Nation’s Best Images – free outdoor exhibition in Auckland

OUR NATION’S BEST IMAGES – free outdoor exhibition opens in Auckland

Public invited to vote the best of the best

From jellyfish the size of dinner plates to muddy kids being hosed down after a fun run, the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2015 exhibition opens at the Viaduct this Saturday (October 3rd), offering viewers a fresh vision of our country’s environment and culture. The public is invited to get along to this free, all weather outdoor exhibition and put themselves in the judges’ chair by voting for the People’s Choice Award.

Now in its eighth year, the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year is the nation’s preeminent photographic competition. This year, a total of 27 finalists were chosen as the pick of the crop from the largest ever field of entries; 5800 entries were received across five categories: Society & Culture, Wildlife, Landscape, Photo Story and—new to the competition in 2015 —the Timelapse category.

The diverse images from these 27 finalists have been combined with some of the best images of prior years to form an impressive outdoor exhibition. Located in Karanga Plaza, adjacent to the Viaduct Events Centre, the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year exhibition consists of large format prints and digital screens housed inside specially fitted out shipping containers with an image forest beneath a parabolic sail – it’s suitable for all ages; a perfect school holiday, lunchtime or weekend outing.

The 2015 finalists depict subjects as diverse as the closed religious community of Gloriavale to young women vying for the title of Miss Universe. They span the entire realm of New Zealand, from deep underground caves on the mainland to albatrosses dwarfed by massive waves off the subantarctic Bounty Islands, some 700 kilometres to the east of the South Island.

The judges were full of praise for the entries and the effort photographers went to in order to capture them. “The timelapse category, in particular had some eye-wateringly good entries”, says convenor of judges James Frankham. “Photographers lay in sleeping bags beside their cameras, monitoring the output every few minutes throughout the night—one photographer spent 40 hours in a glow-worm cave for a single two-minute clip!”

“In its entirety, the exhibition is a celebration of our diversity as a country. How many people have hunted fish with bows and arrows? Who has camped in a cave in temperatures like a fridge for a week? These photographers have been to little-known and remarkable corners of our nation, and shared these original perspectives with us. They help us understand who we are as a people, and what makes our country unique.

The public is invited to put themselves in the judging chair and vote for their favourite image on touch screens at the exhibition, or online at www.nzgeographic.co.nz/photocomp. The winner of the public vote will receive the People’s Choice Award when the category winners of the competition are announced in late October.

“The public voting aspect of this competition is one of the things that make it unique,” says Frankham. “Every year, New Zealanders get to have their say about the images that move them most. It sparks a lot of discussion and often just a small number of votes separate the top few choices, despite the tens of thousands of votes cast. This year there’s incredible depth across all categories, so it won’t be an easy decision. In fact, voting opened at the end of August and there are less than 200 votes separating the leading 10 images – it really is wide open.”

New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year is New Zealand’s most popular and richest photographic competition: Winners of each category receive $1000 cash, publication in New Zealand Geographic and other prizes. The overall New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2015 will receive a further $1000 cash and a berth on board a Heritage Expeditions voyage on assignment for New Zealand Geographic magazine. The Young Photographer of the Year 2015 also receives $1000 cash as well as special mentoring and a workshop with wildlife photographer and judge, Kim Westerskov. The People’s Choice winner also takes home $1000 cash and other prizes.

To see all the finalist images and vote on your favourite, go to www.nzgeographic.co.nz/photocomp

Visit the Photographer of the Year exhibition at Karanga Plaza, adjacent to the Viaduct Events Centre from Saturday October 3 to Sunday November 1 (10am–5pm daily). Open until 9pm on Tuesday October 13th for the Late Night Art Event during Auckland Art Week.

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ABOUT NEW ZEALAND GEOGRAPHIC:

New Zealand Geographic magazine is the journal of record for New Zealand, celebrating its people, places and wildlife. The magazine has built a strong reputation for lavish photography, showcasing the natural and cultural riches that make New Zealand unique. The New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year competition launched in 2009 and has become New Zealand’s most popular photographic competition. In 2014, a free public exhibition of finalist images and best work from previous years, toured Auckland and Christchurch, attended by some 33,000 visitors and attracted more than 36,000 votes for the People’s Choice Award.

FULL LIST OF 2015 FINALISTS

FINALISTS:

SOCIETY & CULTURE

Alan Gibson: Sand artists near Mt Maunganui

David White: Girl performing a pukana on a horse

Ricky Wilson: Muddy boys being hosed down by firefighters

Richard Robinson: Cat rescuer surrounded by felines

Iain McGregor: ‘Color Run’ afterparty in Christchurch

Iain McGregor: A home bordering Christchurch’s red zone

Arno Gasteiger: Man dragging a large broadbill onto his boat

Lawrence Smith: Police barricade at a budget protest

LANDSCAPE

Jeff McEwan: Whanganui Coastline from the air

Jason Hosking: Giant waves at Palliser Beach

Michinori Kagawa: A frosty morning in Mt Cook National Park

Susan Blick: Dawn looking over the Hauraki Gulf towards Rangitoto

WILDLIFE

Alex Stammers: A juvenile fish sheltering within a jellyfish

Spencer Clubb: Seals cavorting at Cape Palliser

Richard Sidey: Salvin’s albatrosses dwarfed by a large swell

Jeanette Nee: Monarch butterfly at Te Puna Quarry Park

Richard Robinson: Blue shark rearing out of the water

Kyle Taylor: Fur seal diving at Poor Knights Islands

PHOTOSTORY

Cam McLaren: Inside the religious community of Gloriavale

Richard Robinson: Bow-hunting carp fish in the Waikato River

Peter Meecham: The finals of Miss Universe New Zealand

Neil Silverwood: Exploring Bulmer Cavern, NZ’s largest cave system

TIMELAPSE:

Mark Gee: Moonrise over Mt Victoria

Mark Gee: Nightscapes around the Wellington region

Bevan Percival: Tongariro National Park

Bevan Percival: Star scenes around New Zealand

Jordan Poste: Glowworms in Waipu Cave, Northland

Steven Pearce: A giant rimu tree in Pureora Forest

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