Hi everyone, my name is Benjamin, and I’m proud to announce that I have joined the Te Awamutu News team as one of their journalists.
Last year I interned for the paper while studying. It was a privilege to do this and to write about the community tales that were shared with me. I am excited that I am able to do this again, and I look forward to hearing more of those community stories that deserve to be shared.
My background is a complicated mix of both hospitality and photography. I am from Hamilton, and I trained as a chef in 2014. Cooking has taken me to many places, including Australia, but the height of my culinary career was being the head chef of Profs @ Woodlands in Gordonton.
Parallel to cooking, I have a deep interest in photography. Over the past six years I have taken on freelance jobs wherever possible, taking portraits and photographing anything from weddings to events. Photography is my way of recording the experiences and fleeting emotions that would normally be forgotten.
This is what led me to pursue a career in journalism. Despite what they say, there are only so many words that can be expressed through a photograph. Writing a story alongside a photograph gives it context, but journalism gives it a purpose.
My favourite kind of stories are the smaller ones that normally wouldn’t be given a second thought. The stories that can be world changing to a select few, but are unheard of by others.
That’s enough about me though. What is your story?
