HI, I'M LEONIE!

I am a professional surf photographer, surf retreat organiser, podcast host and online educator who specialises in helping women to capture & share the beauty of the ocean.

Surfgirlnz was founded when in 2022 when I bought my first digital camera + water housing. I started capturing women in the surf in Whaingaroa (Raglan), a small beach town on the west coast of Aotearoa New Zealand, and shared these pictures on my social media. The response was overwhelming. I received so many messages from women all over the world saying that they were looking for something she found in Whaingaroa: a surf girl community of like-minded women. I knew I had to create a platform to bring more women together. That's how Surfgirlnz was born.

Over the past 3 years, Surfgirlnz has become much more than just a surf platform for women. Besides capturing women in the surf and organising surf events and retreats, I now also teach women how to capture & share the beauty of the ocean. I created courses where I share everything I wish I knew 5 years ago. I promised myself that if I ever figured out how to start ocean photography on a small budget, I would become the mentor for other women that I never had.

LET ME TELL YOU MY STORY ♥

5 years ago my friend took these two photos of me:

I just started surfing and my friend Matthew captured me at my local surf break. 

As soon as I saw these photos I knew I I wanted to do what Matthew did:

capture the beauty of the ocean and the feeling of surfing

BUT

I struggled to find gear that was affordable

My friend told me about the Nikonos V so I just decided to go with that:

The next step was taking it out in the ocean. 

But to be honest - the idea of swimming in the ocean felt really intimidating to me.

So I decided to take it out on my surfboard instead:

After getting knocked in the head by my camera a couple times I quickly realised this wasn't the way

I knew I had to ditch the surfboard and buy some fins but nobody was able to show me the way

After a year of shooting on my surfboard I asked my friend to swim out and take photos from the water:

I was very happy with the results and decided to buy a digital camera + water housing

I quickly realised this was a COMPLETELY different ball game

I felt like I was starting from scratch (again)

My housing was fogging up

I had water drops all over my lens

The surfers were out of focus and I felt, well... defeated

It took me another 2 years to go from ↑ to this ↓

Now, I've captured 2000+ women in the surf

My work has been seen by millions of people

I've organised 8 surf events around New Zealand

And 8 surf retreats in Fiji, Lombok and the Philippines

I've taught 200+ women surf photography

Because I promised myself that if I ever figured it out, 
I would become the mentor for other women that I never had