Jessica Shirley Photography

26/08/2026

It was so much fun to capture promotional images for the band Mourning Athena, check them out!

https://youtu.be/JOYhQInnHQg?si=xW1VwuUElyrb0kSP

17/08/2026

They're up!

My photographs from the 2026 NZIPP IRIS Awards are now on display in G-Block at NMIT.

From drone photography and documentary work to creative and landscape images, this exhibition brings together the photographs recognised this year, including my Silver Distinction-winning 100 Autumn Intersections.

If you're on campus, come and have a look.

📍 G-Block, ground floor NMIT

11/08/2026

I'm excited to share my results from the 2026 NZIPP IRIS Awards.

The highlight for me was receiving a Silver Distinction for my drone intersection project. This image represents hours of work. It involved photographing and processing 100 different intersections across the Top of the South, from Westport to Renwick. Every shoot required careful planning around weather, light, timing, and drone restrictions. My ever-supportive partner, Hayden, spent countless hours driving me around the region to help capture the images. Then I nearly drove myself crazy with the hours of editing and assembling the final piece. Seeing the judges connect with the image and award it a Silver Distinction made all that effort worthwhile.

One of the biggest surprises was my possum image receiving a Silver Award. It was very much a wild-card entry, and I genuinely had no idea how the judges would respond to it!

I'm also grateful to NMIT for supporting my IRIS entries and funding research travel to Northland, where I captured images for an ongoing research project exploring food environments and health with my research mentor, Kirsten Coppell.

Photography continues to give me opportunities to explore ideas around landscape, society, humour, environmental change, and the relationship between people and place. I'm excited to bring these experiences, successes, and lessons back into the classroom for my students.

Thank you to everyone who has supported my photography journey, especially my partner Hayden, my sister Heidi, and my friend Suzanne. Your encouragement means more than you know.

04/08/2026

This is a favourite shot of mine from when I visited Dunedin last year.

A rainy night at the First Church.

4 October, 2025

31/07/2026

Fridays are one of my favourite days! I teach photography to Arts & Design Top of the South Trades Academy students at NMIT. Trades Academy Arts & Design is a fun and creative programme open to Year 12 and 13 students from schools across the Top of the South Island.

Check out this video to learn more about Trades Academy and the opportunities it offers.

Link to Trades Academy Arts and Design course in the comments below.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

25/07/2026

Lake Opuha Reflection
17th July 2026

25/07/2026

25/07/2026

Last weekend Hayden and I travelled to Lake Tekapo to photograph the snow. While we were there, I decided to try a bit of astrophotography and, to my delight, I captured a large meteor streaking across the night sky!

It was such an exciting experience and so much fun.

13/07/2026

Had a lovely visit to Lake Rotoiti on Matariki Friday, where I captured this view of the snow-capped mountains beneath a crisp blue winter sky.

29/06/2026

Our final week the exhibition ends this Friday at 3pm

Home, a new student photography exhibition at The Gallery, Nelson City Framers, brings together work by Level 5 and 6 students studying the New Zealand Diploma in Arts and Design and the Bachelor of Arts and Media.