Naera Ohia Photography

Naera Ohia Photography More active over on insta ✌️

My darling girl 💜I hope you always feel free to be exactly who you areTo laugh until your puku hurtsTo pull the silly (a...
02/08/2026

My darling girl 💜

I hope you always feel free to be exactly who you are

To laugh until your puku hurts
To pull the silly (and sometimes grumpy 😆) faces without wondering who’s watching
To always sing, dance, imagine, create, ask impossible questions and find joy in ordinary days

I hope you grow up knowing that your mana was never something you had to earn. It has always been yours.

And I hope that thirty years from now, you still recognise this little girl within yourself- loving, cheeky, curious, strong willed, free & unapologetically her.

May your feet stay grounded in your whakapapa and the values that guide you, your heart stay open, and your wairua remain unmistakably your own

Watching you and your brothers become yourselves is one of the greatest joys & privileges of my life 🥹

Love always, Mum 🤍😘

The Tauranga Moana Kaumātua Olympics is easily one of my most favorite days of the year! Ngā mihi nui ki Aunty Rondell, ...
23/07/2026

The Tauranga Moana Kaumātua Olympics is easily one of my most favorite days of the year!

Ngā mihi nui ki Aunty Rondell, Ana, Army of Aunties, all the volunteers and everyone who works behind the scenes to make this kaupapa happen every year. Thank you for creating a space where our kaumātua can reconnect, have a good puku laugh, uplift one another, keep active (with a bit of cheeky competitiveness 😆) and just enjoy being together.

It was a bit heavy editing the gallery this year, knowing that nanny Mihi has since passed. Each year we gather again, and each year someone who shared the laughter with us is missed. Moe mai rā e kui ❤️

If you see yourself, your whānau or friends in the photos feel free to download them from the gallery link below (there is more in there too)

https://naeraohiaphoto.pixieset.com/taurangamoanakaumatuaolympics2026/

Ngā mihi

Some mornings remind you just how generous te taiao can be. We watched the sky move through every shade of dawn and sunr...
08/07/2026

Some mornings remind you just how generous te taiao can be. We watched the sky move through every shade of dawn and sunrise, as if it were celebrating this new season of life with them. And for a little while, amidst the busyness of last week, everything felt still ❤️

Sometimes whenua has its own way of welcoming you..As I got closer to Mōkai, the hills were wrapped in a soft korowai of...
08/07/2026

Sometimes whenua has its own way of welcoming you..

As I got closer to Mōkai, the hills were wrapped in a soft korowai of mist. It felt like a reminder to slow down, and arrive before I begin

Which for me, meant leaving the camera aside when I got there, giving everyone a kiss hello, grabbing some gloves and helping to butter the bread

A few loaves and life stories later, we gathered for karakia before heading out to take our place in the day’s mahi

Three thousand native rākau set root into the whenua that morning

Each one was planted with generations in mind, knowing they may never even sit beneath its shade

Most of the people I photographed that day would’ve probably preferred another pair of hands than another camera 😅

Which is one reason I felt so privileged to be there. It made me think of my tūpuna. I doubt they’d have wanted a camera in their face while they got on with their mahi, but I’d give anything to have whakaahua like these of them

Because the people doing the most important work rarely think they’re doing anything extraordinary

One day, these whakaahua might mean far more to someone’s mokopuna than they ever will to the people in them

Days like this remind me that whenua shapes more than the landscape.

It shapes us too

Not only in how we stand today, but in what we choose to leave behind.

Maybe what grows here won’t just be a ngahere

Maybe it’ll become another place a mokopuna feels connected to

Maybe the greatest thing planted that day wasn’t only in the ground

Maybe it was another generation choosing to care for the whenua, just like their nanny did

And in fifty years from now when the mist settles on these towering rākau

I hope we’ll remember the people who chose to care for a future they may never see

Ngā mihi nui ki a Tūaropaki Trust for trusting me to document a small part of this kaupapa.

To the hole diggers who prepared the whenua the day before, everyone working behind the scenes who made the day possible, and every single person who turned up with a willingness to get stuck in despite the rain the night before, thank you ❤️

And also to Erica Sinclair, thank you for putting my name forward e hoa. I don’t take oppo

Introducing photographer Naera Ohia of Naera Ohia Photography (Ngāti Pūkenga | Ngai Te Rangi), one of our panelists for...
10/06/2026

Introducing photographer Naera Ohia of Naera Ohia Photography (Ngāti Pūkenga | Ngai Te Rangi), one of our panelists for Ururangi: Navigating Creativity.

Naera’s practice is grounded in memory, identity, and connection. Her journey into photography began over a decade ago through deeply personal experiences of loss, love, and the fear of forgetting — including the passing of her beloved Nan, becoming a māmā, and caring for her Koro through dementia. As one of our panelists, Naera brings a powerful perspective on storytelling and visual identity, exploring how photography can empower people to see themselves reflected, strengthen cultural connection, and carry stories forward for future generations.

Naera joins a dynamic panel alongside Teraania Ormsby, Max Yeager, and Iata Peautolu - each bringing their own lived experience and creative lens to the kōrero.

Ururangi: Navigating Creativity
When: Wednesday 1 July, 5pm - 7pm
Where: The Kollective, 145 17th Avenue, Tauranga

Be part of the conversation. Whether you’re a creative, a storyteller, or simply curious, Ururangi offers a space to listen, learn, and connect.

Secure your spot here: https://events.humanitix.com/pae-k-rero-ururangi-navigating-creativity

Throw🔙 to the Ngāti Pūkenga Wānanga Taiao 🌿 pt.1On this day we spent time reconnecting with our whenua, awa, moana and t...
01/06/2026

Throw🔙 to the Ngāti Pūkenga Wānanga Taiao 🌿 pt.1

On this day we spent time reconnecting with our whenua, awa, moana and the mātauranga held by our people. Des Heke took us up to Ōtawa, sharing kōrero about the significance of the whenua around us. Matua Ropata welcomed us onto his whenua and guided us through thriving rongoā, native trees and plants - a reminder of how much knowledge lives within the ngahere when we slow down enough to listen.
Aunty Hinenui and uncle Tom showed us how to test the health of our wai in the Waitao awa before we continued on to Te Tahuna o Rangataua. It was powerful seeing science and mātauranga Māori sitting alongside each other, both helping us better understand our responsibilities as kaitiaki.

These wānanga are more than learning, they're about strengthening our connection to Te Taiao, to each other, and to the places that hold our stories. Grateful to everyone who shared their time, knowledge and aroha.

Kia Pūkenga Te Tū 🌿

Light, music, memory. ✨I’m grateful this night happened before the weekend took an unexpected turn. The truck can be rep...
31/05/2026

Light, music, memory. ✨

I’m grateful this night happened before the weekend took an unexpected turn. The truck can be repaired, photography gear can be replaced, but nobody can steal these memories ♾️

Some musicians become part of the soundtrack of your life. Ask me about any phase of mine & I’ll give you a song, and th...
30/05/2026

Some musicians become part of the soundtrack of your life. Ask me about any phase of mine & I’ll give you a song, and there’s a good chance it’ll be one of Matt’s 😆

I’ve been listening to Matt Corby since 2013. Back then I was living in Australia, working an office job, secretly taking screenshots from his Made of Stone music video and printing them out so I could take them home and draw them lol

Thirteen years later, I found myself standing in a crowd, camera in hand, finally hearing those songs live while doing what I love 📸🥹

I originally edited these in colour, but I kept coming back to black and white. It felt more like his music sounds-raw, reflective, and soulful. Less about documenting a concert and more about remembering how it felt to be there.

Just a fan in the crowd with her camera, a decade of memories and a voice that has somehow found its way into so many seasons of her life ❤️ you were amazing

Also big thanks to for loaning me the fixed-lens X100VI for the night! What a beauty of a camera 😍 I’d happily recommend it to anyone wanting a high quality compact camera to conveniently document life in a way thats not only true to colour, but feeling too ❤️

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