Mary Livingston

I have always loved the sea. Its beauty, its power, its colour, its sound. As a child I spent endless summers of the previous century living and breathing the sea and all its moods in the UK Channel Islands. I dreamed of what I could do as I grew up that would keep me always closely connected to the sea.

At 10 years old when I was asked to deliver a message to the Institute of Oceanography located next to my school in Surrey. In the entrance hall was a floor to ceiling image of the deep ocean. Intensely blue and vast I was immediately transfixed and set on a pathway that would lead to a fantastic career in ocean science that brought me to New Zealand in 1976.

So what about the photography? Photography was an emerging art form when I was little and I loved taking images with my kodak brownie whenever I could. I even tried to be creative with it all but the technical aspects of the craft took the edge off it. I continued to dabble with it while juggling study, family, career, and the occasional notions of music, but it wasn’t until I hit my 50s that I returned to photography with some resolve.

My house was burgled and my little point and shoot camera was stolen. I decided I really wanted to give photography another crack. The thing was I had also been battling a long bout of depression and needed to find something that I could immerse myself in…. something I could go to quickly whenever I felt myself slipping. So I purchased a serious camera. It worked. Exploring the world around me as if I had never seen it before brought such unexpected joy. Photography has become a major passion, a way of life, and has given me the where-with-all to get through life’s pitfalls.

Add a little bit of When Ian asked me if I would like to write something and send in some images for his magazine, I was thrilled to be asked, but also supremely anxious! What should I write about? What should I share? There are so many incredible photographers out there. I have chosen a collection of favorite images that reflect the heart of my journey. I hope you enjoy them. The wild sea Living on the edge of Cook Strait where tidal and weather extremes combine with tall cliffs and inaccessible beaches provides some amazing opportunities to simply be in the moment and admire the forces around me. The winter storms can bring huge waves from the Antarctic that take my breath away. T

hey are challenging, fast and dangerous, and they push my photographic skills to the limit. [Big wave] Then all in a moment the scene becomes silent and a mist blurs the morning light [blurry sunrise] Landscapes of Aotearoa I love to understand the place that I live in and New Zealand has so much to learn about. It is very different from where I grew up, and the landscape has a raw untamed quality to it.

I think about how we humans have changed it, but I feel the bones are still here. The curve of the land, the stillness of the forest, the breath of spirits whispering in the sands, the growl of tectonics that jostle the earth under our feet. [Farewell Spit sand dunes] [River of gold] [Forest epiphytes] [Wheat harvest] Living and surviving in Wellington When I first arrived here the city felt far-flung and isolated from my version of the real world.

Social activities and night life for a young student to participate in were almost non-existent. I wrestled with being so far from the familiarity of England and was ill-equipped for life down under. Unsettled periods of mental health followed that threatened to break me. But then, look at the light cascading in through the window at the rehearsal for my daughter’s wedding [Wellington Rowing Club]. See the raindrops create their patterned menisci on the glass roof [Rain]. Wait. There is an unexpected landscape right there on an old wharf pile [Abstract seascape on wood]. I love this place. It has made me whole.

I am older now. The abyss still hovers occasionally and I do wonder how it will be. One day there will be a bridge to cross. Will it be like the one here on the rooftop of central New Zealand [Bridge in evening light]? Who knows. But today my eyes are bright and the pathway strong.

I have met so many different people who have shared their stories with me. I have been inspired by so many artists who have taught me how to be in the moment and how to weather the storms. But most of all I have learnt how to bring joy to someone’s day and this more than anything gives purpose to my existence.

How grateful I am to be able to feel that. I must go now, for there is a tide to catch and a breeze full of promise! Farewell fond reader. I hope we meet one day upon the shores of time. I will be the one with the camera and a big smile.

Mary Livingston lives with her Japanese husband and beloved family pooch in Wellington. She is an amateur photographer who follows her photography passion outside her full time marine science work. Her family are amazingly supportive (considering how seriously she has eaten into the family coffers) so long as she does not post images of them online!

"this more than anything gives purpose to my existence"