New Zealand Cinematographers Society

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President, Aaron Morton NZCS

Aaron joined the camera department as a clapper loader in the early nineties. He worked on Xena The Warrior Princess working under Kevin Riley on the 2nd Unit. Over the 6 seasons, he worked his way up to the 2nd Unit DP position on the show and shot one episode as Main Unit DP. In the following years he worked as 2nd Unit DP on many overseas productions that came to NZ including 30 Days of Night and Underworld 3:Rise of the Lycans. He also shot local features such as the first Sione’s Wedding film. In 2009 Aaron began shooting Spartacus:Blood and Sand, followed a couple of years later by the re-boot of the Evil Dead film franchise. In the last few years Aaron has shot work such as, Orphan Black, for which he won four consecutive Canadian screen awards, multiple Black Mirror episodes, American Gods, 2nd unit for Disney on Mulan, and is currently shooting on The Lord of the Rings Series.

Vice President, Maria Ines Manchego NZCS

Maria Inés Manchego is a New Zealand-based cinematographer with a diverse portfolio spanning feature films, documentaries, commercials, and music videos. Her recent work includes the feature film We Were Dangerous, which received the Special Jury Award at SXSW, and Uproar, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. She currently has three feature films in post-production: Big Girls Don’t Cry, Caterpillar, and Moss & Freud. Maria's short films have been featured at prestigious festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, BFI, TIFF, Palm Springs, Melbourne (MIFF), and SXSW. In the commercial space, her work has been recognised by Best Ads, Shots Awards, Axis Awards, and Ciclope. She earned her Master’s degree in Cinematography from the American Film Institute and received the Jane Campion Scholarship from the New Zealand Film Commission. Maria is accredited by the New Zealand Cinematographers Society (NZCS) and holds passports for both the United States and New Zealand.

Treasurer, Murray Milne NZCS

Murray began film camera training in Wellington where he also learned to fly, skydive, and scuba dive - and take cameras with him. After working on early NZ films such as Goodbye Pork Pie, he was hooked forever on the challenges of NZ filmmaking. Murray has traveled the world filming many documentaries and TV series. He was DoP on two of Peter Jackson's early films, Meet the Feebles and Braindead, before moving to Auckland. Some recent highlights include TV series such as Coast NZ, Grand Designs and Mastermind, underwater filming for Taylor Swift and Meg, and aerial filming for documentary Miracle on Everest. Murray began flight training in 1982, and has since gained his CPL and C-Cat Instructors, Instrument Rating, and CAA Part 102 UAV Certificate for drone filming operations. After many years of filming out the side door of helicopters, Murray has continued this work all over NZ and overseas for over 20 years now.

Executive Officer, Amber Wakefield

Joining the NZCS team in 2018, with 19 years of experience in the screen industry, Amber has wide experience in production, transport, and locations on international feature films and dramas. A passionate advocate for the industry with a comprehensive understanding of the New Zealand screen infrastructure and ecosystem. Over the years she has become known for her enthusiastic nature and efficiency. Amber is also the Executive Officer of Film Auckland Inc. (FAI). Her knowledge of the industry and extensive network means she is ideally placed to help NZCS reach its goals. Amber is also our Awards Project Manager.

Donny Duncan NZCS

Donny has been a cinematographer for over 30 years, with a wide-ranging career that includes music videos, short films, documentaries, TVC’s, international television series, local feature films and US tele-movies. Among his DP credits are five seasons of Universal Television’s “Xena: Warrior Princess”, two seasons of ABC television’s “Legend of the Seeker”, four telemovies for the Disney Channel USA, and NZ feature films “Snakeskin” and “Kiwi Christmas”. He has also lectured in cinematography for 2 years at the Unitec School of Performing and Screen Arts Bachelor’s degree course and is currently the part-time Professional Development manager for the NZ Cinematographers Society.

Mark Lapwood NZCS ACS

Mark has over 25 years’ experience filming documentaries, tv commercials, music videos, and feature films around the globe. He’s highly skilled in lighting design and camera operating for both studio and location shoots, often collaborating in many languages and cultures, with both large and small crews. He’s been trusted with feature-length documentaries for National Geographic, Discovery, and the BBC filming in Japan, South Korea, China, India, the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Mark’s work covers a range of genres from handheld documentary to cinematic, moody dramatic scenes. He is represented by Bruce Everett at Dusty Road and is available internationally, ex-New Zealand.

Marc Swadel BFE

Marc works mainly as a Director and Cinematographer for music-based work. His first narrative feature as DOP was the Korean language film ‘사막’ (Desert). Marc also has DOP credits on documentary features for The Chemical Brothers, Sparks, The Stone Roses, and All Tomorrows Parties. Marc has shot projects for Directors Edgar Wright, Shane Meadows, Taika Waititi, Jim Jarmusch, Stephen Kang, and Terry Zwigoff, and worked with artists such as Iggy & The Stooges, Mogwai, Neil & Liam Finn, Nick Cave, Portishead, Thurston Moore, The Datsuns and Bailterspace. Marc is also an accredited member of the Guild of British Film Editors (BFE).

Tory Evans

Tory is a highly experienced news and current affairs camera operator, with over 14 years of tenure covering some of New Zealand, and the world’s, biggest news events. She currently works at Television New Zealand on its flagship prime-time current affairs show, Sunday. Past television shows include Fair Go, Seven Sharp, and the much-loved Campbell Live at Mediaworks. Her love for advocacy journalism, story camera-related things camera-related keep her busy in the field of television news.

Ainsley Calderwood

Ainsley has been working in the industry in Auckland since 2013. Currently, she divides her time between working as a camera assistant on TVCs and dramas; and working as a DoP on smaller projects. In 2019, Ainsley completed the gender diversity mentorship program with DoP Drew Sturge, on the NZ feature The Legend of Baron To'a. Ainsley is passionate about fostering diversity throughout the camera department and creating a supportive freelance community.

Will Prosor

Will is an American born cinematographer who immigrated to New Zealand in 2004. A thirst for adventure and great stories has led him into drama, documentary, news, and commercials across his career so far. His background as a professional athlete in extreme sports, mixed with extensive time studying at Otago university, informs his decision to join NZCS in an attempt to improve on set safety, and the democratization of knowledge.

John Ross

John Ross is cinematographer based in Otautahi-Christchurch. He has an eye for natural images and a love of narrative storytelling and emotive work.

Paul Mockridge

Paul Mockridge is a New Zealand-based Director of Photography and Camera Operator with a strong presence in reality television. His credits include Taskmaster NZ and The Traitors NZ, where he has contributed to the visual storytelling of these popular series. Paul is also known for his work on Double Parked, a comedy series that showcases his versatility across genres. Beyond his technical expertise, Paul is an active member of the New Zealand Cinematographers Society, serving on its committee to support and advocate for the local cinematography community.

James Turnbull

James is a cinematographer with 20 years’ experience in creating commercial imagery. He began his career as a stills photographer, developing a keen eye for detail and drawing strong influence from cinema, which made the move to motion picture a natural progression. He has shot a wide variety of content, primarily commercials, as well as documentary, television, sport, and social content. James enjoys collaborating with passionate storytellers and brings a creative energy whether he's hanging out of a helicopter or filming cat food, lighting scenes bright or dark, always aiming for something emotive. A true tech geek at heart, James is constantly exploring how to maximise available resources to produce images he can be proud of.

Tammy Williams

Tammy Williams is an Auckland-based Director of Photography with experience across film, TV, and photography. Her work includes the NZ/German co-production series Bust Up, the feature Grafted—screened at festivals including Sitges and Chicago—and TV projects such as A Remarkable Place to Die. She is also known for her documentary work on Stylebender and The Secrets of Hillsong. Tammy’s photography has been featured in five solo exhibitions, most recently All That Glitters at the Auckland Photography Festival, and her short films Girl Time and The Brightness will screen at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.

Christo Montes

Christo is an award-winning cinematographer with over 20 years’ experience. He mainly works in the corporate, documentary, and broadcast TV world, with occasional stints in TVC work. He is highly technical and is considered a Sony FX camera geek. His passion is exploring angles and ways to light people, and he always loves a good interview setup.

Niki Winer

Niki Winer is a 1st Assistant Camera (AC) operator with extensive experience across feature films, television series, and commercials. Originally from Miami, Florida, she relocated to New Zealand after film school and has since contributed to a diverse range of productions, including Mortal Engines, Blade Runner 2049, and Ghost in the Shell. In 2025, she participated in the NZ/German co-production Bust Up and co-hosted a hands-on session on the Sony Venice camera with DP Rob Marsh NZCS.