Capital Photographer Of The Year Competition Returns For 2022

Capital magazine is bringing back the Wellington region’s biggest photography competition – Capital Photographer of the Year. Entry is free and open to all ages. Prizes up to $1500 cash awarded.

There are six categories to enter, each with a $500 prize.

· Whenua, sponsored by Interislander, captures the beauty of the region’s lands and sea.

· Society, sponsored by ArtZone magazine, celebrates the people of Wellington.

· Structure, sponsored by Warren and Mahoney, showcases the forms and constructed elements that make up our region.

· Inside, the first of three new categories, focuses on our post-pandemic relationship with the indoors.

· Movement celebrates the art of capturing motion in a still image.

· Rangatahi, sponsored by Massey University, is open to any kind of regional photo, provided the photographer is 21 years of age or under.

Capital Photographer of the Year (CPotY) celebrates Wellington and the wider region – its beauty, its creativity, and its people. “CPotY is all about storytelling and that’s what we do best,” says Capital Art Director Shalee Fitzsimmons. “We share the stories of Wellington, and this competition is the perfect extension of that.”

The supreme winner – dubbed Capital Photographer of the Year 2022 – will receive a further $1000 gifted by competition convenor Mazz Scannell. “This all began as a lockdown idea,” says Mazz. “The scale and originality of last year’s entries absolutely blew us away: seeing Wellington through more than 1200 individual lenses showed us the beauty and dynamic nature of the city, and the sheer creativity of its residents.”

Other supporters of CPotY include Splendid Photo. CPotY judge Sean Aickin, managing director of Splendid Photo, says not to worry about camera quality: your idea trumps your gear. “We’ve seen amazing shots on disposable cameras and terrible shots on Hasselblad cameras. You can be a casual smartphone photographer or a serious photographer with all the gear, and it’s judged blind.”

Mayor of Wellington Andy Foster said “It’s always a wonderful thing when members of our community are given avenues to express their aroha for our beautiful city. CPotY provides great windows on Wellington through the camera lens.”

This year’s finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges comprising some of the country’s top photographic and creative talent. A full list of judges will be announced next week. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Wellington in July.

Entries close on 27 April 2022

To enter: https://capitalmag.co.nz/cpoty/

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