Jessie Casson

Our second little boy, Otis Lionel arrived 5th June and we are still in the midst of the first six weeks of happy chaos.  I am taking a couple of months off shooting to adjust.  I did however make the opening of the Champions: New Zealand Winners Exhibition at Lopdell House Gallery, Titirangi when Otis was just 6 days olds. Due to sleep deprivation my ability to string sentences together was slightly dubious so I kept my speech to about 3 minutes.  The show runs in conjunction with the Auckland photography festival until 1st August 2010.

We spent last weekend in Hawkes Bay as Champions: New Zealand Winners opened at the Hastings Art Gallery. We were made to feel very welcome and Maree, the gallery curator, even lend us her soft top to ponce around in while the sun shone. The exhibition will remain in Hawkes Bay until the end of November.  Work has been busy recently, including a shoot with the very lovely Jaquie Brown.

I have just returned from a trip to the UK combining work with catching up with friends and family is always good. I shot Tommy recently, a wonderful sailor whose stories I could listen to for many an hour. The touring Champions: New Zealand Winners exhibition is currently showing at Thenewdowse until the end of Aug 09. The gallery have given the show a great space, we called in to view it last weekend while we were in Wellington.

Kiwi Champions TV3 2.15pm 10th April 09 (Good Friday)

Tells the story of finding and photographing 43 New Zealand Champions to produce the book Champions: New Zealand Winners.  It combines the highs and lows of travelling around the country in a 1970s caravan in search of the champions with interviews with the winning subjects themselves.  This is a heart felt documentary showcasing  ordinary New Zealanders with extraordinary achievements.

The past five weeks have been an incredible learning experience, one that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I have worked with Mike and Ken editing and piecing together the hour long documentary. We began with 27hrs of footage and that has been whittled away to a much shorter version of our journey on the road. The story focuses predominantly on the champions themselves with some of our trials and tribulations thrown in. The result will be shown on TV3 this year or early next year. The book Champion: New Zealand Winners is selling ’steadily’ in these economic times. Click here to read a recent review of the book.