Snapshot: DEBBIE CUR LE

PAST: Debbie grew up living the Kiwi quarter-acre dream, complete with an enormous veggie garden, mini orchard, a dog, a couple of rescue cats and chooks. “My parents struggled with my brother who was extremely hyperactive and could focus on only one thing — cars and engines... okay, two things. So, Mum had an arrangement with the local council to tow abandoned cars onto our back lawn so that my brother could tinker to his heart’s content, and I could paint weird and wonderful things on the exterior of said cars. When a car got too decrepit, the council would tow it away and deliver another.

“Art was always one of my favourite subjects at school and when I had the opportunity to do photography as an optional subject, I really found my ‘ thing’. I decided I wanted to have a career that combined art and photography.” PRESENT: An apprenticeship in photolithography has led to a 34-year-long career processing and retouching images for many lifestyle publications,

NZ Life & Leisure being top of that list. “I enjoy adding a little bit of magic to images to get the best out of them for the printing process. And the relationships I have built with photographers along the way is very gratifying, I know their work so well and can anticipate what they want the result to look like. It ticks both the art and photography boxes.”

FUTURE: Debbie, who now lives in Christchurch, says she is inspired by the stories and images in NZ Life & Leisure and the next thing on her to- do list is to invest in a high- end camera and get out into the backblocks of Otago. “My partner and I are planning an off-road 4WD adventure, camping along the way, and I am confident of capturing some beautiful scenery.”