perfect example. Dolly lives in Melbourne now and is unable to visit local restaurants for us, but she continues to cook, style and photograph Laura Vincent’s recipes for ‘My Kitchen’ every month.
7: Patrick Brennan runs a successful Internet radio station from his Papakowhai basement. Matt Evans photographed him in full flight to illustrate Max Rashbrooke’s ‘City Lights’ interview in March 2014.
8: Steve Joll’s son Theo featured throughout last year as Steve’s articles on what to do with your kids around Wellington were road-tested by him and his pals. Here he is playing mini-golf at Carlucci Land with his mate Charlie (on the right) in our March 2014 issue.
9: Legendary author Joy Cowley has a woodturning shop in her Wairarapa garage, a fact we found out only when Graeme Tuckett and photographer Mark Tantrum went to visit her for our July 2014 interview.
10: Kane Feaver composed this wonderful portrait of pinball enthusiast Simon Haxton for Max Rashbrooke’s February 2015 ‘City Lights’ interview — the picture was taken among the tables at Newtown’s Moon bar.
