Photographer Meli Berends

A triptych of photographs portraying her successful battle with breast cancer has secured Meli Berends the Student of the Year title at the 2016 Epson/NZIPP Iris Professional Photography Awards. Meli's studying for a Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging at UCOL in Palmerston North. She has done two series - one on children growing up too fast and the other on breast cancer. Meli explains how she got into photography after her diagnosis of breast cancer at 33 years old.