Merry Christmas & Happy New Year | 2025 Highlights (Auckland family-wedding-couples photographer)

As another year comes to a close, it's time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by. Looking back through my galleries, I'm reminded of just how many incredible people I've had the privilege of photographing. From family sessions, maternity and newborn photography to graduations, couples, surprise proposals, elopements, and weddings, this year has been filled with beautiful stories and unforgettable moments.

One family even booked three sessions with me this year—a personal record! It is always such an honour when families continue to trust me to document different chapters of their lives.

What I love most about photography is the opportunity to meet amazing people and preserve memories that will be treasured for years to come. Every session is unique, and every family, couple, and celebration brings its own story.

This year also brought incredible variety beyond weddings and family photography. I was fortunate to continue working as an official photographer for New Zealand Ice Figure Skating, covering major competitions throughout the season, including the North Island Championships and New Zealand Nationals. Watching athletes from across the country come together to share their passion for the sport is always inspiring, and photographing those moments remains one of my favourite challenges.

Many of you know that figure skating is not only something I photograph- it's also one of my personal passions. As an adult skater, I was incredibly grateful to enjoy one of my most successful competitive seasons to date. Highlights included placing second at the ISU Adult Competition in Oberstdorf, Germany, first at WinterSun in Brisbane, third at the Hollins Trophy in Sydney, and fourth at the Crystal Challenge in Melbourne.

These experiences created memories I will cherish forever and allowed me to spend time with wonderful friends from around the world who share the same love for the sport.

It has also been a big year for my own family. My son earned a place in the Auckland United development football programme, while my daughter worked tirelessly on her skating, mastering all of her double jumps and earning a silver medal at the New Zealand National Championships in the Basic Novice Under-12 division. Watching their hard work and dedication pay off has been incredibly rewarding.

As always, balancing work, sport, travel, and family life remains a challenge, and I know there are times when I wish I could spend even more time with those closest to me. But I am deeply grateful for every moment shared with my family, friends, and the wonderful clients who invite me into some of the most important days of their lives.

Another highlight of the year was continuing to teach my online photography workshop, Love, Light & Laughter, through Click Photo School. Since launching the course in 2018, it has been a privilege to help photographers develop not only their technical skills but also discover their own voice, purpose, and passion behind the camera.

As I reflect on the year, I feel incredibly thankful for every couple, family, athlete, student, and friend who has been part of this journey. Your trust, support, and friendship mean more than words can express.

Below is a collection of some favourite moments from the past season - a mix of weddings, couples, families, and events. Messy, real, emotional, and full of life - just the way I like it.

Thank you for following along and supporting my work.

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas, a safe holiday season, and a New Year filled with happiness, adventure, and beautiful memories.

I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Contact me with any questions!

Glenburn Championship Highlights - Ice Figure Skating Photography New Zealand

It has been a little quiet here on the blog recently, as I’ve been away in Europe taking part in adult ice skating competitions in Oberstdorf, Germany - one of the most special events in the adult skating calendar.

The conditions were certainly a surprise, with summer heat reaching 30–35°C. It felt almost surreal to step out of the rink and into such extreme warmth, where the best place to be was either inside the ice arena or high up in the mountains. Thankfully, the gondolas to Nebelhorn were running, and we managed to escape the heat a few times, even taking photos in our skating dresses at the top with breathtaking alpine views.

Beyond the competition, it was a wonderful time filled with training camps, reconnecting with old friends, meeting new skating communities, and of course, enjoying all the amazing European cakes and food along the way.

I was incredibly happy to come home with some beautiful memories from the event, including 2nd place in my free skating program and the opportunity to perform my artistic program for the first time at an international level. It was truly a rewarding and inspiring experience.

If you'd like to see more from the trip, you can also find highlights on my Instagram: @olgalevien.

Shortly after returning home (and slightly battling jetlag), it was straight back into my usual role behind the camera—this time photographing another exciting local competition in Auckland.

The Glenburn Championships brought together skaters of all ages and levels for a weekend full of passion, energy, and beautiful performances. From the youngest beginners to experienced adult skaters, everyone shared the same love for the sport, creating an incredible atmosphere on the ice.

It’s always inspiring to witness the dedication and progress within the skating community here in New Zealand. Every program tells a story - of hard work, persistence, and joy for skating.

After the intensity and inspiration of Europe, it felt very special to return straight into this local competition environment, continuing to capture those powerful, fleeting moments on the ice.

Enjoy highlights from the Glenburn Championships - another beautiful weekend of skating in Auckland.

Clucas Cup - Ice figure skating photography

As many of you already know, ice skating is one of my greatest passions - alongside photography - and whenever those two worlds come together, it truly feels like a dream job.

It was a real honour to be invited by the New Zealand Ice Figure Skating Association to photograph the Clucas Cup, one of the selection competitions marking the start of the new skating season in New Zealand.

This event brings together some of the country’s top skaters, opening the season with powerful performances, technical precision, and beautiful artistry on the ice. It’s always exciting to see athletes returning to competition after the off-season, bringing fresh programs, energy, and ambition to the rink.

Among the competitors were many incredibly talented skaters, including Dwayne Li, Petra Lahti, Renee Tsai, Cara Tang, Mirika Armstrong, Nicca Wu, and Mia Chen, along with many other inspiring New Zealand skaters- including my own daughter, Anna-Bella.

The rink was full of energy from the very first warm-up to the final performance. It was truly “fire on ice”—a combination of passion, grace, determination, and artistry that makes this sport so special to witness and capture.

What I love most about photographing competitions like this is the variety of emotions and moments happening in a split second: focus before a jump, relief after a clean landing, joy in performance, and the connection between skaters, coaches, and families.

It was such a privilege to document the start of the season and to be part of such an important event in the New Zealand skating calendar.

I’m already looking forward to photographing more competitions throughout the season, especially the upcoming Nationals in October.

Exciting times ahead!

Enjoy highlights from the Clucas Cup.

New Zealand Ice Figure Skating Championships {Sports Photography}

As you may know Im not only a photographer, but also adult skater and been fortunate to be asked to became an Official Photographer for New Zealand Ice Figure Skating Championships, Nationals competitions in Auckland, NZ {18-21 October 2022}. It was a pleasure to dive in sports photography, so similar to events/wedding photography when you need to keep focused at all times and watch for the right moment to happen, putting attention on lines, composition, body language, emotions - passion and grace that skaters express in their programs.

You need to be on point, pre-view the moment that just about ro happen. Knowledge of figure skating and all the skating elements, programs requirements and layouts definitely a bonus for ability to get things right in camera. It was a challenging task with many thousands of photos captured over 4 days, but also very rewarding.

So much beauty, grace and talent!

Enjoy this quick sneak peek! Final galleries will be ready in 3-4 weeks {not late to make your order at www.levienphotography.com/new-zealand-nationals

Let me know if you have any questions!