Project Snapshot: Hawke’s Bay Regional Research & Archives Centre
Client: Hastings District Council
Image use: Communications
Brief: Photograph the building exterior during change of light.
Hastings has a striking new landmark with the opening of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Research & Archives Centre. Purpose-built to house the region’s most significant historical collections, the Centre is both a functional archive and a bold piece of modern architecture.
For this project, my task was to photograph the building during a transition of light. Using PhotoPills, a mobile app that helps photographers plan shots around the movement of the sun and moon, I determined that dawn would be the ideal moment. The rising sun casts a soft, angled glow, perfectly suited to reveal the building’s clean lines, textured materials, and reflective glass. This timing allowed me to capture both the scale of the architecture and the warmth of natural light as it first touched the structure.
From Still to Motion
As an additional creative element, I chose to animate the final images using AI. These subtle animations extended the dawn atmosphere into moving visuals, enhancing the play of light and shadow across the building’s surfaces. The result allows viewers to not only see the architecture but to experience the mood and presence of the space as if they were standing there.
Final Thoughts
This project reinforced for me how photography contributes to preserving new heritage. Just as the Centre safeguards Hawke’s Bay’s taonga, treasures, and history, carefully crafted imagery, both still and animated, ensures the building itself is documented and celebrated for future generations.
