Krystena Hynes was barely 2 when she took her first photograph.
It was of her parents, and although their faces were contorted with apprehension about the toddler dropping the expensive family camera and breaking it, the photo was sharp, clear and well composed.
Since then, the 16-year-old Kaikorai Valley College pupil has snapped thousands of photographs - one of which was recently selected as a finalist in the Perry Foundation New Zealand Schools Photographic Competition.
Krystena submitted several photographs for the competition, and at this stage she has no clue as to which one has made the final. All she does know is that one of her images made the final 10 out of 1400 entries.
Most teens get around with iPods or mobile phones strapped to their hands. Krystena is more likely to be seen with a camera.
"I just really like taking photos," she says, slightly embarrassed.
Her bedroom wall is covered with countless photos she has taken of her friends in recent years - so many that her parents have delayed repapering her room until she leaves home.
Until this year, Krystena's passion for photography has been a hobby. But since she started photography classes at Kaikorai Valley College this year, her images have taken on a more professional quality.
The image which has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious competition was taken using a small Fuji Film Finepix J150w camera. Krystena says it shows you do not need the biggest and most expensive camera equipment on the market to take eye-catching photos.
While she has learnt a lot by experimenting with different functions on Photoshop, she says she has also learnt a lot about manipulating digital images from her photography teacher and fellow photography pupils.
Lately, she has been experimenting with layering several different photographs of well known places on top of each other to create images that are strangely familiar but unrecognisable. Her photography teacher saw quality in her ability and encouraged her to enter the Perry Foundation competition.
When she was told she had made the final 10, she was shocked - and not because it was the first time she had entered a photographic competition.
"It took me less than 10 minutes to do one of the photos. That's why I'm so surprised.
"It doesn't really seem that real. Initially, I thought 'Oh, wow'. But I don't think it has really sunk in yet."
The winners will be announced on September 18.
Whether Krystena wins or not is immaterial. Either way, she says she can picture herself in a career as a photographer.
