613 days ago

Award-winning teen photographer captures worlds the eye can't see

Sapeer Mayron Reporter from Franklin County News

Kia ora neighbours,

When D’Artagnan Sprengel was just nine, he had a go with a little blue Canon point-and-shoot camera, getting up close with nearby fungi.

Nearly six years later, he’s an internationally-recognised photographer, whose accolades include a commendation from the global Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards.

The 15-year-old Bombay resident’s work was recently shown alongside photographers from all over the world at an exhibition in Hamilton.

His highly-commended photograph was of a daisy, weighed down by frost and barely keeping its head up.

Sprengel says he has always loved nature. Now that he’s capturing it from behind a powerful DSLR lens – a gift for his 11th birthday – he can see things the eye cannot.

“It shows a difference perspective. Like a spider, which people don’t like, it can show that they’re awesome, they’re fluffy and cute sometimes. They are a lovely and beautiful creature.”

More messages from your neighbours
3 days ago

Q&A: Ask a question about...Online Safety

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Continuing with Neighbourly's online Q&A with experts in their field, this week we are tackling online safety with Jandy Fiske from Netsafe.

Jandy Fiske has been with Netsafe for nearly 8 years. Starting on their helpline, she's now Netsafe's Community Engagement Advisor. Jandy says: 'I'm passionate about online safety because I strongly oppose bullying and want to support those affected by it.'

Jandy is passionate about protecting vulnerable communities and is promoting online safety to ensure no one falls prey to online scams. She can answer your questions about any type of online scams, and also about online harm such as online bullying.

↓ Ask your question below now and she'll be online on Wednesday, 11th September to reply to you ↓

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8 days ago

Poll: Have you ever had a scary flight?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

A plane flying from Christchurch to Wellington on Sunday had smoke billowing out of the engine and upon landing, passengers had to open the emergency exit and jump out. Have you had any scary flying experiences?

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Have you ever had a scary flight?
  • 54.3% Yes!
    54.3% Complete
  • 45.7% No, it's always been smooth flying
    45.7% Complete
858 votes
1 day ago

Poll: Is it rude to take a full trolley to self-checkout?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Luckily self-checkout is being pretty common in supermarkets these days and we generally use it to quickly buy a few things without the long lines. But perhaps it's appropriate to head there with your full trolley to skip the lines?

What are your thoughts? Is that rude?

Share in the comments below if this has ever happened to you.

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Is it rude to take a full trolley to self-checkout?
  • 52.7% Yes!
    52.7% Complete
  • 44.6% Nah, it's okay
    44.6% Complete
  • 2.7% Other - I'll share below!
    2.7% Complete
968 votes