Kia ora, hello.

I’m Zenobia Southcombe. I’m an award-winning photographer based in Te Wai Pounamu/South Island NZ. It’s my mission to share the beauty and value of te taiao (the natural world) through my work.

I’m also a painter, mixed-media artist, and award-nominated author with over a dozen published books and zines.

Read my blog to join me in travelling Aotearoa/New Zealand with my camera, to stumble through the messy but ever-so-satisfying creative process, and to discover the unique wildlife in our backyard.

Recent blog posts:

A Kahukōwhai for Winter

On Saturday we had a warm and sunny day, which enticed me and the butterflies outside. I packed a bag with laptop and sketchbook, made a cup of tea, and took my camera… just in case. A kahukōwhai (yellow admiral butterfly) was…

In Search of Monarchs

This November, I will be holding a photography exhibition at the Dunedin Botanic Gardens gallery space. I’ve called it Wings (like my calendar) and it will feature larger-than-life portraits of butterflies from around my district. I have a few photos collected now…

A Weekly Dose of Nature

Today I have officially released my first Substack newsletter! You can read the letter here, or keep reading to find out a bit more about it and how it came to be. I have been enjoying the process of writing my garden…

Artist Date: Monarch Sunset Cruise

I have been looking forward to the Wild Dunedin events this year as every year something has come up and I haven’t been able to attend yet (Covid lockdowns, a friend’s wedding, and my exhibition in Ōtautahi/Christchurch). The festival is officially 14-23…

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Follow my photography journey on Instagram

Back in April I had the privilege of seeing these beautiful kororā (little blue penguins) as part of @wilddunedin . I bought my first DSLR in Feb 2020, not long before lockdown. I'd spent a lot of time during lockfown on learning how to use it and was itching to take it out on a field trip. A kahukōwhai stopped on its travels and spent a few hours in our garden. It seemed to like basking on my bag (I assume it was attracted to the bright colours). Aren't they cute? This week's post is all about the riroriro, 2007's Bird of the Year winner and one of my favourite* garden birds. I haven't posted much lately because my photos weren't syncing, and it threw off my whole system for uploading to socials. Did you know that we have around 1,400 species of slugs & snail in Aotearoa? And around 2,000 moth & butterfly species?