Susanna Burton-Thompson, author of “A life of Surprises,” shares stories from her life, as well as favourite photographs from her years working as a photojournalist. Susanna earned her Master of Photography from the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography. She worked for the New Zealand Truth newspaper as a teenager, and later her photography was used for aid organisations such as Operation Mobilisation and World Vision. Her excellent photos are a welcome addition to her book, adding a compelling visual element, with images taken all around the world. Susanna’s unexpected journey into photography began as a teenager when her high school art teacher suggested she might make a good photographer. Her mother scoured job listings, eventually landing on one that didn’t require experience, or a man – a position at the then-controversial New Zealand Truth newspaper. With zero experience behind the lens, she suspects she got the job because she reminded the editor of an old flame.

Her next role came via a literal crash course in wedding photography. When she accidentally rear-ended a Jaguar owned by Wellington’s top wedding photographer, he offered her a Saturday job to help her pay for the repairs to her mother’s car. That chance encounter eventually led to Susanna Burton Photography, in Meadowbank, Auckland, a business she ran with her sister for more than two decades.