Photographer, artist and flower fan Helen Bankers finds inspiration in everything from centuries-old artwork and celebrity portraits to the delicate details of our natural world
Helen Bankers is part of the Your Home & Garden family – she’s one of our favourite photographers as well as an amazing artist. Over her 20-plus years in the business she’s photographed people, celebrities, artists and homes in locations all over the world, while also refining her skill as a botanical photographer. We spoke to Helen about the genesis of her career and why there was never any doubt she’d spend her working life behind the lens.
How did you become interested in photography?
As a kid I often had a Kodak Instamatic in my hand. Looking through the viewfinder seemed to be natural for me. I loved photography at high school and, in my teenage years, my sister’s boyfriend was assisting for advertising and commercial photographers. The ever-changing nature of this creative process was something I was drawn to. I definitely had romantic notions of film photography, the emerging image and the alchemy of it all. It was magic to me.
How did you get started as a professional photographer?
I did a pre-foundation art course and built up a portfolio – I even won a few awards. Then I went to study a Bachelor of Visual Arts at AIT (now AUT, Auckland University of Technology) with a major in photography and lithography.
I left early because I wanted to jump into the world of photography and see the reality of the business. So I started cold-calling Auckland’s advertising and commercial photographers, asking if they needed an assistant. I kept ringing and showing my work until someone gave me a break.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2019 من Your Home and Garden.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2019 من Your Home and Garden.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Baby, it's cold outside
How to embrace winter mornings
THE HIGH NOTE
Opera costume and set designer Tracy Grant Lord is setting the scene for her best show yet
Wintering OVER
The 10 best things you can do for your garden and plants this winter
A fresh change
A couple move cities to embrace a new lease of life, not just for themselves but for a 1920s home as well
SAVING GRACE
Keen to care for the planet, a savvy designer revamped a harbourside home destined for demo with a light touch - no bulldozers required
A triumph of COLOUR
This year's Resene Colour Home Awards winner couldn't fit in with their neighbours so they went all out instead
Bowl me over
Nothing is more comforting than a hearty soup on a chilly day, especially when you add next-level accompaniments.
Scents of place
A peek at Auckland designer Kristine Crabb’s tropical paradise
In the FRAME
Using Resene wallpapers or murals as a framed print is a fantastic way to add drama
Second time AROUND
A stylish renovation, 10 years after the first one, has transformed this bungalow into an open-plan oasis