By Christine Whybrew

Puke Ariki Photographic Curator

In December 2003 Robert Wells gifted two albums of photographs to Puke Ariki, one containing family photographs and the other comprising prints exhibited by Wells at the New Plymouth Camera Club.  A selection from the latter album is featured here.

These photographs were all taken between 1924 and 1958 while Wells was in full-time employment as a school teacher.  As the photographs in this album indicate, Wells' camera was rarely from his side, recording family holidays, domestic scenes and the immediate landscape around his home and work.

But these are no ordinary snapshots.   These images are well-composed and well-planned, often revisiting scenes to capture just the right composition and lighting effects.  Indeed, Wells avoids the term photography to define his work.  He prefers to describe his work as "pictures", indicating the active role he took in the process.  Rather than a photographer he sees himself as an artist with a camera as his tool.

Click on each of the images to view a larger version.

Landscapes

On Dawson Falls Track to Mt Egmont

1924

Sepia-toned silver gelatin print

250x200mm

Ref: 2004-76

This early image was taken while Wells was a student-teacher at Tawhiti School.  He would often bring his cumbersome camera on cycling trips around Mt Taranaki.  A third bicycle, presumably belonging to Wells, can be seen on the right of the picture.

Wells has indicated his early preference for taking pictures of natural scenes rather than images of people or buildings.  Here the two figures are deliberately out-of-focus and have been used as a device to emphasise the scale of the surrounding bush scene.

View from Te Kiri School

1950

Silver gelatin print

250x200mm

Ref: 2004-77

Mt Taranaki recurs in Wells' landscape photographs.  This image was taken from the grounds of Te Kiri School, south Taranaki, where Wells taught in the late 1940s.

Stony River - Okato

1957

Silver gelatin print

250x200mm

Ref: 2004-73

Wells has described Stony River - Okato as one of his favourite views of Mt Taranaki.  Although Wells was meticulous in framing his compositions, he was also economical with his negatives, often enlarging portions of existing negatives to create new views.  This view is an enlargement from a portion of a quarter-plate negative taken two years previous.

Stony River Scene - Okato

1955

Silver gelatin print

250x200mm

Ref: 2004-78

Reflections in Roadside Pool - Rotorua

Three prints

c.1950

Silver gelatin prints

250x200mm

Ref: 2004-68, 2004-69, 2004-70

Here, Wells has utilised one 35mm negative to produce three distinct prints.

Roadside Scene near Coroglen, Coromandel

c.1950s

Silver gelatin print

250x200mm

Ref: 2004-74

Wells also manipulated his prints to maximize the compositional structure.  The number plate on the car in this image is in reverse, indicating that Wells has flipped the negative in the printing process.  Our eye naturally reads from left to right, so reversing the image has created a more balanced composition.

Roadside Scene near Coroglen, Coromandel (fipped image)

Still life and nature studies

Mokau River Scene

1930

Silver gelatin print

250x200mm

Ref: 2004-75

Mokau River Scene was Wells' first prize-winning picture and remains one of his favourites to this day.  Wells taught at Mangotoi School on the Mokau River from 1927-32.  Boats were then an essential - and for Wells, highly enjoyable - form of transport.

Untitled [Still Life with Camera]

1958

Silver gelatin print

150x200mm

Ref: 2004-81

Still Life Study

1958

Silver gelatin print

200x250mm

Ref: 2004-95

Domestic still life studies have often been used by Wells as a device for examining different lighting effects.  In Untitled Wells has used a strong direct light source to create bold shadows, animating an otherwise flat composition. By comparison, Still Life Study features diffused artificial light, creating a softer, more intimate mood.

Contre Jour Study at "Hell's Gate", Tikitere, Rotorua

c.1950s

Silver gelatin print

200x250mm

Ref: 2004-84

Wells also explored lighting conditions in his nature studies.  The term "contre jour" applies to photographs taken towards a light source, usually the sun.   Wells has captured the reflection of the light on the surface of the opaque mud pools and the shadows that intensify the bubble formations.

"Abstract Study" - Boy Scout Bottle Drive - Fitzroy

1957

Silver gelatin print

150x200mm

Ref: 2004-96

This pile of empty bottles caught Wells' eye while supervising a Boy Scout bottle drive.  The composition is effective through the use of converging diagonals and the play of light on the transparent materials.

People studies

Child Study - Robert with Gyppy, Aratapu

1948

Silver gelatin print

200x250mm

Ref: 2004-98

Wells' wife, Zeila, and son, Robert were often willing models for his photographs. This portrait of Robert was taken at Aratapu, near Dargaville, where Wells taught from 1942-48.

Zeila - Aratapu

1947

Silver gelatin print

150x200mm

Ref: 2004-84

This portrait of Wells' wife Zeila demonstrates his skill in utilising available light to define form and enliven the composition.

The Chateau

1950

Silver gelatin print

150x200mm

Ref: 2004-87

Despite Wells' claim to have "never [photographed] buildings very much and people never", he has photographed both to great effect here, utilising the lines and angles of the building against a dramatic sky to create a dynamic scene.

Industrial Scene - Paper-making at Kawerau

1953

Silver gelatin print

200x250mm

Ref: 2004-88

This image of the, then new, Tasman Pulp & Paper Mill at Kawerau can be seen as a study of men at work.  However, Wells has used the figures to draw attention to the massive scale of the machinery and the factory itself.

People Study - Tikitere, Rotorua

c.1950s

Silver gelatin print

200x250mm

Ref: 2004-87

In this unusual people study many of the subjects' faces are averted from the camera, creating more of a study in compositional structure than human form.  The sweeping line of figures draws the eye to the central figure in black, presumably the guide, creating a strangely still, yet compelling, image of a geothermal area known for excitement and great activity.