ABOUT DEPTH OF FIELD.
So often, we’re at an event, or a photoshoot and we glance around only to realise: we’re the only women behind the lens.
It’s not a dealbreaker. We don’t pack up our gear or question our place. It doesn’t shake our focus or stop us from delivering our best work.
But still… it’s there.
And we know we’re not alone in feeling this.
We know that for a lot of women, that moment of quiet awareness hits the same way. That’s why we believe having a strong sense of community and support around you really matters. It doesn’t just help - it empowers. It reminds you that even if you’re the only one in the room, you’re not doing this alone.
About the founders
Rach and Haley met each other over 10 years ago and as our orbits grew closer over the past 3 years, we would meet up and discuss this strong desire to 'do something' in this space.
Over many coffees it was hard to define what might shape this idea might form into, we talked about podcasts and scholarship models and how we might be able to actually make an impact.
None of the other ideas have gone away, but we think this might be a good place to start.
Rach Hadfield
Rachel is an accomplished photographer and a Sony Digital Imaging Advocate with over 12 years of experience capturing people and commercial projects across New Zealand and around the world. The core of her work is always people-centric. Whether she’s shooting an event or a portrait, it’s ultimately about the people and their stories.
In recent years, she has combined her two passions: photography and bikes, working on standout projects like the all-women’s MTB film The Haz Project for Red Bull, along with various national and international campaigns in the mountain biking industry. She has also documented some of New Zealand’s biggest bike events, including Natural Selection Bike and Crankworx.
Based in Tauranga with her partner Monty and her daughters, Joy (7) and Charlise (20), Rachel spends her downtime hiking up hills or riding in the beautiful Whakarewarewa Forest.
Haley Ashby
Haley trained in Professional Photography at CPIT, Christchurch in the early 2000s. Chosen primarily for the course and secondly for its proximity to the Southern Alps, her focus was always to take the skills she learnt to her favourite place, the mountains.
With a strong interest in photo journalism and portraiture, she became fascinated with documenting snowboarding as a culture. This culminated in 2 books created as her major projects which then opened doors in the magazine Industry.
For the remainder of the 00's she worked as both a writer & photographer for magazines like AUS/NZ Snowboarder, Transfer mag, NZ Snowboarder and a snow editor role with Manual Magazine. She also created the Snowpark YeahBook - a publication that was delivered to every seasons pass holder in 2006.
During this time, she put in the work to showcase the skills and talent of her female peers, making sure they were seen in magazines and pulling together events to get them noticed.
The global financial crisis swiftly brought an end to what had been an incredible decade, reshaping the core of both the snowboarding and publishing industries in one fell swoop and meant a pivot for Haley.
Since then, she’s owned a well-known skate shop in Mt Maunganui and now works as a web designer and artist.
In recent years, she’s been stoked to reconnect with her photography roots, shooting events like She'll Be Right - an inclusive annual snowboard jam.
You can listen to her podcast episode with Sidehit podcast here.
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