"That's the great thing about photography. It goes with anything imaginable, any venture in any field of endevour, anywhere, anytime, in any form, style or magnitude.

As a documentor, photographs record many of our finest moments and shows inconceivable workings of our universe . Multitudes share and learn. Many are enlightened. Many aspire to greater things.

As an art-form, photographs entertain us, express the most unfathomable ideas, thoughts and feelings. It speaks to us about life and death, the just and unjust, our successes and follies, grandest exhilaration and deepest despairs.

As a socialiser, people live their lives with it and the world comprehends and grows much wiser. It drives some apart, but so many far closer together.

Photography is incredible, just awesome, so giving, so empowering. It powers me.

My power for life."

"After my wife and family, photography is everything to me. It powers my life.

Being interested in both nature and humanities, my photography is as extensive as anything a camera can picture. My great love for the outdoors and our diverse landscapes, regularly compels me to go out ‘hunting’ to capture New Zealand's bountiful sights - anything really, from insignificant small scale studies to super-wide panoramic vistas of our famous icons.

The landscape is merely a stage for me to watch and study. I believe things of great beauty and interest will eventually appear and unfold into enlightening dramas. I search for redeeming features, storytelling clues and precise fleeting moments of revelation. Movement and balance are also very important as are the garlands of ever changing plays of light, weather, atmospherics and other phenomena.

Some very unexpected and amazing shows have rewarded my patience and endurance, some good, some sad, some beyond our everyday world, some beyond incredible.

I simply gather all this uniqueness and amass it as computer data.

The real art is working on my vast collection of raw material, critically selecting for the& merits I had foreseen, even freshly discovering some. 

Drawing from a vast range of artistic and computer techniques I experiment, enhance, style, and critique, revisiting until my work resolves into my most satisfying ultimate expression of wonder and awe for our world, everything on it and beyond it - something others can share and deeply appreciate.

I do see myself as a witness for my camera, preferring to be a ‘photorealist photographer’ to truly reflect the world but as I see and know it! My excitement and emotional side, however, can shunt any reality into total oblivion, easily!

Photography has been my passion since youth, inviting me everywhere, taking me along many paths including authoring, exhibiting, lecturing, tutoring, judging and guest speaking.

Today, half a century later, my love for photography has only grown, extending to the arts and science; printing and publishing. I now work with it semi-professionally and alongside my communications business 'Cloake Creative' based in Timaru, New Zealand."

It is everything!

Geoff's photography began to record and show interesting things in life to interested people. As a youth, his photography was about the usual family things like weddings, hobbies and holidays. By the 1970s his interests expanded to tramping and a huge growing appreciation for nature and the great outdoors leading to a life long focus on landscapes and nature. The tramping phase culminated in his book "The Secret South Island"

More recently he started work on an on-going body of work which he titles "OUR LAND " to heighten everyone's awareness and appreciation of the very special environments of the South Island of New Zealand. Geoff's artist statement is here. As he worked extensively and intensively to broaden the range to lift standards he introduced new levels of work for sale.  

While out and about hunting for scenes, Geoff also makes opportunity to look further into the makeup of our land and plethora of wildlife, flora and fauna. This body of work leans more to the natural history genre, but sometimes overridden for pictorial enjoyment.  Some very specialist areas of photography have evolved such as the hunting of the Aurora Australis and other things of the night sky such as comets. Storms and various atmospheric phenomena are on the list as are things as diverse as geology and land metamorphism.

The humanities are also of great interest to Geoff, who always has a camera ready to capture people in their ways of life.  His work is inspired by the late Henri Cartier-Bresson, of-the-moment, very spontaneous, often deep in meaning.  His social documentary work falls mainly into the categories of Travel, Candid and Street Photography.

Something has to help fund the excursions, so Geoff undertakes a diverse range of paying work, either as commissions or for potential stock sales. He also provides customisation services.

Finally Geoff likes to take a walk on the funnier side too, as seen here in his "Off with the Lens Cap" Series.

"Nature and science are so complementary to my love of the outdoors. I have an insatiable appetite for facts, placing as much importance on their discovery and exploration as to my right to interpret and express my ideas about them.

So much so, my entire digital photography collection is maintained as unaltered raw data, straight from the camera sensor.

I render my nature photographs for varying purposes, especially for maximum pictorial effect and as factual evidence.  These have totally different requirements.

If my work is to be used as factual evidence, it must be beyond question. Some publishers, law courts, exhibitions, competitions, etc. do demand this which I respect Such requirements can be met without hesitation as I can output any image in my digital or film collection in it's truest captured form.

When manipulation is necessary to best illustrate factual content, I like to declare and explain my purpose and methods.

For general viewing, or pictorial use, such as on this website, I prefer to 'enhance' my photography to ease and please the eye. I am very comfortable about improving how facts are illustrated and understood.

Viewing and emotional experiences can be very important to truly appreciate any subject.

In any case I take great care not to alter the form or integrity of my nature subject matter, except to remove minor imperfections such as sensor dust and other distractions.  I may make adjustments for clarity and sharpness as well as tone and colour to best reflect the subject and my observations.

I am very divided about altering non-subject matter such as foregrounds and backgrounds.
For authenticity, I resist altering their form preferring to neutralise distracting tones or colours - more so if detail-less. I will even avoid this if authenticity is at risk.

Ideally, I should uphold my freedom and ability to render any image, in any appropriate way I wish to consider. This may be for any purpose ranging from testimonial evidence to wild abstract expression. No subject should ever be too sacrosanct for my best intentions.

I am totally unconcerned about my integrity being questioned, especially for the way images are made and manipulated. My photography and computer editing work have been successfully used as court evidence and for museum exhibition.

I believe my statement as a key witness stands above all.

This section is intended for enlightenment and viewing enjoyment. Please take each photo, case-by-case, for it's intended purpose.

Many are 'optimised', some with more than just a little emotional touch. 

This is the way I see our natural world."