What's on

Olaf Petersen Members' Preview Day Curator's Talk

Olaf Petersen
Free for Museum Members

Nature Boy. Photography by Olaf Petersen. Members' Preview Talk

With Shaun Higgins

TUE 5 APRIL, 5 PM

Take a closer look at our new exhibition, Nature Boy. Photography by Olaf Petersen, with Shaun Higgins, Curator Pictorial.

Award-winning Swanson photographer Olaf Petersen (1915-1994) spent a lifetime creating images of the outdoors, especially on the coast of West Auckland. Predominantly showcasing landscapes, Petersen’s images often include elements that cross the boundaries of nature and humanity, often including the presence of people in the frame. Seabirds and children feature on windswept sandhills and beaches, morning mists cling to trees as sunlight breaks through.

This talk will be held online via Zoom. The Zoom link will be circulated to Members who have booked for the talk the day prior.

Book now

AUFC Party in high point overlooking Spirits Bay. 1961

Photographer: Olaf Petersen PH-1988-9-F283-8
Shaun Higgins

About Shaun Higgins

In his role as Curator Pictorial, at Auckland Museum, Shaun is responsible for collecting and researching photographic collections. His research interests range from early photographic history in both technology and practice, to its role in documenting social history, conflict and landscape. Focusing on evidence-based research and identification/attribution, he is interested in building a comprehensive record of local photography. He engages in both analogue and digital practice and has applied both historical and technical knowledge to exhibitions for two decades.

Recent work includes a number of papers on daguerreotype attribution and revealing one of Auckland’s earliest outdoor scenes in ambrotype. He has also contributed to a study of magic lantern slide lectures in Australia and New Zealand and several WWI centenary projects.