About Me, Barbara van der Woerd

Passionate zero waste advocate, devoted to my horses and cats, artist, lover of nature, freedom, and traveling. I love digging my hands into the soil in my garden of vegetables and fruits and enjoying the fresh air and stunning sunsets here in my home. 

I studied photography and film-making at Waikato Unitec, gaining honors in photography. I have been a television editor, storyteller, adventurer, tutor, and visitor consultant here in the Ruapehu, and can advise you on places to stay, other wedding vendors, and unique locations in our beautiful district!

With my husband and two daughters, I have explored Mt Ruapehu, the Tongariro National Park, and Whanganui National Park thoroughly, on and off trails. My favorite places are Ruapehu, New Zealand, Bolivia, and Vanuatu. I love the people, and I’d love to meet you!

  • Barbara was a dream to work with for our wedding in Ohakune. She understood what we wanted and was very adaptable on the day. She was the perfect mix of being there when you needed her, but invisible when you weren't looking. Having someone local was so important to us and her knowledge of the area was indispensable as she scouted some amazing spots for our wedding pictures. Her eye for detail, friendliness and flexibility were so appreciated and our photos are amazing. Thank you so much for capturing our happy memories!

    Emily & David

  • We chose Barbara as our wedding photographer on our mostly rainy, stormy summer day. Considering weather conditions we were not able to take pictures outside as we planned, but guess what, we received 856 pictures taken inside. They were all utterly amazing. We would definitely recommend Barbara to anyone, and for the next special occasion that arises in our family, we will be going straight to Barbara to capture the special day.

    Daniel & Jolanta

  • Barbara captured the nuances and the mood of the wedding perfectly, and we were extremely satisfied with the quality of the photographs. On top of all that, Barbara was very easy to work with, and we cannot recommend her more.

    Charles & Christina Lee

  • Thank you so much for everything, you captured all the little details perfectly! I love all the photos of us hugging everyone!

    Shannon & Josh