Contact: j.gilberd@xtra.co.nz  |  04 382 9502, 10am-4pm  |  027 444 3899  |  Photospace, 1st floor, 37 Courtenay Place, Wellington 6011, NZ

Profile: James Gilberd

professional photographer James Gilberd, photospace, 37 courtenay place, wellington, new zealand
Photo: Mark Famaoni

I have been involved full time in photography since the mid-1980s and have been an active professional photographer since 1994. I completed a Certificate of Professional Photography, Wellington Polytechnic, 1987, and a Bachelor of Design (photography major), Victoria University, Wellington, 1997.

I established Photospace Gallery in 1998 - at the time the only specialist photography gallery in New Zealand. I run it in conjunction with Gilberd Marriott Gallery (est. 2008) and with my professional photography work. Photography courses and workshops are also part of this setup; see www.photocourse.nz

Elinchrom Brand Ambassador. As of October 2019 I am proud to take on the role of Wellington Brand Ambassador for Elinchrom and have fitted out my studio with a new set of four Elinchrom ELC Pro HD flash units and accessories, which are a joy to use.

I am currently Chair of the Photography Aotearoa Charitable Trust, a new organisation promoting photography in New Zealand.

Photography continues to be my passion as well as my day job. If I stop enjoying some aspect of what I do, I drop it (at least until enthusiasm for it returns). My main personal photographic interest has been street photography and the urban landscape. Though I've been shooting digitally since 1999, I still shoot film for some projects, both colour and black & white, and I still enjoy working in the darkroom (at least on personal projects.)


Here is a review of a 2017 exhibition of my personal work -
Review of photo exhibition 'A coffee break' by Peter Ireland for Eyecontact

Other passions are music - at present playing drums with Kosmo-0, making and drinking espresso coffee, and Paranormal Investigation. (Yes, really!) In 2005, I co-founded the paranormal interest group Strange Occurrences and co-authored (with Jo Davy) the book Spooked - Exploring the Paranormal in New Zealand  (Random House NZ, 2011).
Also see Personal projects.

I live with my wife Denise Durkin and a large cat, Leo, in a settled, leafy suburb of Wellington. I'm a born and bred Wellingtonian and fiercely loyal to the capital city.

'Photospace Gallery turns 21' - interview with James Gilberd for Photo Forum NZ
Article about James Gilberd & Photospace Gallery by Mark Amery.
Article in Dominion Post, 23/10/2012 about my photography for international street art book
Photography blog: Photography Matters II
Video - Curators of Wellington series, interviews with James Gilberd & Mary Macpherson, by Mark Amery in October 2020
Video - Alinari exhibition, interview with James Gilberd, video by Hans Weston, September 2020 - Hans Weston Films