Photography by Woolf 50 years exhibition

I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language. Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the evening (Sign)

I then specifically greet you: Simon Woolf, Our host and director of Photography by Woolf Ltd and your staff notably Doug Mountain and Elisia Bennett, other members of the Woolf family, notably your wife Megan, your mother Inge and sister Deborah; Hon Christopher Finlayson, Attorney-General and Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage; Bill Day, Chair of the Wellington Hospitals and Health Foundation; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.

It has been a great pleasure for my wife Susan and I to accept Simon’s invitation to open this charity exhibition marking 50 years of Photography by Woolf as a family business in Wellington.

I have been asked to officially open the exhibition, and just before I do, I would like to speak a little of photography and the contribution of this well-known and well loved firm.

While the first photographs were taken in the 1820s, it was not until the appearance of the Kodak Brownie 110 years ago that photography became a part of modern life. 

Because photography has become so ubiquitous, it is easy to underestimate the influence it has had in transforming our understanding of our world and ourselves.  Like the invention of the phonograph and the motion picture camera, photography has allowed us to capture moments in time in a permanent way.

Writings, paintings and oral traditions always occur after the event and are filtered, and constantly re-filtered, through the memories of those recalling them.  That is not to say that photographs are value-free—as each person brings their own past experiences with them when they view an image.

The power of a photograph to link one with the past was acutely brought home to me a couple of years ago when a friend gave Susan and I a black and white photograph taken in the early 1970s of Susan and myself with the late David Lange.

The details of what had brought us together had faded, although, given my attire, I must have been something like the groomsman at a wedding.  However, as this was only a couple of years after David’s death, it also brought back many memories, some of them long forgotten, of the friendship Susan and I had had with David as near to each other Freeman’s Bay residents and for me, professional connections as young lawyers in Auckland.

As photographs have become so much a part of our lives, so too have photographers.  The combination the growth of the internet with the availability of high quality inexpensive digital cameras has seen a literal explosion in the amount of imagery that is available.

Taking photographs, particularly of people, involves a certain amount of responsibility particularly in relation to personal privacy and the public interest.

Sadly, the influence of the photographic renegades, the paparazzi, has unfairly tarnished that of the overwhelming majority of photographers, who maintain and observe professional and ethical standards.

Prior to taking up the Governor-General role in August 2006, my involvement with professional photographers was reasonably minimal.  Apart the obligatory photographs upon being appointed a judge and an ombudsman—and a supplied head and shoulders shot that was distributed to the media—when being photographed, the photograph was more likely to be taken by a friend or family member than any professional photographer.

All that changed in April 2006 when it was announced that I would be New Zealand's 19th Governor-General.  Susan and I have since been photographed literally thousands of times in the four and a bit years.  If the Australian Aboriginal saying that each photograph takes away a bit of your soul is correct, when Susan and I depart from Government House in August next year, we will be headed, more or less, straight to the warm place!

And if any single person could be deemed responsible for that possibility, it would be none other than our host Simon Woolf.  Long before our arrival, Simon has been the official photographer at key ceremonial functions at the Government Houses for state welcomes, investitures and credentials ceremonies.

Both Susan and I have never ceased to be impressed by Simon’s professionalism and his unfailing ability to put people at ease.  Whether it is a visiting Head of State or a shy young child, they all fall under the aura of his charm and his mischievous humour.  Indeed, I understand that one of my predecessors as Governor-General, Dame Catherine Tizard, was once heard to say that Simon Woolf knew more than 30 languages, even if it might only be one phrase in each!

Susan and I of course have now had four years of a much enjoyed and close proximity to Simon at work – and what a “pro” he is to see in action - working quickly, but with an ever present wit, sorting tall and short, people needing clothing and jewellery adjustments, and people needing jollying along .  Phrases like “People from Greymouth always smile like that!” and “Boy, the ladies are a little staunch for this photo!” being just two of his trademark repartee.  This mentions nothing of his suite of approaches with children including use, where appropriate, of the squeaker, the Donald Duck impersonations and the trademark “Woolf wave” as the photo gets taken.

In this business Simon followed the footsteps of his father, the late Ron Woolf, who in 1960 bought the Spencer Digby Studios Ltd in Wellington and established the family firm.

In researching what I might say tonight, I looked up the company’s online registration with Companies Office.  It seems that because Ron bought the company, rather than merely its assets, and presumably renamed it, the Certificate of Incorporation for Photography by Woolf Ltd says it incorporated under the Companies Act 1933 on 9 August 1935.

So while we today mark 50 years of Photography by Woolf as a family firm, we also recognise that the business has a pedigree that goes back even further.  New Zealanders such as the world renowned Magnum photographer the late Brian Brake worked for Spencer Digby in the 1940s.

The firm under Ron Woolf’s hand, and continued by Simon, and supported by Inge and Deborah, has established a reputation for award-winning quality.  Few of us realise that most of us carry a Woolf image with us every day.  That is the image of The Queen that graces every $20 note was taken from the official photographs that Ron took of The Queen and Prince Philip in 1986.  I understand that that image is to appear in a publication of some of the world’s best photographs to be launched in London in a few weeks’ time.

These and many others images, including photographs of Pope John Paul II and of then South African president Nelson Mandela, are on display here.  While these images are well known, family portraiture continues to be the firm’s mainstay.

As I mentioned, the firm has won many awards but it is clear from seeing the way Simon and his crew work, that a team approach continues to prevail.  It has also been the starting point for many young photographers to begin their careers, some of whom are now Simon’s competitors!

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Photography by Woolf on reaching this significant milestone.  The French impressionist painter, Edward Degas, once said that: “Everyone has talent at twenty-five. The difficulty is to have it at fifty.”  Looking at this exhibition, it is clear that the firm’s photographers are as talented at 50 as they were at 25.  And on that note of congratulations, it gives me great pleasure to declare this exhibition open.

With the formalities completed, I will close in New Zealand’s first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.  No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.