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If you want to read about why I disappointed a Nun while gazing out from ancient monasteries perched atop towering pinnacles of rock in Meteora, Greece, pick up a copy of this Tuesday's New Zealand Herald. < Back Castles in the Sky 18 Aug 2019 If you want to read about why I disappointed a Nun while gazing out from ancient monasteries perched atop towering pinnacles of rock in Meteora, Greece, pick up a copy of this Tuesday's New Zealand Herald. In the cover story of Travel you'll also find out how these amazing monasteries were built, and the best way to get to this UNESCO World Heritage attraction. < Previous Next >

Before you pull out the atlas, a word of warning: Patagonia isn’t officially a 'place' as such. Rather it’s the name given to an area spanning southern Argentina and Chile, and everything you have heard about it – barren, windswept, sparse and beautiful – is true. < Back Spires of Patagonia The Press 13 May 2011 Before you pull out the atlas, a word of warning: Patagonia isn’t officially a 'place' as such. Rather it’s the name given to an area spanning southern Argentina and Chile, and everything you have heard about it – barren, windswept, sparse and beautiful – is true. Patagonia is also exceptionally remote, with the remotest of the remote being the small frontier town of El Chalten. A far cry from the wide avenues of Buenos Aires, El Chalten was only established 30 years ago as a base for those seeking out the jagged spires. Complete with roaming dogs, micro-brewery and no ATMs, this was to be the starting point for our Patagonian adventure. To be honest, I didn’t have any great expectations on the glaciers, mountains and lakes nearby; I just assumed they would be similar to our Franz Joseph, Cook and Hawea. How spectacularly wrong I was… Our very first excursion brought home that this was no ordinary part of the world. The majestic Perito Moreno Glacier, a blue-iced mammoth more than 6 stories high and 3kms wide is one of the few advancing glaciers left in the world. It is also one of the most spectacular. We stood on our boat awestruck as it cracked and creaked, piercing the quiet before ice broke off to thunder down into the waters below. Later there were even more opportunities to “ooh” and “ahh” from the myriad of walkway lookouts designed to show off nature’s splendour. While that day was relatively easy the next few would be a little more challenging. Patagonia is a climbers and hikers mecca, and for us this was going to be an active holiday. Eight to nine hours a day walking up to 25kms meant it did help to have a moderate level of fitness. Our first real trek was to see the fabled Cerro Fitz Roy, a mountain that the native Tehuelche thought was an active volcano due to the cloud constantly around it. Located in Argentina’s Parque National Los Glaciares, Fitz Roy is a photographer’s dream that is perhaps only eclipsed by two stunning lakes – the emerald green Laguna Sucia and the reflective blue Laguna de Los Tres. As we stretched back to take in the view, suddenly our feet didn’t seem so sore any more. The next day it was time for a close up look at the quintessential Patagonian peak, Cerro Torre. It was hard to believe that yesterday’s vista could be surpassed, yet three hours later we were standing in front of a glacial lake which had icebergs floating to shore. It was all simply a little too surreal. Our guide explained that we were extremely privileged to have seen the mountain at all. Patagonia is quite rightly known for its changeable weather and more than once did we have to pull out our Gore-Tex jackets before stuffing them back into our packs just as quickly. Chilean Patagonia is a slightly different beast from its Argentinian cousin, with grassy pampas, gushing waterfalls, craggy rocks, pebble lake beaches and of course, mandatory glaciers. At 51° South is the massive Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that forms part of the 16,000 square kilometre Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It is about as close to the end of the Earth as you can get. The star of the show is the immense Torres del Paine, a trio of pure granite towers standing over 2800metres tall that dominate this former sheep estancia. Home to two famous walks – the W (of which we took a whole day just to do one of its sides) and the full Circuit – Torres del Paine (pronounced pie-nay) is high on the ‘must do’ list for any serious hiker. It’s well equipped with refugios along the trial which are a welcome respite from battling the 90kmh winds that suddenly change your plans for the day. Just as spectacular as the scenery is the park’s wildlife. We were fortunate enough to spot a group of Andean Condor rising, rising, rising up through the valley floor only to circle above what remained of a puma’s kill. The carnivorous condor has the largest wingspan of any bird in the world, 3 metres, and with its 3km eyesight (yes, that’s 3 kilometres) and endangered species status it is one vulture not to be messed with. Its prey in this case was a young chulengo, the offspring of the llama-like Guanacos who roam freely across the national park. Protected from mankind, the greatest threat to male guanacos are other male guanacos who protect their territory by chasing them to bite their testicles. The star of the show is the immense Torres del Paine, a trio of pure granite towers standing over 2800metres tall Less brutal are the red and grey foxes – small, fast, solitary creatures living in the steppe. Feeding on lizards and rodents, it’s not often you’ll see one in the wild long enough for it to stay still in one place. The bird life was also vastly different. Stopping to fill our water bottles in one of the many glacial streams along the way, the tap-tapity-tap of a native woodpecker earning his lunch brought smiles all round. Even the humble owl – in this case the Pygmie Owl – was no stranger to hunting. We awoke one morning to find one proudly clawing what looked like a decapitated mouse, before he fluttered off to share his breakfast. Having a good base is vital for this part of the world, and for us it was a campsite in the shadow of the Towers of Paine. While the site was basic we got to experience both the local culture and food. Sipping mate through a metal straw from a gourd was a highlight, but nothing compared to the whole lamb slowly barbequed on a metal stake for an entire day. If you’re a vegetarian sometimes it’s a little tough in South America. It wasn’t all bad though – not far from our site was a concession to home comforts in the form of a proper bar and restaurant where they served up lovingly warm Chilean reds to those of us weary from another day. Staggering back at night we took a moment to turn off our headlamps and look up. Layers of stars were stacked one above another; a sky so clear and pure that it was a pity to bid it adios and reluctantly make our way back to civilisation the next day. < Previous Next >

A select group of images from "There are always flowers (for those who want to see them) - Henri Matisse" will be making an appearance in a virtual exhibition in Basel, Switzerland. < Back Flowers for Basel 21 Aug 2020 A select group of images from "There are always flowers (for those who want to see them) - Henri Matisse" will be making an appearance in a virtual exhibition in Basel, Switzerland. The images, part of a series designed to bring light to the dark days of COVID-19, were taken at the Botanical Gardens in Auckland New Zealand with only natural light. They are designed to be a beacon of hope and the future, of growth and life, and have been regularly published online 'in the Time of Coronavirus'. < Previous Next >

Want to know the best way to sell maple syrup in Vermont? Or where to go for the annual pumpkin' chuckin' contest? < Back Falling for New England 24 Oct 2023 Want to know the best way to sell maple syrup in Vermont? Or where to go for the annual pumpkin' chuckin' contest? Check out this week's New Zealand Herald Travel story here about Fall in England. A time when the leaves turn orange, red and golden yellow, the 'leaf peepers' come out to play, and when every New England town seems like something out of a movie set. < Previous Next >

Two images of Dani elders taken outside their pilamo or men's hut, have been selected for the Glasgow Gallery of Photography's Portraits exhibition. < Back Two Dani in Scotland 5 Sept 2022 Two images of Dani elders taken outside their pilamo or men's hut, have been selected for the Glasgow Gallery of Photography's Portraits exhibition. The images of Domi Logo (pictured) and Marius Mabel are part of a series from the Papua region of Indonesia. Only men are allowed in the pilamo - Dani women sleep in separate huts - and the ground floor is where all important conversations are had underneath the hanging kaneke bags of bows, arrows and traditional wear. The exhibition will be on show in Scotland from the 13th-30th September. < Previous Next >

Last night the Dani exhibition, produced by Portugal's Incubator Gallery and MIRA Galleries, opened in Porto with photographer Guy Needham in attendance to share what it was like living with the unique tribe. < Back os Dani no Porto 13 Jun 2026 Last night the Dani exhibition, produced by Portugal's Incubator Gallery and MIRA Galleries, opened in Porto with photographer Guy Needham in attendance to share what it was like living with the unique tribe. The artist talk included a slideshow showing unfiltered images of the traditional village and daily life. During the opening questions ranged from the Dani's belief system and values, to photographic styles, to expedition logistics - all while a traditional horim (penis protector) was passed around the audience. The exhibition is being held at MIRA Galleries, 68 Padre António Vieira Street, from now until 26 June and you can find out more at miragalerias.net MIRA Galleries are part of the RPAC Rede Portuguesa de Arte Contemporânea and have been awarded the gold medal for cultural merit (CMP). < Previous Next >

Guy Needham has been selected as LACP's Member of the Month for his Tribal series. < Back LA Center of Photography Member of the Month 4 Dec 2019 Guy Needham has been selected as LACP's Member of the Month for his Tribal series. Featuring imagery ranging from gritty monochrome to vivid colours, his multi-year project has so far included indigenous peoples in the Pacific, Africa, Asia and South America. This month he returns to the Amazon to once again spend time in the world's biggest rainforest. < Previous Next >

Pick up a copy of the latest D-Photo magazine to read the feature article about my time with the Hadzabe of Tanzania < Back First Peoples in D-Photo magazine 19 Jan 2019 Pick up a copy of the latest D-Photo magazine to read the feature article about my time with the Hadzabe of Tanzania - a tribe so old that National Geographic calls them 'the closest living relatives of the humans who first left Africa to migrate to the rest of the world'. It's a great preview to my May exhibition that'll be part of the Auckland Festival of Photography. < Previous Next >

The feature image of the Shades of Otara series is on show this week at the 2018 London Photo Festival. < Back Resting at London Photo Festival 15 May 2018 The feature image of the Shades of Otara series is on show this week at the 2018 London Photo Festival. Part of an international group exhibition on Street Photography, it is on show at St George the Martyr Church until 19 May. The image balances a young man's physical exhaustion with a girl looking on, licking an ice-cream as if it was her reward for his hard work. < Previous Next >

Lokop Mabel, one of the elders of the Dani tribe in Papua's Anemoigi village, features in NZ Camera 2023. < Back NZ Camera 2023 10 Nov 2023 Lokop Mabel, one of the elders of the Dani tribe in Papua's Anemoigi village, features in NZ Camera 2023. The intimate, relaxed portrait of him has been selected for New Zealand Camera 2023 - a collection of outstanding photographic images from all genres . The hard cover, full colour coffee table book is the Photographic Society of New Zealand's flagship publication and you can purchase a copy here . < Previous Next >

Melbourne's Ladder Art Space will be showing the Vatwa exhibition as part of their 2026 programme, bringing to Australia one of Angola's most intriguing tribes. < Back The Vatwa go to Melbourne 6 Oct 2025 Melbourne's Ladder Art Space will be showing the Vatwa exhibition as part of their 2026 programme, bringing to Australia one of Angola's most intriguing tribes. Regarded as the first indigenous inhabitants of the Angola's Onconcua region, no-one knows exactly where they originally came from, not even their chief. In May next year a curated selection of captivating portraits will be on show in Melbourne accompanied by texts sharing the lifestyle, history and social structures of this semi-nomadic tribe. The Vatwa are the ninth in Guy Needham's Tribal series, which to date has included indigenous peoples in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and South America. < Previous Next >

“Why Albania?” “Why not?” “What have they done to us?” “What have they done for us?” “Nothing….” “See, they keep to themselves. Shifty. Untrustable.” < Back Why Albania Let's Travel 4 Jun 2015 “Why Albania?” “Why not?” “What have they done to us?” “What have they done for us?” “Nothing….” “See, they keep to themselves. Shifty. Untrustable.” No, not a weird conversation about where to holiday but a scene from Wag The Dog, where Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman are deciding who America should go to war with. Thankfully it never happened, but if it had you can bet Albania would have been ready. Dotted along its coastline are thousands of concrete bunkers to protect it from invasion - the paranoid legacy of communist dictator Enver Hoxha. It had been 20 years since communism had died and I was in Albania to see how much the country had changed. To the outside world Albania is still a mystery; a former Socialist People’s Republic “somewhere near Greece where everyone is poor and backward and ride donkeys and the women have moustaches” (they don’t). Sure, it’s not the most advanced country in the world but that’s what makes it so unique. Where else would you see grass being cut on the main square with a scythe? Or a foreign street named after George W Bush? My quest to discover today’s Albania began in its capital, Tirana. In the 1990s the former mayor - himself an artist - came up with the idea of painting the ubiquitous apartment blocks different colours, to brighten up residents’ lives. As a result the city’s a lot more attractive these days, but it’s never going to win a beauty pageant. No matter, what Tirana lacks in looks it makes up for in character. From the never-ending cacophony of horns as three-wheeled trucks fight with motorbikes navigating Skanderbeg Square, to elderly men warily drinking tea to pass the time of day, the capital of Albania is truly a mish-mash of east meets west with a victor yet to be decided. As the capital, all roads lead to Tirana and you certainly know when you’re on them. “Pot-holed” is an understatement but bouncing up and down in the back of a furgon taxi adds to the sense of adventure. In typical Balkan fashion these shared taxis have no set schedule (nor departure point for that matter); as soon as they’re full, they’re off. I managed to catch an early morning one and only had to wait 15 minutes before the chugging Mercedes starting making its way to my next destination, Berat. After two hours of Albanian viba-train I was relieved to finally arrive. “Somewhere near Greece where everyone is poor and backward and ride donkeys and the women have moustaches” Berat is a charming 2400 year old Ottoman town with houses built one on top of another, earning itself the moniker ‘Town of a Thousand Windows’. I was excitedly met by my host and taken to his ‘welcome room’ for a shot of rakija (a fermented alcoholic drink that’s probably illegal elsewhere). The room itself was magic: traditional curved brick walls, pigeons cooing on the sill, strings of onions hanging from rafters, and the waft of slowly cooking lamb. Another rakija was poured. “Are you going to the Xhiro tonight?” he asked. “It’s Monday so it should be good.” He pointed down to the town. The Xhiro (pronounced ‘giro’), as it turns out, is one of the most curious rituals I have come across. At a time when we might be watching primetime TV the inhabitants of Berat are walking back and forth down a closed off boulevard, dressed to the nines like its 1987. Furtive glances are exchanged as Europop seeps from the cafes. This is dating, Albania-style. In a country where pre-marriage relations are frowned upon and the Western version of ‘going out’ is non-existent, the nightly Xhiro is the one opportunity to size up potential partners. Like someone? Your relatives can talk to their relatives. We joined in – the walking, not the dating – and amongst the fried sweetcorn hawkers and popped collars you could sense the locals enjoying themselves. Berat was also where I saw another sign that times have changed. Mount Shpirag, behind the entrance to the township, once had the name “Enver” (after the former dictator) spelt out in huge letters on the mountainside. Today they’ve been rearranged to spell “N.E.V.E.R” – a very large, defiant statement not to repeat the past. Of course not all of the past was bad. My guide, a Tirana native who had spent much of his life in construction openly opined, “Under communism, we always had a job. No matter how small. Now look around you.” He waved his arm across the square. Men of working age were sitting around doing not much. It was 2:30pm on a weekday. He did admit though that since ‘freedom’ he now had enough money to send his daughter to Germany to study which he would never have been able to do “in the old days”. The final stop on my journey was Shkodra, a town bordering Montenegro. With a castle above and lake below it prides itself as being a little more Balkan-esque than the rest of Albania. Certainly, it has its fair share of al fresco restaurants, tourist-oriented ‘lodges’ and fresh food stalls; Shkodra was a cosmopolitan surprise. One of my favourite moments happened just as I was leaving town and looking to spend the last of my LEK on some meaningful souvenirs. An old woman at the bus stop dangled some woollen socks in my face in the hope that this foreigner would buy them - despite me sweltering in the 35 degree heat. I followed her back to her knitting, and after much hand gesticulation I gave her cash, she gave me some socks, and topped it off with an Albanian ‘smile’. As the bus pulled out I gave her a wee nod, and thought about all the changes she’d seen. After 20 years, capitalism had replaced communism and pester-power had replaced paranoia. The Albania of old was no longer there and yet, as the country was finding itself – with infrastructure and systems still to come – I felt lucky to have seen the Albania of today, knowing that it’s special quality would change again 20 years from now. < Previous Next >