Contributors

Snapshot: DENNIS RADERMACHER

PAST: Born and bred in Germany, Dennis took his “good time” finding the place he belonged, finally settling in Christchurch. The “dark” years after the Christchurch earthquakes did little to deter him, and he now considers himself a proud New Zealander. His geographical transition was followed by a professional one when, in 2015, Dennis switched from computer engineering to photography. From there, he slowly grew his business, met terrific people, and overall felt he received more than he had bargained for. Occasional writing and teaching gigs, as well as a journalistic project that took him into the stratosphere on a flying NASA observatory, left him amazed at how it had all come together. PRESENT: Thanks to Covid-19, the lockdown and subsequently delayed construction projects, 2020 has been the gift that keeps on giving. Making it to December in one piece is all to which Dennis currently aspires.

FUTURE: Working on ever-more varied projects great and small has put Dennis on a trajectory that he would love to carry into the future. Outside work hours, he recently started making furniture, despite being terrified of electric saws. Once the world returns to some semblance of normality, he would like to revive an old passion and travel a little more. Germany is due a visit, and so are the magical landscapes of Iceland. (For this issue, Dennis photographed Wānaka’s architecturally interesting and distinctive Wedge House, see page 34.) lightforge.co.nz

Snapshot: MILL A NOVAK PAST: Growing up in an artsfocused home, Milla danced, drew, acted and used the family camcorder to create hilariously bad cooking shows with her older sister. However, it was not until a sixth-form photography class that

Milla had her “aha” moment. Capturing compelling images became her passion, which she studied further during her design degree at Victoria University. Milla’s love of beautiful photography led to her first role as a junior designer at NZ Life & Leisure; helping design the magazine and curate photographs into engaging stories under the creative eye of art director, Yolanta Woldendorp. Digital editor at FoodtoLove came next, with Milla managing the vibrant recipe-based food website (thankfully the childhood cooking show had never gone viral). It was while working with the contributing magazine editors that an opportunity to photograph the first of several lifestyle stories for Nadia magazine occurred, sparking the desire to do more.

PRESENT: Now a freelance creative, Milla thinks that self- employment may be in her DNA, with her accountant father, artist mother, plus grandparents on both sides running their own businesses. Given the family history, it was not surprising she received a “go for it” from them when launching a company of her own a year ago. Her working week now ranges from photography, designing websites to creating videos for clients. Earlier this year, the lockdown shifted Milla’s Auckland workspace to her parent’s dining table when, after returning from a trip to Sydney, she needed to isolate herself from flatmates. What resulted was a special opportunity to photograph her artist mother Caz (see the results on page 24) and work again with Yolanta on this issue’s cover shoot.

FUTURE: Milla is looking forward to shooting more interesting folk for magazine stories and helping businesses put their best foot forward in the digital environment. And when the time is right, returning to Europe with her camera is on the wishlist. millanovak.com