NZPhotographer Issue 56, June 2022

Getting Eye-to-Eye and
Soul-to-Soul with Wildlife
Interview with Kim Free
the Sustainable Business Network, we continuously look to
lessen our environmental impact.
KIM, TELL US ABOUT YOU…
I was born in Christchurch and grew up on a farm
and horse stud beside the Waimakariri River in North
Canterbury. My Dad ran the farm, and my Mum bred Welsh
Ponies. We had an absolute menagerie of various pets -
cats, dogs, horses, lambs, rabbits, and birds. I always loved
helping out on the farm. I’m sure my great appreciation for
nature, strong work ethic, and deep love for animals were
primarily due to this very fortunate childhood.
I shifted a few times when I left home but ended up back
in the same area, where I now live with Stu, my husband of
19 years, our dog Brody and our miniature cows, Max and
Jed. We are incredibly fortunate to have properties on the
beautiful West Coast and Kaikoura as well, so we move
between them as time permits.
My husband and I are owners of a manufacturing
company within which my role is finance executive. I am
also responsible for our objectives and initiatives relating to
conservation and sustainability. This is, without doubt, the
part of my role I find the most rewarding. As members of
26 June 2022 NZPhotographer
HOW AND WHEN DID YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
JOURNEY BEGIN?
Growing up, I always had a camera and took countless
photos of my animals. The film was expensive to develop,
and I’m sure my parents got sick of paying for another 24
photos of pretty much the same thing - either my horse
from every angle or my dog just sleeping, not exactly prizewinning
shots!
It was about twelve years ago that photography became
a passion after I purchased my first iPhone. Using the phone
99% of the time as a camera rather than a phone, I knew
this was what I wanted to do. And so, the photography
obsession (and spending) began. I decided to enroll in
an online photography course and bought my first DSLR
camera, a Canon 650d. It was incredible and a steep
learning curve coming after taking photos on my iPhone.
Despite the outlay for the course, I only completed a
couple of modules. I just wanted to start taking photos. I
didn’t gel with learning about the history of photography or
how a camera works. Instead, I read books and watched
a lot of videos, and I mean a lot. Then I would get out there
and apply or try to apply what I had learned. I had always
loved horses, so I started in equine photography, and more
by good luck than good management, I was hired to
shoot a few horse events. These events pushed me out of
my comfort zone, especially as I was taking images to be
sold, and I was new to photography. Even though these
were incredible experiences and ones for which I am very
grateful, they made me realise that it wasn’t the type of
photography I wanted to do.
After some soul searching, I decided I wanted to shoot
landscapes. I loved it, and it was then I started gaining
some confidence. It was a great time; my husband and
I travelled all over the South Island looking for locations
to shoot. We did any nature walk we could find and
had many fun experiences and adventures. I had some
amazing results with landscapes, and I still love capturing
stunning scenes, but I was drawn to wildlife photography,
particularly marine wildlife, and I have not looked back.
I have had an incredible journey so far, and I never
dreamed anything would come out of my photography.
But having photos published, exhibited, licensed, winning
competitions, and being paid to write about Wildlife
Photography, I couldn’t be happier with how it’s gone. I
can’t wait to see where it takes me from here.