AA LIFE THUMBNAIL FILM.mp4

In March 2022, Director Vicki Leopold was approached by CD Wayne Pick & CEO Ben Goodale, of Auckland indie agency Quantum Jump to work on an unusually sensitive project. Wahine toa, Muriaroha Paekau-Richards, had approached their client AA Life passionately wanting to advocate for the importance of life insurance. Pick and Goodale, with an eye for Vicki's infamous skills in emotive and captivating storytelling, offered us a humbling amount of trust and brought us onto the project. 

A few months later, ReloadPictures and a nimble production team of seven traveled, sans agency & client, to meet Muriaroha Paekau-Richards and her whānau at their papakāinga in rural Ōtorohanga, Waikato. There, the team worked with considered intimacy & sensitivity to authentically capture Muri with her whānau and to help her share her message, with every Kiwi.

With the agency's blessing, it was decided that it would be best for Reload to go alone due to the sensitive nature of the project and the existing strong relationship developed between Muri and Director, Vicki Leopold. 

“Over the course of interviews, phone conversations, and personal meetings, Vicki was able to build a rapport and personal relationship with Muri, enabling intimate access into her world as she faced this incredibly challenging time. It is this relationship that allowed us to capture the intimacy of the video." Caroline Swallow, Comms Manager, AA Life

A story so raw and authentic needed a soft cinematic touch and a technical eye. Harnessing his years of photographic experience DOP Stephen Langdon chased the light from dawn till dusk to capture our intimate access into Muri's world, effortlessly bringing Vicki's vision to life. And, even though we were only on the Ōtorohanga homestead for a short time, the production team bonded seamlessly with Muri and her welcoming whānau, making for a very bittersweet wrap and a difficult goodbye. After a late night pack down, the Paekau whānau sent us each home with a warm homemade dinner, freshly prepared and clearly planned well in advance. A testament to the mana of Muri and her whānau. 

Post-production was a rollercoaster of emotions, with Vicki & Wayne working closely together to craft Muri's message into a piece that both AA Life and, most importantly, Muri would love. We were glad to be able to share the final edit with Muri before she passed and to hear that she and her Whānau, all truly loved it. 

We're humbled to finally be able to share Muri's Message. Mihi nui ki te whanau o Muri. Click here to see the whole project. 

ReloadPictures travels to rural Ōtorohanga, Waikato to intimately capture wāhine toa, Muriaroha Paekau-Richards, in a beautifully filmed and emotive legacy piece. 

ReloadPictures travels to rural Ōtorohanga, Waikato to intimately capture wahine toa, Muriaroha Paekau-Richards, as she shares an important message for Aotearoa.

AA Life | Sharing Muri's Message

After weeks of pre-production, including time dedicated to considered and candid discussions with the team at The Ministry of Pacific Peoples & Ta Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission to ensure cultural authenticity, the teams at ReloadPictures & BCG2 set out on a three-day shoot across Auckland to capture this lovely campaign imagery for Sorted & Te Ara Ahunga's 'Pacific Peoples Pathway to Homeownership Programme'. 

Day one took us to an eclectic home in Hauraki, where Vicki Leopold worked her magic with the incredible real people talent for this campaign. After warming them up and easing their nerves, with a welcoming environment and a few cups of tea, Vicki and her crew took to ticking off the shot list with these gorgeous images.

Day two took us to a newer build, in Kumeū, where we continued with the intimate family shots featuring the lovely talent. We finished the day with a deliciously dressed table including taro, sapasui (chop suey) & Povi Masima Luau (corned beef luau) to capture the family around the table in prayer in their new home. 

"Reload always fully commit to making it happen. They're equally amazing with the agency, client, locations, and all talent. And they always deliver the humour, heart, and captivating images I need." James Bowman, Creative Director

Day three took us to the Otara markets where we had our wettest but arguably most enjoyable day of the shoot. Clad in our wet weather gear we adventured through the incredible assortment of food stalls and captured the final shots with, of course, some sneaky snacking on the plethora of treats along the way. A little someone was especially thrilled with his hotdog, seen in the beautiful shot below. 

And with that came a very bittersweet wrap. Here at ReloadPictures, we were so humbled to be a part of such an awesome initiative with an amazing client & agency, but we were equally thrilled to get home to some dry clothes! To see the whole project, click here.

A lovely, candid photography campaign shot by Vicki Leopold for Sorted & Te Ara Ahunga Oras' project 'Pacific Peoples Pathways to Home Ownership Programme.'

Photography campaign by ReloadPictures Vicki Leopold, shot for Sorted & The Ministry of Pacific Peoples for their new Programme, Pacific Peoples Pathway to Home Ownership.

Pacific Peoples Pathway to Home Ownership

When Stephen Langdon was heading home one day from a swim at the beach he fortuitously ran into fellow local, Tim Finn. The pair got to chatting about Tims's incredible new project alongside his former Slit Enz band member Eddie Rayner, called Forenzics. With a new album, Shades & Echoes, in the making, the legendary musical duo needed some fresh music videos and campaign photography to accompany it. Who better to help one quirky creative, than our very own Stephen Langdon?!

Collaborating closely with the pair, Stephen started with directing the music videos for the singles 'Chance Are' & 'Premiere Fois' with two more in the pipeline. Much like the name of the album suggests, the tracks were masterfully created with the shades & echoes of early Split Enz sounds. And, armed with an arsenal of nostalgic photos from the Split Enz archives the challenge was to craft something that reflected this same inspiration - to revisit and remaster echoes of the past. 

Chances Are, Forenzics.mp4

"It's always a joy to work with Stephen. He is the essence of pure collaboration. I bumped into him on Cheltenham beach during lockdown last year and we began talking about projects. I sent him some music for his beautiful Devo clips, and he offered to help make us some Forenzics videos. We basically haven't stopped working together since, although never at a frantic pace. It's always with a sense of play and instinctive creativity. And neighbourhood!" Tim Finn

Most of 'Chances Are' and 'Premier Fois' were filmed in a variety of lockdown levels, at the end of last year. So the only crew working on the project were Stephen and DOP, Kent Belcher. What resulted was these quirky, intimate, and noir-themed videos with features of the past & present, including the extraordinary talents of Black Grace dancer, Demi-Jo Manalo. 

Forenzics French.mp4

Stephen also worked with Eddie & Tim to capture new portraits of the two, reminiscent of the album's themes, to accompany and support the whole project. To check out all of Stephens's photography & directorial work on Forenzics, click here. 

Stephen Langdon collaborates with Split Enz legends Tim Finn & Eddie Rayner to create music videos and campaign photography for their new project, Forenzics. 

Forenzics is an exciting new project from former Split Enz members Eddie Rayner and Tim Finn. Stephen Langdon worked closely with the legendary duo to create music videos & campaign photography for their debut album release of ‘Shades & Echoes.’

Forenzics’ Music Videos, Directed by Stephen Langdon

SkyCity.mp4

When ReloadPictures was approached by SkyCity to create imagery for the new #yourmoments photography & film campaign, alongside Creative Director Justine Black, we jumped at the opportunity. The brief was to showcase authentic moments regularly enjoyed and celebrated by guests of the hotel and we just love a feel-good project! 

Shot over one long day, on location, our team adventured around the SkyCity precinct to capture crafted moments shared between our effervescent talent. Starting in the hotel room, bleeding into the lobby with hands full of balloons, and ending up finally at one of the precinct bars - it was an afternoon and evening of our very own brilliant moments, resulting in standout hero stills and footage to boot.

"Reload exceed my expectations. Consistently."
Justine Black, Creative Director at Treehouse

Armed to the teeth with the rich & colourful footage of our three crafted scenarios, featuring a Proposal Moment, Birthday Moment, and Girls Night Out Moment, the final step was to put together the requested 30' brand video and a nice set of 6's in time for SkyCity Hotels campaign launch - supported, of course, by the beautiful hero stills. To check out the full campaign, click here!

ReloadPictures teams up with SkyCity Hotel to create their new emotive #yourmoments photography & film campaign.

#yourmoments film & photography campaign for SkyCity directed by Vicki Leopold, Photography by Stephen Langdon from Reload, Auckland NZ. Filmed at the Sky Tower, showcasing celebratory moments experienced by guests of SkyCity Hotel.

SkyCity #yourmoments film & photography campaign by Vicki Leopold and Stephen Langdon from Reload, Auckland NZ.

ReloadPictures teamed up with Nuras Seattle-based Creative Director to shoot a recent campaign for Nura with our boys, The All Blacks. Working around their busy schedules, David Havili, George Bridge & Quinn Tupaea joined Stephen & the team on set for a nimble half-day shoot. They brought with them their own sets of NuraPhones, NuraPod & NuraTrue headphones to be showcased in the campaign. 

Ever the professionals, the boys gracefully followed Stephen & Nuras' man on the ground, Morgan, around the location to capture previously sought-out sweet spots. Utilising our iconic concrete landscapes here in Auckland, Stephen, and the team whipped up some beaut portraits of the boys enjoying their Nura Headphones. 

"It was an absolute pleasure working with Stephen again. His photos are amazing and he packs so much into short time frames." - Morgan Donoghue, Nura

With frequent remote check-ins to the Nura Creative in Seattle, the shots were signed off quickly and the boys were sent back to what they do best. We were left wondering, however, what do the boys in black listen to? While you sit with that one, check out the full project here. 

Photographer | Director Stephen Langdon teams up with Melbourne-based Nura to showcase the Offical Headphones of The All Blacks.

Photographer | Director Stephen Langdon teams up with Nura to showcase the Offical Headphones of The All Blacks.

NuraSound Campaign, featuring the All Blacks Photographed by Stephen Langdon.

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"They love what they do and it shows in every job 

we work with them on." David Kinnear, Director at Bob's Your Uncle

When Bob's Your Uncle approached Reload with the opportunity to produce, film, and photograph this campaign concept for The Cooperative Bank, we were all too happy to jump on board. The brief? To advertise to consumers that at The Cooperative Bank, you'll be treated like you're Number 1. 

cooperative bank rolla derby.mp4

In true Vicki Leopold fashion, she cast real father & daughter talent in the Roller Derby scenario and real mates in the Man Cave scenario. Fun fact: even the background Roller Derby girls were all from Auckland-based skate clubs, just another day in the rink for them!

With casting, recces, and pre-prod under the belt, the team set off over one shoot day to capture two TVCs, along with the hero brand photography. 

The ReloadPictures team takes the lead Producing The Cooperative Banks Number 1 Campaign with Bob's Your Uncle, Directed by Vicki Leopold with Campaign Photography by Stephen Langdon.

Reload teams up with Bob's Your Uncle & The Cooperative Bank to make their Number 1. TVC & Photography Campaign - shot here in Auckland NZ.

Number 1. TVC & Photography Campaign by Reload for the Cooperative Bank.

When Vicki was approached by The Britomart Group to photograph the Women of Influence awards finalists, she was all too happy to get involved. 


The brief was open to how she wanted to portray the women & she decided on a simple studio shoot, in black & white, to make it all about these incredible women. Vicki was humbled to spend the time working with the women to achieve the gorgeous shoots, sharing just a handful of these incredible portraits below.

Vicki Leopold gets personal with some of the Westpac Women of Influence Finalists as she captures their personalities in these beautiful studio portraits. 

Women Of Influence Portraits by Photographer | Director Vicki Leopold.

Women Of Influence

ReloadPictures was approached by Badger Communications to help them on their latest project for Vodafone's new 5G network, featuring the NZ Police. The brief was to film the police drone from a drones-eye-view, drone-ception if you like, to showcase the 5G capabilities of a potential new surveillance drone that’s currently in the works. Supported, of course, by a set of hero stills.

Vodsafone 5G Police Drone.mp4

Local skaters were brought in as real talent to showcase the 5G drone capabilities in an urban environment, shooting over one day at an Auckland skate park. The technicality of the required shoot style, mixed with some challenges with the prop Police Drone, meant for some very precise thought and planning. 

Through a series of varied tight and Ariel shots, Stephen captured the essence of a drone’s-eye-view. 

Then, during post-production, inferred graphics were added - leveraging our creative license to show what the technology would potentially look like when it's implemented in the near future. To view the full project, click here. 

ReloadPictures gets technical producing Vodafone's 5G Campaign, photographed & directed by Stephen Langdon.

Stephen Langdon Photographs & Directs Vodafones 5G campaign featuring the new surveillance drone with the NZ Police.

Vodafone 5G Police Drone campaign, shot & directed by Stephen Langdon

And such was the brief when ReloadPictures was approached by the team at DDB Aotearoa to capture these iconic stylised family portraits for the SkySports "Life Needs More Sport" outdoor and print campaign. The hero talent? Swaddled baby sports balls. 

With a specific creative concept in mind, Stephen ventured out to a business in Manukau that takes school pictures to source a cheesy and nostalgic backdrop for the portraits. With a brief that required flat studio lighting & a muted talent wardrobe (in order to sell the story of a typical family portrait) the challenge was to keep the shots interesting enough to hold focus. This is where Stephens's ability to extract authentic moments from the talent came into play. 

Shot over one day, in studio, the results speak for themselves. Three hero portraits featuring sport-obsessed families celebrating new life with their sports balls and capturing the comedic essence of the campaign brief. Because, life needs more sport. 

Stephen Langdons signature comedic flair comes to the party for DDB Aotearoa in these quaint family portraits for the SkySports "Life Needs More Sport" stills campaign.

Photographer Stephen Langdon offers his comedic flair in these family portraits shot for SkySport, Auckland NZ.

SkySport Family Portaits by Photographer | Director Stephen Langdon

After shooting the True Religion jeans campaign in LA, the client subtly mentioned to Stephen that they had a new Collab coming up with the Manchester United team in England. A few months later, Stephen got a phone call simply asking him, ‘what’re you doing in two weeks?’

True Religion Man U we are tr.mp4

Fast forward those two weeks - Stephen & DOP Fergus Cahill are flying up to Manchester to meet with management and the team at the Old Traffic Road Board Room looking over the stadium. A surreal and memorable moment. 

After tech and lighting recces, with a London team making up the rest of the crew, at the massive warehouse location, Stephen & co were ready to begin the energy-fueled shoot. Managing staggered talent, as is always the way with busy professional sports teams, the crew set out to capture the footage of the day in the most efficient way possible.

That’s not to say the shoot wasn’t without its fair share of fun. The ManU players were thrilled when Avelino, the videos track artist, rocked up on set in true Avelino style with entourage in tow. As big fans of one another, it wasn’t long before the banter was flowing.  

True Religion Man U BTS.mp4

With deliverables of stills, brand videos, and a behind-the-scenes film it was a whirlwind project for Stephen & the team to pull off. But at the end of it all, the clients entrusted ReloadPictures to take the footage back home to NZ for the edit & colour grade, where we managed remote approvals with LA-based True Religion Jeans & Manchester-based ManU management. 

Click here to check out the whole project! 

Stephen Langdon hitches a ride on the True Religion & Manchester United Collab to Photograph and Direct their energetic campaign. 

Stephen Langdon Photographs & Directs the True Relgion x Manchester United 'Energy' Collab campaign, featuring the energetic Manchester United players and the track Energy, by Avelino feat. Stomzy.

Stephen Langdon Photographs & Directs the True Relgion x Manchester United 'Energy' Collab campaign

At the launch of Samsungs new widescreen Galaxy 8, the clever creatives at Colenso BBDO approached ReloadPictures with a technical-heavy, yet stunningly creative, brief - working in conjunction with, not just Samsung, but Lightbox and Spark too. The idea was a seamless blending of two worlds: Lightbox shows merged, onscreen, with a backdrop landscape of everyday Kiwi moments. To Vicki, the project spoke to her dual talents, Photography & Directing, posing an opportunity to work on a project where photography & film were equals and neither field was treated as the 'poor cousin'.

Working closely with Studio USA, Colenso BBDO signed off on the precise concepts surrounding carefully chosen moments from the infamous shows, Mr. Robot & Six. "We couldn’t change anything within the phone, not the footage nor the speed of the footage, the colour or the sound; so, we had to make them fit into our world," Vicki says, posing a challenge to even the most experienced location Scouters. With crafted scenarios in hand, Vicki set out on a three-day location recce to find the perfect spots for the client-heavy project. "It took a lot of planning, but as you can see with Mr. Robot, the Auckland Harbour Bridge lined up perfectly with the show footage."

Vicki's ability to switch roles between Photographer & Director really came to play when, during the shooting of the Mr. Robot concept, the weather turned and a downpour joined the crew on set at Auckland Harbour. Where this would usually signal disaster for most productions, it was a welcomed blessing on this project. With post-production being more cost-effectively spent on the retouching & editing of the Photography, it was a no-brainer for Vicki to quickly shift gears and start filming to capture the essence of the moody Mr. Robot atheistic without the need for massive post-production in the film component.

“Redefining myself as both has paid off because it means that I end up shooting TV and online content as well as photography. It’s not just flicking the switch to shoot film, it’s about really crafting the whole setting." Vicki Leopold, Photographer | Director, ReloadPictures.

The resulting deliverables speak for themselves, and all the hard work paid off when the concepts each won a bronze in the 'Advertising Concept' category at the One Eyeland Photography Awards in 2019. To check out the whole project, click here.

Vicki Leopold 'Sees Beyond Boundaries' Photographing & Directing the award-winning Spark | Samsung Galaxy S8 campaign.

Samsung Galaxy 8 Campaign with Spark & Lightbox, Photographer & Directed by Vicki Leopold, Produced by ReloadPictures - Auckland, NZ.

Vicki Leopold Photographs and Directs the Samsung Galaxy 8 Campaign with Spark & Lightbox.

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We specialise in the production of photography and film. Our craft is the combined talents of Photographer | Directors Vicki Leopold and Stephen Langdon supported by Rep | Producer Sophie Bloomfield.

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Agency: Yarn Agency
Client: TIA, Tourism Industry Aotearoa

Director: Vicki Leopold
DOP: Stephen Langdon
Photographer: Vicki Leopold
Producer: Sophie Bloomfield

Traveling from the far North to the far South of the country, a nimble Reload team worked with the boys at Yarn to visit seven tourism operators, in our magical Aotearoa, and tell the stories of how they share their aroha with our whenua and our hapori whānui through tourism.

".... because, they love our country as much as the rest of us."

The Sharing the Aroha of Tourism campaign shot for Tourism Industry Aotearoa by Vicki Leopold, Photographer + Director, and Stephen Langdon, DOP with the team at Yarn Agency.

Sharing the Aroha of Tourism

Joy! 15 sec b thumbnail.mp4

Joy! 15 sec a thumbnail.mp4

Joy! 6 sec thumbnail.mp4

Director: Stephen Langdon
Photographer: Stephen Langdon
Producer: Sophie Bloomfield

Joy! Mattress, Bed in a Box launch campaign, shot by Stephen Langdon in a studio here in Auckland, New Zealand with a hybrid film & photography crew. 

Motion & Photography campaing shot by Photographer | Director, Stephen Langdon for Joy! bed in a box matress with the team at TVNZ Blacksand. Shot here in Auckland, New Zealand.

Joy! Mattress

Creative Director: Wayne Pick
Agency: Quantum Jump
Client: AA Life Insurance

In May 2022, ReloadPictures and their nimble production team of seven traveled, sans agency & client, to meet Muriaroha Paekau-Richards and her whānau at their papakāinga in rural Ōtorohanga, Waikato. There, the team worked with a sensitive intimacy to authentically capture Muri with her whānau and to share her advocacy for the importance of life insurance, for every Kiwi. 

Muriaroha Paekau-Richards shares a final message to Aotearoa, advocating for life insurance. Directed by Vicki Leopold, DOP Stephen Langdon, and filmed at Muris whānau homestead in Ōtorohanga, New Zealand.

Muri's Message

Client: Novo Nordisk
Agency: Essence Health
Creative: Melissa Turkington

Photographer: Stephen Langdon
Producer: Sophie Bloomfield

Novo Nordisk potraits shot in studio by Stephen Langdon for a recent health campaign in Auckland, New Zealand.

Novo Nordisk Portraits

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Damian.mp4

PIP.mp4

Ashley.mp4

Client: TAB
Agency: Pitchblack Partners
Animation: Flux Studios

TAB Recruitment Sports Cards campaign photography shot by Photographer Stephen Langdon, in Auckland New Zealand, with the team at Pitchblack Partners.

TAB Sports Cards

Client: BP
Agency: Ogilvy NZ
Creatives: Wayne Pick & Kenton Osmond

'For Wherever You're Going' stills on TVC photography shot by Vicki Leopold with the team at Ogilvy NZ for BP.

'For wherever you're going' campaign photography by Vicki Leopold for BP, with Ogilvy NZ. Shot here in Auckland, New Zealand.

BP, For Wherever You're Going

Aaron Smith, Directors Cut - Director Stephen Langdon-high.mp4

Director: Stephen Langdon
Photographer: Stephen Langdon
DOP: Kent Belcher
Producer: Sophie Bloomfield

Sharing Director | Photographer Stephen Langdon's Directors cut and photography, shot in an Auckland-based gym for Musashi and featuring All Black Aaron Smith, All blacks & Blues player Roger Tuivasa-Sheck & UFC Champ Carlos Ulberg.

"Thanks again for everything you guys did to make it a success." Mark Thomas, Agency Producer, AU.

A directors cut and stills of a campaign Photographed and Directed by Stephen Langdon from ReloadPictures. Based and shot in Auckland, New Zealand.

Musashi

Photographer: Vicki Leopold
Creative Director: James Bowman
Producer: Sophie Bloomfield

Clients: Sorted &
Te Ara Ahunga Ora
Agency: BCG2

A lovely, candid photography campaign shot by Vicki Leopold for Sorted & Te Ara Ahunga Oras' project 'Pacific Peoples Pathways to Home Ownership Programme' with the awesome team at BCG2. 

"Reload always fully commit to making it happen. They're equally amazing with agency, client, locations and all talent. And they always deliver the humour, heart and captivating images I need." James Bowman, Creative Director

Sorted Pacific Peoples Pathways to Home Ownership Programme photography shot by Vicki Leopold in Auckland, New Zealand.

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