Bob McAuliffe, 82, is a Māwhera Greymouth-based photographer who has made a name for himself documenting the many fishing vessels navigating the Greymouth bar. No two days are the same on the West Coast and entering river ports can be hairy for even the most skilled of skippers. This makes for dramatic photography; Bob shares his images daily with an appreciative audience of over 16,000 people on his Facebook page, and chats with Claire Williamson about the stories behind his visuals.
Growing up, was the ocean a big part of your childhood? I was born in Hokitika and in my early years lived on Beach Street. It was our backyard – the gate opened on to the beach! There wasn’t a lot of boat activity at the time, but we lived next door to the harbourmaster, Garney Howe, and could hear him talking to boats coming in on his radio. It was quite exciting, and we would run down to the beach to watch. My parents fished off the beach, but I haven’t gone out on any boats – my interest is in keeping my feet firmly on the ground.
What’s your photography origin story? The first camera I ever used was at age seven. My parents had a [Kodak] box Brownie and were taking pictures of the kids at the house. They gave it to me to take photos of them, but that was the only time. The first camera I bought myself was a basic film camera at 16. I used to take the film to local chemist Tom Lee – he would go through the prints with me and give me tips on composition, to not always put the subject in the middle. At 16, I took photos of friends, tramping scenery, family…I aggravated my sister by photographing her after her nursing night shift in her pajamas! Today I use an Olympus Micro 4/3 OM-D E-M1 Mark II and two main lenses for boats, depending on the light.
So boats weren’t your initial interest. I considered myself a landscape and nature photographer for a long time. I would hike up valleys, glaciers, do lakes, birds, little plants in the bush. The odd time at a river I would take a picture of a boat if it looked nice in the scene. Around 2012 I decided to take my photography further via a diploma in digital photography, which I did distance learning with the Southern Institute of Technology. It took two years to complete. While doing the diploma, one morning I decided to get a sunrise and went to the Greymouth Breakwater with a tripod. I photographed a boat coming in, and in front of my eyes it capsized! I rang 111 and newspapers wanted photos.
Oh my gosh! Did it put you off the subject? There was definitely a pause. But after I while I came back to the subject. I started thinking about what [fishers] go through when they go out, the risks they take. It became a more serious interest, and I thought, “This sort of thing should be recorded.”
What has kept it interesting for you? My style has progressed over the years. When I first started again, I just took photos on a nice day. But I started to do more planning and drew on things I’d learned in my diploma – to think, “OK, what is the story here?” Sometimes that is a nice boat on a pretty day. Or it could be that it’s a very rough sea, so you need to expand the framing to see the waves and context. I also think a lot about lighting and time of day. I haven’t lost interest because it keeps changing and there’re always challenges. I’ve realised the personality of the boat impacts what I do, I have to change my style to show all the masts or antennae that are part of the character of the whole boat.
Have you gotten to know any of the skippers or crew? I get recognised when out taking photos, and people make a point of speaking to me. A skipper a while ago gave me some free fish! Jay Elaine is what you might expect a fishing boat to look like. Others like Galatea, Cook Canyon, Tanea are regulars. Quite a few skippers and crew will text to say when they’re coming in or out. One from the North Island texted when he was coming in on his first trip as a skipper, so that added a personal touch. I have the marine traffic app on my phone, and most vessels are on the app during hoki season.
Tell me about the success of your Facebook page. Forget 16,000, I was impressed when I got to 30 followers! I’m sort of astounded, really. I get messages from people worldwide, especially from places with similar river bars to Greymouth in the UK, Australia, Ireland. People will comment, “OMG I’m never going to complain about the price of fish ever again.” It’s blown me away.
And still no interest in going out? Nope!
