Simon Runting

Well known around the bird locations in Auckland, Simon will wow us with his breath-taking nature images.

As a keynote presenter Simon will share his knowledge on what it takes to be a good nature photographer. On the field trip he will ensure everyone understands the ‘basics and fundamentals’ of camera settings essential for bird photography, before they even start to shoot. Whether he’s suspended 55m underground or dangling from a crane shooting complex and busy constructions sites or lying on the ground photographing wildlife, renowned nature photographer Simon Runting is at ease in all environments.

Equally, he is as comfortable on the red carpet as he is in his camouflage gear. In fact Simon’s photographic career started as a news photographer on Fleet Street some 40 years ago. Chasing royalty, famous musicians, politicians and other artists are second nature to him.

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Having immigrated to New Zealand from the UK, Simon quickly fell in love with New Zealand’s wildlife. What’s followed has been an abundance of heart stopping images of our birds and nature. His unique style has become identifiable among bird photographers. He is a sought after speaker at photography conventions, photography clubs and regularly hosts small workshops.

Simon says, “Part of the success of bird photography is understanding bird behaviour and thus knowing how to pre-empt them so you can capture their patterns or movements. It’s also really important for the photographer to go out with an idea of what they want to achieve on their shoot,” he said, “rather than just randomly walking about.”

Simon is always looking for new and different images and working with the great light we have here in New Zealand. His award winning images have seen him as a finalist in many international competitions, and in 2020 Simon was the winner of the nature section of the Sony 2020 Alpha Awards.

You can find more of Simon’s bird photography here:
https://www.instagram.com/simonbirdphotography/

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