Now based in Melbourne, Mr McKee (45) was working as a photographer at The Oamaru Mail when he was approached by gallery director Warwick Smith in the early 1990s, who had an idea for a photographic exhibition looking at the people of Oamaru.
Mr McKee decided it would be interesting to focus on males in the town, which was how the project got its title.
He photographed a diverse range of subjects, from stonemason Bill Dooley and motor body builder Errol Tempero to Chinese market gardeners, the jubilant Waitaki Boys High School 1st XV rugby team after beating St Kevins College, a Blue Light disco and a rest-home mid-winter Christmas dinner.
The exhibition is now part of the gallery's permanent collection and many of the images were reasonably timeless, capturing a moment in time that told an interesting story, Mr McKee said.
After proving popular at the Forrester in 1994, the exhibition was shown at the Eastern Southland Gallery in Gore, the Aigantighe Art Gallery in Timaru, the Ashburton Art Gallery and the Centre of Contemporary Art in Christchurch.
Mr McKee, who lived in Oamaru for three years, said he still occasionally bumped into people he photographed for the exhibition and it was always interesting to catch up with them.
He has lived in Melbourne for the past seven years and mainly does editorial photography for magazines and some commercial and corporate photography.
He is a contributing editor for the magazine Australian Photography and also writes for another magazine.
He is in New Zealand for professional photography awards and decided visit Otago and do some photography. "I still enjoy this corner of the world," he said.
"The Oamaru Male" opens at the gallery today and runs until October 11.
