Alan Squires

With an exceptional eye for capturing the dramatic, self taught photographer Alan Squires has spent the last ten years creating an extensive visual document of the Whangarei region, whilst establishing his photography business in central Whangarei. His deep respect for the landscape and connection to the region is evident in his work, capturing evocative scenes that portray a sincere sense of place.

“I devoured the landscape photography of Andris Apse, Craig Potten and the aerial photography of Whites Aviation as a youngster. To me, their efforts were mainly concerned with the beauty and majesty of the South Island while Northland was never really highlighted in their books of New Zealand. Invariably the obligatory images of Cape Reinga, an aerial of the Bay of Islands and for good measure Tane Mahuta would appear. Never anything from Whangarei. Well, maybe the Whangarei Falls. What really kick-started my photography was a desire to celebrate Whangarei’s awesome landscape environment in a way that had not really been achieved before.  I’ve always had a camera. I still have my first photo, taken as a six year old of the old camp bus parked up in the Hunua Ranges. There is a chap just walking out of shot and he’s wearing a tremendous pair of flares. My dad loved photography, he would present slide shows to the kids of his travels overseas and we were enraptured by it all.  But I never really got hooked completely. Probably because dark rooms and chemicals did not particularly appeal to me. Then there was the tortuous time it took to develop the photos and then, those little stickers at the corners intimating overexposure or blurring would deflate me completely, so I dabbled. Something awoke in me though with the advent and immediateness of digital photography, and that view as you come up over the Brynderwyns. Home.” quoted from the publication Whangarei by Alan Squires, 2020