Dave Hart Photography

27/06/2026

Front page of the North Canterbury News this week.

Morning Dew Slumber took Champion Image at the Rangiora Photographic Society Macro competition - judged by Paula Vigus, award-winning macro photographer and author of A Hidden World: Discovering the beauty of New Zealand fungi.

75 shots, handheld, focus stacked in Zerene Stacker.

Quietly pleased a bee got me on the front page - especially when the judge is a pro macro photographer herself.

16/05/2026

A little milestone I’m really proud of. With just over three years since first picking up a camera and figuring out how to use the thing, I was recently awarded Associate of the Photographic Society of New Zealand (APSNZ).

After earning my Licentiate last year, the Associate level was definitely a step up. APSNZ requires a cohesive portfolio of 12 images that shows advanced technical control, creative maturity, and a deliberate visual flow from one image to the next.

For my set, In Degrees of Warmth, I used colour transitions and repeated shapes to guide the viewer through the sequence while still showcasing a broad range of photographic genres.

I’ve put together a short video of the portfolio if you’d like to take a look (1m38s duration).

This video presents my APSNZ portfolio, In Degrees of Warmth, submitted to the Photographic Society of New Zealand.With this set, I was awarded Associate of ...

03/04/2026

And here’s the third and final set of post‑event processed Day 1 shots.

At some point I’m hoping to put together a short video montage featuring a selection of all the images I’ve shared - so watch this space!

I’m also considering creating a single full album with everything from the photos posted during the event right through to this final set, as I know it can be tricky to track multiple posts on Facebook. Hopefully that will make things easier to browse.

Thanks once again for all your kind feedback. It’s been a pleasure putting these together.

02/04/2026

Here's the second set of post-event processed Day 1 shots. Getting there now! Maybe two more sets to come.

02/04/2026

As promised for this evening, here’s the first batch of post‑event processed photos from Day 1 of .

I’ve already shared all Day 2 sets over the last few days — I worked on those first because I’d posted some Day 1 shots during the event itself. What I didn’t quite expect was how many Day 1 images would make it through today’s cull, even after excluding the ones already shared during the event. So, there are definitely more sets to come — I just need to get them edited.

I’m aiming to get the rest out to you tomorrow, time permitting, but I’ll see how I go. Thanks again for all the support on the photos so far — it’s been a pleasure to share them.

01/04/2026

A quick pause from the dragon boat Nationals coverage to share a bit of personal news.

I was awarded APSNZ honours by the Photographic Society of New Zealand recently — a milestone I’m really proud of, especially having only picked up a camera three years ago.

I also just received a Silver Award and two Highly Commended Awards in this year’s Asia Pacific Photography Awards, across the Nature, Open, and Photojournalism categories.

More photos from the Nationals will be up this evening!

31/03/2026

My fifth and final set of edited photos from Day 2 of . It was a real privilege to witness and capture moments from the beautiful and moving flower ceremony - a few of those images are included at the end of this set.

Next up, I’ll be turning my attention back to the Day 1 shots. I’m hoping to share a few more from that day on Thursday, once I’m through some work commitments in the meantime. Keep an eye out - and thank you again for all the kind words about the photos so far. It genuinely means a lot.

31/03/2026

Set 4 of 5 from Day 2 is all edited and hot off the Lightroom press — enjoy!

30/03/2026

Day 2 — Set 3 of 5 from . Nearly through the small‑boat races in this batch.

I’m aiming to have Sets 4 and 5 from Day 2 posted by the end of today. After that, I’ll circle back to Day 1 — I moved through those shots very quickly at the event, so there may be more gems worth sharing.