Look Back: Judy Stokes Workshop

Cool Little Workshop in a Cool Little Town

By Karen Lawton. Photos by Judy Stokes APSNZ

Hokitika is a South Island, West Coast town, known for its iconic driftwood beach sign and its catchy marketing phrase, a “Cool Little Town”. Some might say Hoki is a wee bit off the beaten track. Yet Saturday 15 May 2021 saw eighteen keen PSNZ members finding their way to the end of that track, congregating at the PSNZ Workshop venue. They enjoyed a full day of inspirational education provided by presenter Judy Stokes APSNZ.

The workshop was offered to PSNZ members as part of the 2021 Workshop series and was supported by Canon NZ who provided a hard case chock full of very tempting gear for participants to trial.

Judy Stokes is an Auckland based photographer, based for many years at Muriwai Beach. She has always been very willing to share her knowledge and skills with others, and this approach epitomised the workshop presented in Hoki.

The subject was Creative Photography, supported by another catchy phrase: Intentional Camera Movement or ICM.

Judy is first and foremost an artist, and her approach to using the camera and lens as an artist’s tool to ‘paint with your camera’ was challenging and almost confrontational.

She wove her way through the names in art history that have inspired her and explained the means by which she drew inspiration from them.

From Impressionism and expressionism, abstract and cubism, through to gestural photography which describes camera movement purely for movement’s sake – participants were reminded that a preconceived idea of outcome is not required to create art with your camera.

She illustrated techniques through her existing imagery that described an artistic style that seeks to capture and evoke the feeling of the moment and stepped participants through carefully orchestrated post-production techniques, giving away all her ‘secrets’.

The images made in just a couple of brief forays to Hoki beach and beyond to Lake Mahinapua are the best means to describe the outcomes of this awesome workshop.

Personally I know that I will utilise Judy’s “Tips for Nurturing Creativity” and moving forward will make sure I cherish the days “when magic happens”.

Photos by Participants

Intentional Camera Movement, 2021 Photography Workshop in Hokitika with Judy Stokes APSNZ

Kissed by Gold, Franky Malone

A Silence, Janice Brockett

Hokitika Beach, Inger Perkins

Photos by Participants

Intentional Camera Movement, 2021 Photography Workshop with Judy Stokes, Hokitika

By Pam Cumming APSNZ

Tutor, Janice Brockett Workshop Participants, Karen Lawton