Photographer, Writer & Visual Storyteller — Auckland, New Zealand

Stories,
places &
brands remembered

I create imagery and content for hospitality, lifestyle, cultural and founder-led brands—capturing the people, places and details that shape how they're experienced and remembered. With a background in journalism, I approach every project through observation, curiosity and story, creating work that feels authentic, thoughtful and human.

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10+
Years creating content
15+
Years behind the camera
Observation
Story-led visual content

Selected brand partnerships

01 Selected Work

Hospitality & Travel

Atmosphere, place and experience.

From boutique hotels and restaurants to destinations and cultural spaces, my work focuses on capturing the atmosphere, details and experiences people remember long after they've left.

Restaurant interior overlooking a city skyline
Treehouse-style accommodation surrounded by trees
So Sofitel Bangkok Lobby space with water feature with warm hospitality atmosphere
Breakfast and hotel club lounge detail

Brands & Products

Product and lifestyle storytelling.

Visual storytelling that connects products to people, places and experiences, creating imagery that feels considered, lived-in and emotionally engaging.

Lexus interior detail
Curionoir still life product image
Lilah B product feature
Marc Jacobs bag photographed as a lifestyle product story

Culture & Editorial

Artists, collectors, makers and places.

Rooted in a journalistic approach, this work explores artists, makers, spaces and communities through observation, curiosity and visual narrative.

Hamilton Garden scene photographed with an editorial sensibility
Gallery wall and cultural interior
Art fair interior with visitors and artworks
Art fair exterior and cultural event setting
02 Case Studies

Selected Briefs

From brief to image.

A closer look at how two commissions actually came together — what was asked for, the time and conditions on the day, and the decisions behind the images.

SkyCity — Restaurant Feature

The Sugar Club, with Peter Gordon

LocationAuckland, NZ
BriefEditorial feature, single sitting
DeliveredStills + blog feature

SkyCity invited me to spend an afternoon at The Sugar Club, seated at the table for the tasting menu with Peter Gordon and head chef Neil Brazier, and to bring back a feature for the blog — part interview, part record of the meal itself.

The food and the conversation happened at the same time, so that's where the camera stayed: dish details grabbed in the minute or two each plate had on the table before service moved it on. The room itself I left until after we'd eaten — once the table was clear and I wasn't competing with the meal for anyone's attention, I worked back through the space on its own.

The Sugar Club dining room Dining room — The Sugar Club
Portrait of chef Peter GordonPeter Gordon, mid-service
Plated dish detail at The Sugar ClubDish, as it was served
Second plated dish detail at The Sugar ClubDish detail, course two

SkyCity / Sofitel — Hotel Opening

So Sofitel Bangkok

LocationBangkok, Thailand
Duration5 days on the ground
DeliveredStills + blog feature

Ahead of the opening of So Sofitel Auckland, SkyCity sent me to its Bangkok sister property for five days — to document the hotel and write a feature that placed it inside the city it actually belongs to.

Five days instead of five hours meant I could plan around light rather than work around it. The rest of the time went into Bangkok itself, shooting without a brief, on the idea that a hotel feature reads better with a real city around it than with a brochure's worth of empty rooms.

So Sofitel Bangkok rooftop pool at golden hour Rooftop pool, golden hour
So Sofitel Bangkok lobby at duskLobby, dusk
Bangkok street sceneBangkok, off the brief
So Sofitel Bangkok suite detailSuite detail
03 About

Stories worth paying attention to.

I'm a Filipino-born photographer, writer and visual storyteller based in Auckland.

My background in journalism taught me to look beyond appearances—to pay attention to people, places, details and the stories that connect them. That perspective continues to shape how I approach photography today.

Over the last decade I've worked with hospitality, lifestyle, cultural and commercial brands, creating imagery that balances editorial sensibility with strategic intent. Whether documenting a hotel, profiling a maker, photographing a product or capturing a brand experience, I'm interested in what makes it memorable and how that story can be translated visually.

My work sits at the intersection of photography, storytelling and observation—helping brands communicate identity, atmosphere and experience in a way that feels authentic rather than manufactured.

Personal projects, essays and artistic work can be found at jayagascon.com.

— Selected Features

If you have a project, a place, or a story to tell,I'd love to hear about it.

Let's work together.

Available for hospitality, lifestyle, cultural and editorial commissions, as well as brand storytelling projects for organisations looking for thoughtful, story-led visual content.

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