Ken Downie's photography career began in the photography department of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, where he worked as a photographic technician before gaining admission to the highly regarded photography course at the Wellington School of Design in 1985. A job as a photographer at the National Museum of New Zealand — now Te Papa — followed. In 1990, Ken left for Hong Kong, and became interested in a more documentary approach to photography; combining interviews and writing with image taking. Today Ken’s interests range from portraiture to architectural and industrial photography. He has documented large construction projects, and worked as a photojournalist for Metro, North & South and the New Zealand Listener. His photographic projects are held in the permanent collections of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Papa and the Hocken Library. As a writer Ken is fascinated by stories about people, architecture, art, culture and also, of course, motorcycles.