Steve Mitchell

Steve has worked most of his life in aviation, as an Air Traffic Controller, Commercial Pilot and in the materials supply chain. He has been an amateur photographer since buying his first camera, an Ilford Sprite, at the age of eleven. After living and working in Australia for nearly thirty years, he returned to his native New Zealand in 2011, finding that the magnificent landscapes of the deep south re-ignited his love of photography. In early 2018 he discovered his first serious SLR camera, a Contax 139Q, lying in a box in the wardrobe, fifteen years after it was last used. One thing led to another and Steve found that he still prefers the texture and look of film for much of his photography. His collection of vintage film cameras now has grown, with the Contax now supported by a collection of Zeiss lenses that have miraculously become affordable over time, and several medium format cameras. Steve's work is exhibited at the Otautau Art Gallery, in Otautau, Southland, New Zealand.