Founding Altearoa.co.nz, an alternative media website, in 2013 lead me down some interesting new paths of work in the arts. Creating news media one of the first things required was a photographer – being a community project with no money meant there weren’t a lot of options. Having grown up around cameras and the performing arts I was able to quickly grow my basic skills and discovered a new artistic passion along the way. My first artistic series, Everything Ends, was shot in 2015 but it wasn’t until 2019 after years of developing my post-production skills that it was completed.
In pursuit of my own creative drive I went on to produce several cabaret shows under the Altearoa banner with varying degrees of success. The Devil’s Cabaret premier in 2017 saw my vision properly take shape for the first time – theatrical elements and story-telling woven through a variety production. Show production brings its own challenges though and the hardest of which was finding suitable and affordable options for stage lighting. Over the next few years I built my personal collection of stage equipment and have since provided lighting services and equipment hire for people such as The Burlesque Collective, Bonita Danger Doll, along with assorted school and community theatre productions.
The Wolfman
While I was growing my off-stage and behind-the-camera reputation in New Zealand I was also growing in on-camera recognition internationally. I was putting together the Wolfman as a stage/screen persona in the same vein as famous horror hosts Vampira, or Al ‘Grandpa’ Lewis, I caught the attention of boutique gothic retailer VampFangs.com.
Having ordered some costume fangs from them they became interested in the character test shots I had been working on. Under new ownership, VampFangs, was make some design changes and preparing for the opening of a brick & mortar store in Salem, MA. Impressed by the quality of my character work and photography the VampFangs team got in touch and now my images adorn not only their website but also feature on their in-store displays.
And thus my notoriety as the Wolfman of Aotearoa grew…
Altearoa
The Altearoa project was built to operate as a community hub for alternative artists in New Zealand.