The South by Gemma Watkins

As I’m sure a million other analogue photographers can agree, film really is like no other. It’s timeless. There’s something so special about getting ludicrous amounts of film developed – despite almost getting bankrupt by the costs involved (lol). Each image represents such a raw, honest snapshot of exactly what was happening at the time, emphasizing the imperfections such being rough, overexposed or blurry.

Photography is my medium to mark a particular moment in time – not only is it a visual representation – it holds certain auditory and visceral elements captured within the image. Flicking though a series of pictures brings about a rush of memories – who I was with, what it felt like, what it smelt like.

This trip holds so many fond memories close to my heart. We decided to explore the South Island of NZ on a bit of a whim, keen to do something different, new and out of the ordinary to conclude 2018.

Genuinely without a solid plan, vague spots mentioned by friends or Instagram locations in our saved folder was our core guide to getting around. In fact, this proved to provide a better base for us in finding the hidden gems unknown by most. We pulled up to secluded pebbly beaches, long winding mountainous walks and milky blue lakes.

With a van as our home for 3 weeks, we lived, slept, laughed, cooked and dreamt in it. NZ will always have a little piece of us, until next time.