Paul Byrne FPSNZ, ARPS, AFIAP

I would describes my photographic journey as the hobby which kept me sane during two exceedingly demanding, yet vastly different careers.  “… photography has become a way of life!”

Together with my family, we relocated to Tauranga in the beautiful Bay of Plenty, New Zealand in 2004. I joined the Tauranga Photographic Society and quickly became the club Secretary. I later became President of the Society and subsequently managed the society’s internal photographic evaluation panel. I was also a member of the Convention Organising Committee for the 63rd National Convention of the Photographic Society of New Zealand [PSNZ] which was held in Tauranga during 2015. 

I obtained an Associate Honour awarded by the Photographic Society of New Zealand in 2016. The following year 2017, I managed to obtain an Associate distinction with the Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique, which is a world wide organisation with headquarters in Paris.  In 2018 I was awarded a Fellowship Honour of Photographic Society of New Zealand for a documentary portfolio of images depicting life in Cambodia after the Pol Pot era.

As an active accredited judge, I have assessed club images throughout New Zealand. Additionally, my judging roles have been undertaken regionally, nationally and internationally. I was one of the driving forces behind the introduction of the  Tauranga National Portrait Salon and am a past chairman of the PSNZ Judge Accreditation Panel. I’ve served on the PSNZ Honours Board for the past 5 years and in May 2025, I was appointed Chairman of the Honours Board.