Amsterdam born photographer Babiche Martens grew up in Auckland with a vague feeling that she was from neither here, nor there. So, without anything regimenting her to one idea or culture, she developed a curious take on the people and spaces around her from a young age.

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Whilst spending a year in Tokyo as a teenager, she used Instamatic, Polaroid and 3d Japanese cameras as a means to document her experiences. The end result, a kind of ‘diary of images’, inspired her return to Auckland to complete a Bachelor In Design, majoring in Photography. On completion of her degree, she travelled extensively and was drawn back to Amsterdam where she assisted a leading Dutch fashion photographer.

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In 2006 Babiche came home to a permanent position as Features Photographer with the country’s leading newspaper, The New Zealand Herald. Weekly Viva and Canvas magazines have given her talent a place to speak, with her pictures of fashion, food and portraiture challenging the everyday standards of newspaper style publications.

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Her unique perspective has led her to win several awards throughout the years including the Award for Excellence by Society for News Design for her ‘Suburban Star Wars Series’, a QANTAS Media Award for Best Fashion Photograph, a prestigious PANPA award for Lifestyle Photography, a Cathay Pacific Travcom award for Best Unpublished Travel Image and her most recent achievement is the coveted Cathay Pacific Travel Photographer Of the Year. In 2026 she was featured in Your Home and Garden Magazine:  https://www.yourhomeandgarden.co.nz/inspiration/babiche-martens-breakfast-chin-mee-chin/  and New Zealand Herald Viva magazine: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/viva/food-drink/how-to-take-better-food-photographs-babiche-martens-pro-tips/premium/ZJQOANOPH5DCVJAWZ25SFOU5CY/

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In her spare time Babiche can be found enjoying her Auckland home.