An expedition into portraiture.
Handcrafted wet plate portraits created in Kinsey’s historic darkroom — preserving light, legacy.
Lat 79º.40.0’S Long 169º.23.0’E
You are invited to begin an extraordinary journey — a portrait session where your story becomes part of something much greater than a moment captured.
Through the magic of silver, light, and glass, together we forge not just images, but living echoes of who you are,
a mark in history, handcrafted for generations to come.
As Christchurch’s Photographic Alchemist, I handcraft authentic wet plate portraits using the original 19th-century collodion process.
Every plate is poured by hand. Every image is created with care. Every portrait invites you to step into an evolving legacy — one that began with the heroic age of Antarctic exploration and continues today with you.
Working from Kinsey’s Den and Darkroom in Christchurch — once a gathering place for Antarctic explorers — I invite people to sit, be seen, and become part of a living legacy.
The Visitors Book
In 1912, Captain Scott’s final resting place was recorded in a visitors’ book.
The pages that followed were left blank — until now.
The Visitors Book is a contemporary legacy project combining portraiture and narrative.
Visitors from around the world are now stepping in to leave their mark.
Whether you’re here to book a portrait, explore Kinsey’s darkroom, or leave your own mark — this is a place for people who carry stories worth remembering.
“Supporting The Visitors Book wasn’t just about funding a project — it was about backing a living legacy. Rewa has created something rare: a space where art, history, and humanity converge. I didn’t just give — I became part of something that will outlast all of us.”
— Gay Epstein, Legacy Patron
Book your handcrafted portrait session
Appointments available now by request at Kinsey’s Den, with special immersive events June–July 2025 during the Doc Edge Festival.
“I went to work to fix a copier — I didn’t expect to end up in a story like this. Somehow, that old machine and this book Rewa’s opened are part of the same message:
It’s not about what you were sent to do, it’s about what you leave behind. I’m proud to have my name in this book.”
— Karl Marshall, 3M Technician & accidental South Pole explorer.