About Gavin
I'm Gavin Williams, born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. Being African, I am very passionate about the "darkest" continent. The rawness of Africa will either have you seduced,embracing it as your own, or you will be running for the nearest exit point without looking back , leaving yourself just enough time to shake the dust off your feet before taking to the air never to return.
I moved to New Zealand in 1999 and I'm currently based in Auckland, NZ's biggest city. A country boy at heart, you will find my work mainly outdoors related, with a special interest in landscapes and wildlife.
I am a hobbyist and my pictures will reflect that. Most of my photographs are confined to where I live and travel within NZ. Further down the line though, I hope to make photographs of Africa and its people a prominent feature on this site. Hence the name, "Ukufota"'
It all started in the mid '80s when I purchased a Vivitar 110 "point n shoot", a long flat camera that was quite fashionable at the time. Then in 1992 I moved onto the real serious stuff when my ex wife gave me a second-hand PRACTIKA MTL5 as an anniversary present. The gift included a 250mm telefoto lens as well as a 28mm wide angle and a standard 50mm lens. For the first time I could start "creating" photos rather than just snap whatever I thought was a good picture.
I am still of the old school type and regularly shoot with 35mm SLR's. I've been using film cameras since the age of 15 and my fingers know their way around a good old fashioned camera while they struggle with the settings on a modern camera. I am growing in confidence with the digital age, however, and its just a matter of time before it becomes my main working tool.
When I'm not taking photos, I am earning my keep building furniture for superyachts for a world renowned marine cabinetry company.
I hope you enjoy visiting my siteand check back from time to time as photos will be updated periodically and will be for sale in the foreseeable future,
Take care
Gavin
WORTH MENTIONING
PATRICK WAGNER
I bought my first issue of GETAWAY magazine in May 1991 and Patrick did the cover story on a safari through the Koakaveld in northern Namibia. The story was captivating and the photos stunning, and I was immediately hooked and never missed a single issue of Getaway until I immigrated to New Zealand in July 1999. I religiously followed Pat's stories and photography and his high standards of professionalism never masked his humility and love of Africa. Sadly, a plane crash while on assignment in Kenya brought Patrick's life to an untimely end in 1998. A colleague once asked Patrick, "How do you get to take such beautiful photographs?" to which he replied, "About 15km of Fuji Velvia."
KEN OOSTEBROEK
Ken was a news photographer and worked for The Star newspaper in Johannesburg. He was a member of the Bang-Bang Club and seemed to thrive on living on the edge, as is common with most photographers who cover war and political violence. Ken too, lost his life while on assignment in Thokoza in 1994, only a week before South Africa's first ever democratic elections. A video on how Ken died can be seen on YouTube under the heading "War photographer Ken Oostebroek is killed"
ALSO
Cathleen Tarawhiti. If I can blame anyone for the money I've spent on this hobby over the past 12 months, then the finger points squarely at Cathleen. A talented Hamilton based photographer whose passion and energy inspired me to dust off my cameras and get shooting again. With the market in NZ being relatively small to match the abundance of talent, artists need to exercise diligence and possess a big heart to rise head and shoulders above their peers if they are to make good. I believe that this PORTRAIT and GLAMOUR specialist is one such artist. As Nelson Mandela once said, " A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination".
FINALLY
Chrystal, my ex-wife and good friend. Apart from buying my first SLR, she also bought my first Ornothological Journal so that I could identify the birds I was photographing. And when we were burgled in 1995, she personally went in search of a replacement camera and found an OLYMPUS OM10, with which I have shot many of the images on this site and will no doubt become my reliable back-up after I upgrade to professional grade digital gear.