Photography series: Frankie Finnigan

Words and images by Frankie Finnigan

Frankie Finnigan is wild and quirky; as a driven and inspiring creative, she’s been pursuing photography projects and work on the side of her day job for the past year. Taking photos for musicians such as O & The Mo and designer brands Ovna Ovich, and Caitlyn Crisp. Just before we went into lockdown, she had scored herself a job at Weta Digital where she vigorously boiled a tray and a half of eggs each day to keep the workers fuelled and inspired. In her own words, she talks about how film inspires her and discusses the context behind the photos. 

My introduction to film was through my mum's old Olympus om10 that she had in the 70s while living in Italy. I remember taking it to a camera store in town. The high and mighty digital man telling me there's too much mould in the lens, the shutter doesn't work, and film is hard to come by these days. Despite his kind words, I found the right battery, used some old film we had lying around the house and haven't looked back.

Growing up in a world where everything is so instantaneous, it's refreshing to do something where you have to wait for your gratification. Nothing in the film process is fast -- from deciding what to capture to finishing a roll of film, to the developing process -- it's all time demanding, and when you finally get that email from Splendid saying 'your scans are ready' it's that much more exciting because of the anticipation. 

I have also fallen in love with the darkroom, albeit like most great love affairs we have our highs and lows. The process can induce a state of flow, and when you see an image you experienced however long ago appear in front of your eyes under the red glow of the safelights, it feels like magic (NB: the breeze playing on a crackly radio and inhaling too much developer also help this feeling come about). When it comes to what I'm drawn to capturing it's all about people, I'm always snapping away at my friends and strangers too when I feel the confidence. 

A photographic example of serendipity. My friend, Eric, and I were at the beach in Valencia and tried to rent bikes to ride back to our hostel but couldn't figure out how to work the machines they were locked to so decided to walk instead; we walked three hours in the thick Spanish heat stopping for horchata several times to refresh ourselves. Walking meant we got to fully absorb the futuristic architecture of 'Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias', photographed here. What I set about photographing was Eric basking in the Spanish sunset in front of one of the many utopian buildings, just a pleasant memory, but when I got the scan back, I was stoked by how fate had aligned in the form of three perfectly spaced cyclists all in red shirts like Eric. I would love to say that I orchestrated this, but it was just a very happy accident. Also, damn them for figuring out how to rent bikes. 

Ari and her fairy helpers had put together such a special place at 121 festival dubbed The Wellness Area, and I think this photo captures the colourfulness and magic of the space where people could feel safe. She had a beautiful set up with an overflowing dress-up box and all shades of makeup and glitter, lots and lots of glitter for festival-goers to come and play around with. This festival was one of the last before COVID-19 rules relating to organised congregation were put in place and the whole weekend is such a juxtaposition to how we are living now, a lovely experience to have had just before we began living in our bubbles. 

One hot messy exposure. Sometimes photography is all about control -- responding to/controlling light, finding the precise point of focus, creating balance. This photo is none of that, it's blurry, it's overexposed, it's underexposed, there's no purpose, there's no clarity, but I love it. It was taken at night in a family friend's garden in Port Vila on my trusty om10 using a hair tie and small stone in the place of a cable release cord. I remember laying face down on the damp grass with geckos darting around me, my camera angled up towards the sky on a small rock and having to get my head into an awkward position to see if I was at least pointing it in the general direction of what I had envisioned. 

Spanish peacock. This guy has the best tan on the beach, and he knows it, he was perched on his podium allowing passersby to admire him; I'm sure in his mind he was giving people a gift. As I pulled out my camera and aimed it towards him, he pretended not to notice, but I could tell he knew, he sat up a little straighter, puffed out his chest and stared pensively into the distance, but why not when you're in your golden years, and you're as golden as he is. 

European summer, central Italy, middle of the day, sweat dripping profusely down my face, the prospect of cool mineral water from a nearby well was very appealing. We had just visited Il Santuario della Foresta -- a convent where Saint Francis once stayed -- and were making our way down this forest path towards a well, which promised natural refreshment. I noticed these two nuns, most likely pilgrims, taking the same route as us but in complete silence and purpose. Aside from the aesthetic of the scene what stuck out to me was how I could relate myself to these pilgrims, here I was freshly dropped out of university doing what lost Kiwis looking for direction do best, the European summer, and I realised what I really was looking for the same as these nuns, to arrive at my own holy place. 

Cat with the girl tattoo. From a documentary series of a good friend getting her first-ever tattoo, a lucky cat. I am not a cat person, so struggle to understand her obsession with cats (she's always sending cat memes), but it's the perfect tattoo for her, and it looks sick. At the time in class, we were studying documentary photography, so I decided to document her getting a tattoo on film for my assignment. It was nerve-wracking doing a project completely on film, but it was also thrilling (and relieving) to see it all work out. I now have a little book with a sequence of prints from this event, which I will keep forever. 

Christmas lights. My view on Christmas Eve last year from my cousin's house, it had been grey and drizzly throughout the entire day but just as the sun was setting the clouds opened up allowing the trees to catch the last light. This is a special place for me, the farm, where I would spend weekends with my cousins building huts, riding (crashing) motorbikes, collecting peacock feathers, having pumpkin fights in the shed. I still go back as much as I can, though unfortunately our shenanigans, like us, have matured.

This was taken before the Chilli's concert last year (one of my all-time favourite bands and one of the best concerts I have been too) of the self-proclaimed 'Mighty Mik'. There are many reasons I love this photo, and maybe most of it is to do with the memory, but I also can't help obsessing over his hands. The way they almost resemble Michelangelo's depiction of God giving life to Adam, hand-rolled cigarettes can be considered a form of art, right? 

My friends and I love to get together and find scenic spots to watch the sunset, and one of the many places we have visited in our endeavours is the radar station. It is potentially one of the windiest spots in wellington and unlike most spots we go to there is nothing relaxing about being there - you are constantly holding onto your hat/jumper/scarf. Music is stolen by the wind. If you stay exposed too long, your face goes numb. But it's also a sick place to be, 360 views and in winter the sun sets into the South Island. Just below is a small castle surrounded by barbed wire and fancy cars titled 'Woofingtons: luxury dog stay' and then there's the radar (pictured here) that looks like a giant soccer ball waiting to be kicked across the cook straight. I have to thank Splendid for getting such an awesome balance of colours and contrast out of this shot.

It would be impossible for me to choose a bunch of photos without one of them involving Millie. She's the closest thing I have to a muse and is probably the star of more than half the photos I take. She dresses like a piece of art and freaks out if she can't find her checkered socks to match her checkered dress. If you know Millie you know that she is a lovable ball of uncontrollable energy, you hear her before you see her and when you do see her, it's a visual delight. But there's also a Millie that she only shows to those that she loves and trusts, a Millie that she protects and holds onto tight, but it also happens to be the Millie that I love the best and the Millie I see in this photo.