As you have probably guessed, my name is Graham Palmer and I live near Hastings, New Zealand. Now aged 49, I have been interested in photography since I was a child, often ‘borrowing’ my father’s SLR or my mum’s point & shoot.
I began to experiment with more artistic styles of photography during high school, shooting mainly in black & white, then developing my own films & prints in the darkroom. That tinkering interest has slowly developed into an obsession.
After many years of shooting film & slides, I entered the digital age in 2006 when I purchased my first digital SLR; a Canon EOS 350D. However, a photographer’s tool kit is never complete and I am currently using the Canon 7D & full frame 6D. After having a mixed variety of web presences for more than five years, this site was launched on May 25th 2009. Two months later, I decided to make my hobby into a small part time business & Graham Palmer Photography Limited was born (now trading as Graham Palmer Fine Arts).
Outside of photography, I work for the Hastings District Council as a Public Spaces Operations Assistant and have recently completed a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Geography. I love crazy weather, am fascinated by anything that flies & love getting out & about shooting the beautiful New Zealand countryside.
I am an avid astronomer (former vice president of the Hawke’s Bay Astronomical Society) and have recently built a new home with my wife (Rachel) outside Maraekakaho. This location has allowed me to construct a purpose built dark-sky “Frogstar” observatory from where I now do my astrophotography and give night-sky tours to our airbnb guests. In conjunction with this, I have been actively campaigning for the implementation of dark-sky lighting standards in the Hastings district. This work is ongoing.
I am also passionate about emergency management. If you are interest in Tsumani Hazards in New Zealand, you can read a report I wrote for Massey University here: PDF Download
Thanks for taking time to check out my site. Feel free to contact me & let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy the view through my lens. Best regards, Graham.