Paul Hoelen
Originally born in New Zealand to a Dutch Sailor and an American Nun, Paul has managed to put his four passports to excellent use before eventually settling on the beautiful, wild island of Tasmania.
Self taught, travel hungry and with a healthy thirst for adventure he thrives on the challenge and freshness of shooting a wide diversity of genres. Some of his recent projects include: running photography workshops in the remote Pilbarra desert region in West Australia, documentary work from the Indonesian Archepelago, , a ‘steam punk’ themed wedding in Northern California, band photography on the rooftops of New York, and working as head photographer for New Zealand’s largest music festival Rhythm & Vines. He’s most renowned however for his exquisite landscape imagery.
Photo-documenting a 15-year career in Wilderness Adventure Therapy helped cultivate his belief and passion for the power of wild areas to bring healing, reflection and balance to people’s lives, and how imagery can be used to support this process.
“It has been my utter privilege to walk in so many wild places to help reconnect and come home to myself. I am filled with a deep sense of belonging and gifted fresh perspective and a kind of rich, soulful nurturing every time I head out there. I truly hope we find the wisdom to recognize its immeasurable value in this world of fast deteriorating wildness and the foresight to not destroy it for the sake of short-lived material resources alone.
I am deeply motivated to use my imagery to educate, empower and inspire others to deepen their understanding and connection with the natural world.”
Paul has won numerous accolades and awards for his imagery both nationally and internationally, most recently including three times winner of the AIPP Tasmanian Professional Photographer of the Year, five times AIPP Tasmanian Landscape Photographer of the Year and two times Overseas Photographer of the Year in NZ. On an industry level he has been awarded AIPP Master of Photography and is a Fellow of the NZIPP. He judges regularly at a state, national and international level, writes for numerous magazines and exhibits regularly in Australia, NZ and the USA. He is also an industry ambassador for Asukabook in Australia and New Zealand.