Shane | Henderson, Auckland

“I regret dropping out of high school, and not going back into a mainstream school. I went to an alternative education here in Henderson, at Target Education, and I learned quite a bit.

I did a photography course there, which I won a New Zealand award for photography from. It’s probably one of my biggest regrets leaving school, but I actually gained quite a lot from leaving school, as well. 

I left school because I thought I was cool. The people I was hanging around, I thought they were cool, you know, skipping classes and stuff like that. I didn’t really like school. I thought school wasn’t for me. So, they decided to remove me from high school, and put me into alternative education, and one day while I was at course, there was a photography teacher that came in, and she asked me if I wanted to join a project with her called Humans of Hendo. So, I thought, why not? I joined it and didn’t like it at first. I was like, what am I doing. I didn’t even like this. But I ended up doing an exhibition here in the Henderson Library, with some of my friends, and we also published two books. The first one I was in, and the second one, I wasn’t, and about three years later, we went to Wellington to Parliament to win a New Zealand award for photography. We also went on to iHeartRadio station, as well, to tell them a bit about ourselves. I really enjoyed it, and I do want to pursue photography one day. 

I love taking pictures of people, and telling their stories, and their lifestyles and I love showing people my work and what I can do with a camera. I also love talking to people about Henderson, and what they think of it. I also love just taking photos, and showing different types of photos and experiencing different types of photos that I take.

I grew up in Napier, Maraenui. There were a lot of gangs and violence there so my parents decided to move us away from there, and bring us here to West Auckland, to make our home.”