A tiny woman with long, greying curls floated in from a battered-up car. Gary's espresso machine whirred among background EDM. And making her way to the counter with her sharky's still on, this mysterious wahine touched my daughter's face. Her low, husky voice told her, 'They took the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes.' Then, touching my arm, 'You're children of the mist' before carrying on to chirpily order her flat-white. I'd said those exact words to my daughter only a few weeks before.

Eccentric characters and colourful situations have always surrounded me. There's a hint of them in my work through a lens of care and reciprocity. Growing up, everyone was always there. Aunty's, uncles, cousins, and people I didn't even know called our parents Mum and Dad.

Our door was always open.

I've lived in mansions and slept on floors for months. Sipped on steaming hot coffee made of poo. Helped move $10m cash separately starred in a bank robbery video. Sat among both the infamous and the famous. Bought bananas from an old lady in a tree and spooned baby tigers. I've patted a cobra on the head and ridden desks down the streets of Sydney. Been to a wedding with a werewolf, a vampire and a mummy. Swum with elephants and been mugged by an elephant, fought off monkeys (and lost) and ridden a cow to breakfast. I've been a missing person. Taught young men their ABCs. And can hit a bullseye with a revolver.

Now it's pretty much the norm to come home - to kids and a dog jumping up at me, a path of traps to navigate - and with a bunch of stories shared with me through the day.

In what I consider my 'first' career, I picked up some awards working with diverse portfolios. But the stuff that's followed has been the most rewarding. Returning to my studies, I honed my craft in fashion and weddings while assisting. I went back to work as a photographer with many of my old clients and colleagues. And in recent years completed post-grad studies in Leading Change for Good through The Mind Lab and am currently enrolled in Te Reo at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

In my spare time, you'll find me with my fave people. Coffee in hand and music up loud. Close to home, among the trees that overlook the city.

Ko Emma tōku ingoa. Kō Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tuhoe (The Children of the Mist), Ngāti Awa, me Pakeha. With the Waitākere Ranges as my backdrop, roots in Te Matau a Māui / Hawkes Bay, and feet firmly in contrasting worlds - an inherent curiosity about humanity and culture drives me to listen, learn and watch for the unconventional.

Inspired by the power of nature, colour and magic, I dream of making a difference with my work. To collaborate and cultivate a diverse and inclusive world for my children, our rangatahi.

Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in the world around them.

Nau Mai, welcome. The door is always open.

People and creativity are central to everything Emma does. She has a natural flair for evoking emotive and striking portraits of the people around her. The dappled light of the Waitakere Ranges forest seems to infuse everything she shoots. There's no escaping that magical texture and light.

She’ll hold space to capture those transitional, fluid moments, revealing narratives with a gritty, credible edge. Her work brimming with optimism, magic and honesty.