Stewart (or Stew, as he is often known) is the creator, owner and backbone of Nimmo Photography in Greymouth, a photography business and gallery.
Stew’s charisma and curiosity will win you over immediately. Which is important as a professional photographer – but his personality shines the same whether a camera is present or not. He’s a West Coaster, born and bred, and deeply involved in the local community through his work, hobbies and church: Cobden-Runanga Parish. He’s married to Edie and they have three adult children – one of whom, Lydia, is his business partner! She specialises in children and family photography. All of his family, including seven grandchildren, live on the West Coast.
As a Master of Photography with the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography, his work is followed by a string of accolades and awards. Landscapes are his specialty, lining the walls of his gallery with rugged coastal vistas, crisp glacial scenes and bright sunsets. At the time of my visit, he’s showcasing a monochrome landscape collection called “Over the Hill” – a fascinating presentation in black and white that highlights the textures and contours of the scenery.
Nimmo Photography, at present, happens to be the only place in Greymouth that can print photos. Framing is a big part of the business, and the gallery is also full of all sorts of artisan goods, from pounamu and pottery to chocolates and a line of organic baby sleepwear.
The space itself, with its beautifully industrial design, reflects Stew’s craftsmanship. When I point out the cool lights hanging from the ceiling, he tells me how he made the shades out of old washing machine drums picked up from the dump. It’s an example of his ingenuity and commitment to thoughtful design.
In another installation in the series, Faith in Business, I’m having a chat with Stew about his life and work to get some insight into what drives him.
Stew: Dad was always interested in photography. So I probably got into it then – even at primary school I had an old camera.
I've got photos of Wellington from a school trip in standard 6 (that’s year 8), where I took a film camera and a black and white camera roll. Those were probably my first photos.
With some of my first pay, I saved up 40 dollars – or whatever it was – for a Zeiss Ikon. And I always carried a camera with me to work when I was surveying.
It started getting more serious in the ’80s, when I went to a camera club in London. I bought a Minolta duty free in Singapore, as you did in those days. Then I bought more dark room gear, audio visual gear and a couple of slide projectors.
Stew: I remember visiting a gallery in Aussie – Ken Duncan's gallery in the Rocks.
He’s a Christian guy, Ken Duncan, and he had a lot of Christian quotes up. He had landscapes. I remember looking at it thinking, This is awesome. I'd love to have a gallery. I wonder if it would work.
And then when we came back, the old Beck’s building became available. We had enough money for a deposit, so we bought the building, converted it into our first gallery, and opened in 2000. It was a cool old building and I still loved it up to when we had to say goodbye to it a few months ago.
Then when the supermarket moved from that end of town, things got pretty quiet. We thought it would be good to have something closer to the train station. So we managed to get to the little triangular building near the train station. We put a big effort into doing it up and had it looking pretty cool. We ran the two galleries together for three years.
About 17 years ago, we had the opportunity to go into the building that Postie Plus was moving out of. So we did it up into a really swish gallery, and we were in there for eight years.
At that stage, I was doing a lot of commercial photography for my two main clients – Solid Energy and Pike River Mine. Of course, they both collapsed together with the disaster. And then we had the Christchurch earthquakes, which affected everything.
The downturn was pretty hard and we realised we had to get out. We just couldn't afford it.
We were wondering what to do when the opportunity for this place next door came up, and we thought, Wow, this would make a great gallery. It had been earthquake strengthened. A good friend bought the building and we started leasing it from him. That’s how we ended up in here.
Now it's nine years ago, which I can't believe – time's gone so quickly.
Stew: Your faith impacts your whole life, doesn't it. Your world view, how you spend money and deal with people.
As a Christian I believe that God created this world. So it's pretty amazing being able to capture it and offer that as a service. The business brings a bit of light and hope to people.
I meet on a regular basis with three dear Christian bloke friends, two of whom have businesses, and often we chew the fat on business as well as our families and faith and things like that. That's been a big encouragement.
My vicar, Tim, also organises hiking trips and I’ve done all of the Great Walks with him now. It’s really good for photos, of course, but it’s also been a great encouragement to do those walks with Tim and other Christians.
I don't always get it right. I know there are people that would think I do things the wrong way around.
I keep a bit of a journal for talking with God. During some back and forth discussion I just felt the Lord say, Hey, remember it’s our business, and I’m with you. Hang in there. Be positive. Do what you can do and leave the rest to me.
Stew: I like to be a people pleaser, but it means probably taking on too much sometimes rather than delegating it out. I know that we sometimes let people down with our service, especially in the past. I don't like letting people down, but I always apologise and try to put things right.
The cash flow is also challenging. Some months I’m struggling just to stay in business.
I'm passionate about the business but I hold it lightly. If I felt I had to close down I'd be okay with it. You know, that would probably be a relief. But I’ve felt God say, Hey, it's not just about you.
Stew: Getting out in the landscape. I love sharing my view of the world.
I've probably got an artistic streak from my mum, while my dad was a bit more technical. So I think photography is a great combination of the artistic and the technical. You can go as far as you want with both of them – it's endless.
If other people can get pleasure from my work, I think that's awesome. That's one of the biggest joys of having your own gallery. If people come and really enjoy it, there’s a lot of satisfaction in that. It does help if they buy!
We've taken lots of photos over the years of school kids. Now we're probably photographing the grandchildren of the kids we were photographing then.
I reckon a town's better off having places like this.
Check out other articles in the
Faith in Business
series below.
More articles in the
Faith in Business
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Stewart (or Stew, as he is often known) is the creator, owner and backbone of Nimmo Photography in Greymouth, a photography business and gallery.
Stew’s charisma and curiosity will win you over immediately. Which is important as a professional photographer – but his personality shines the same whether a camera is present or not. He’s a West Coaster, born and bred, and deeply involved in the local community through his work, hobbies and church: Cobden-Runanga Parish. He’s married to Edie and they have three adult children – one of whom, Lydia, is his business partner! She specialises in children and family photography. All of his family, including seven grandchildren, live on the West Coast.
As a Master of Photography with the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography, his work is followed by a string of accolades and awards. Landscapes are his specialty, lining the walls of his gallery with rugged coastal vistas, crisp glacial scenes and bright sunsets. At the time of my visit, he’s showcasing a monochrome landscape collection called “Over the Hill” – a fascinating presentation in black and white that highlights the textures and contours of the scenery.
Nimmo Photography, at present, happens to be the only place in Greymouth that can print photos. Framing is a big part of the business, and the gallery is also full of all sorts of artisan goods, from pounamu and pottery to chocolates and a line of organic baby sleepwear.
The space itself, with its beautifully industrial design, reflects Stew’s craftsmanship. When I point out the cool lights hanging from the ceiling, he tells me how he made the shades out of old washing machine drums picked up from the dump. It’s an example of his ingenuity and commitment to thoughtful design.
In another installation in the series, Faith in Business, I’m having a chat with Stew about his life and work to get some insight into what drives him.
Stew: Dad was always interested in photography. So I probably got into it then – even at primary school I had an old camera.
I've got photos of Wellington from a school trip in standard 6 (that’s year 8), where I took a film camera and a black and white camera roll. Those were probably my first photos.
With some of my first pay, I saved up 40 dollars – or whatever it was – for a Zeiss Ikon. And I always carried a camera with me to work when I was surveying.
It started getting more serious in the ’80s, when I went to a camera club in London. I bought a Minolta duty free in Singapore, as you did in those days. Then I bought more dark room gear, audio visual gear and a couple of slide projectors.
Stew: I remember visiting a gallery in Aussie – Ken Duncan's gallery in the Rocks.
He’s a Christian guy, Ken Duncan, and he had a lot of Christian quotes up. He had landscapes. I remember looking at it thinking, This is awesome. I'd love to have a gallery. I wonder if it would work.
And then when we came back, the old Beck’s building became available. We had enough money for a deposit, so we bought the building, converted it into our first gallery, and opened in 2000. It was a cool old building and I still loved it up to when we had to say goodbye to it a few months ago.
Then when the supermarket moved from that end of town, things got pretty quiet. We thought it would be good to have something closer to the train station. So we managed to get to the little triangular building near the train station. We put a big effort into doing it up and had it looking pretty cool. We ran the two galleries together for three years.
About 17 years ago, we had the opportunity to go into the building that Postie Plus was moving out of. So we did it up into a really swish gallery, and we were in there for eight years.
At that stage, I was doing a lot of commercial photography for my two main clients – Solid Energy and Pike River Mine. Of course, they both collapsed together with the disaster. And then we had the Christchurch earthquakes, which affected everything.
The downturn was pretty hard and we realised we had to get out. We just couldn't afford it.
We were wondering what to do when the opportunity for this place next door came up, and we thought, Wow, this would make a great gallery. It had been earthquake strengthened. A good friend bought the building and we started leasing it from him. That’s how we ended up in here.
Now it's nine years ago, which I can't believe – time's gone so quickly.
Stew: Your faith impacts your whole life, doesn't it. Your world view, how you spend money and deal with people.
As a Christian I believe that God created this world. So it's pretty amazing being able to capture it and offer that as a service. The business brings a bit of light and hope to people.
I meet on a regular basis with three dear Christian bloke friends, two of whom have businesses, and often we chew the fat on business as well as our families and faith and things like that. That's been a big encouragement.
My vicar, Tim, also organises hiking trips and I’ve done all of the Great Walks with him now. It’s really good for photos, of course, but it’s also been a great encouragement to do those walks with Tim and other Christians.
I don't always get it right. I know there are people that would think I do things the wrong way around.
I keep a bit of a journal for talking with God. During some back and forth discussion I just felt the Lord say, Hey, remember it’s our business, and I’m with you. Hang in there. Be positive. Do what you can do and leave the rest to me.
Stew: I like to be a people pleaser, but it means probably taking on too much sometimes rather than delegating it out. I know that we sometimes let people down with our service, especially in the past. I don't like letting people down, but I always apologise and try to put things right.
The cash flow is also challenging. Some months I’m struggling just to stay in business.
I'm passionate about the business but I hold it lightly. If I felt I had to close down I'd be okay with it. You know, that would probably be a relief. But I’ve felt God say, Hey, it's not just about you.
Stew: Getting out in the landscape. I love sharing my view of the world.
I've probably got an artistic streak from my mum, while my dad was a bit more technical. So I think photography is a great combination of the artistic and the technical. You can go as far as you want with both of them – it's endless.
If other people can get pleasure from my work, I think that's awesome. That's one of the biggest joys of having your own gallery. If people come and really enjoy it, there’s a lot of satisfaction in that. It does help if they buy!
We've taken lots of photos over the years of school kids. Now we're probably photographing the grandchildren of the kids we were photographing then.
I reckon a town's better off having places like this.
Check out other articles in the
Faith in Business
series below.
More articles in the
Faith in Business
series are to come.
