Member Showcase Immediate Past President Moira Blincoe LPSNZ presents our second member profile.
Sheryl Williams APSNZ While Sheryl Williams APSNZ is a born and bred Aucklander, she has travelled extensively throughout the world…until COVID-19 closed our border. Although she has a large and happy blended family of five, none of them live in Auckland. Some are scattered throughout the country; the others are in Vietnam, Melbourne, and Copenhagen. The upside of this for Sheryl and her husband was combining the family visits to explore and photograph the world, as well as indulge in their leisure activities of skiing, hiking, and cycling. Sheryl has been an active member of the Howick Photographic Society (HPS) since 2011 and last month became an accredited PSNZ judge in the Open category. She completed her training in two years under the mentorship of fellow member Bob McCree FPSNZ. She joined PSNZ in 2012.
In her earlier working life, Sheryl had varied jobs, initially working as a laboratory technician, then for New Zealand Post before settling in the banking industry. Having returned to study horticulture when her children were at school, she quickly found horticulture more stimulating than banking and switched careers. Before retiring in 2012, she was putting her knowledge and skills to good use, working on a 30-acre plant production nursery in Ardmore. Sheryl also volunteers at the Totara Hospice retail shop in Pakuranga. Tending to their large garden keeps her fit and healthy and provides good fodder for her macro and nature photography.
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Describe your first steps into photography. My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic with the little square flashcube on the top; Mum gave it to me when I passed School Certificate at age 16. At first, I went a little crazy, photographing everybody and everything. As I was using film, it became quite expensive. I later upgraded to a Hanimex 35mm camera, followed by my first film SLR, a Pentax K2 which I bought in 1977, and still have today. I became the “go-to” person for event photos in our circle of family and friends. I did some wedding photography for them over the years, but it wasn’t my thing.
When did photography start to play a role in your life?
What is your preferred genre(s)?
When I was about 10 years old I was allowed to play with my grandfather’s Box Brownie camera. I became fascinated with the way the light could change the whole look of otherwise ordinary scenes. I saw the world in a whole different way and wanted to capture everything. I became hooked!
My preferred genres are landscape, natural history/ natural world and macro/close-up, but I embrace and enjoy pretty much all genres of photography. In the past three years, I have been trying creative work and impressionism. I particularly like the annual Creative Focus competition, seeing what people come up with.
