A VISION LIKE NO OTHER
Husband-and-wife duo Dawn and Mike Dutton are turning eyes into art, capturing the intricate beauty of the human iris.
It all started with a phone call. A friend had seen something in Europe – a photograph of an iris so detailed and mesmerising. He rang Dawn and said his wife really wanted one for her birthday. The only catch? Her birthday was in two days.
“Give me 24 hours,” said Dawn, never one to back down from a creative challenge. What followed was a day of pure chaos – books piled high to rest chins on, every light in the house dragged out, studio lights firing. Anyone who walked through the door that day was fair game. By the next morning, she’d done it – voucher sent, and an idea ignited.
On a trip to Hamilton that same weekend, Dawn and her husband Mike talked nonstop about what they’d just created, and by the time they got home, EYECONIC was born. “We had a business plan-ish,” she laughs, “and a name.”
What followed were three months of learning, experimenting, and perfecting the skill. Plus setting up equipment, sourcing suppliers, writing policies and price guides, building a website, and handling all the details that come with starting a business, including a few tears, tantrums, and ‘I quit’ moments. But in August this year, EYECONIC officially went live, bringing the art of iris photography to the sunny north.
Dawn and Mike aren’t new to photography – they’ve been running Dawn Dutton Photography since 2007, capturing families, events, and commercial work. Their teamwork just works: Mike (aka Mr EYECONIC) is calm, methodical, and spreadsheet-savvy, while Dawn (Mrs EYECONIC) is the creative whirlwind who can’t sit still and makes decisions in two seconds flat.
Now one of only three iris photographers in New Zealand – and the only one in the North Island – the pair are proud to share this fascinating new art form with others. “People say they’ve never seen anything like it,” says Dawn. “And they’re right; no two irises are ever the same.”
Whether at a local market, in their studio, or even by appointment at events and dinner parties, EYECONIC offers a glimpse into something extraordinary. “In the world of photography, we get to share a macro moment of uniqueness,” says Dawn.
www.eyeconic.co.nz | 021 623 607
