Overview
To capture the mundane and make it extraordinary takes a fair bit of talent; to go hunting for the extraordinary and attempt to capture it takes dedication and a fairly good camera. This year's entries into New Zealand's most popular photographic competition are a testament to thousands of Kiwis, their stories and crafts. Adventurers, a firefighter, rabbit hunters, film makers, a home schooling mum, an all-round sports player, a writer, a photographer from the Hobbiton film set, a graphic designer and a reptile park enthusiast are all among the selected 47 finalists in the 2016 New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year contest.
Categories such as Landscape, Wildlife, Society & Culture, Photo Story, Time-lapse and Aerial all portray story after story. These stories will be displayed at the Karanga Plaza in the heart of Auckland City for admirers and passers-by to ponder, critique and vote on—open daily from 10am to 5pm from October 8 - November 6.
Moments such as an aerial shot of Auckland's bright magenta cycle path, ice formations around Mt Ruapehu's crater lake in early spring, trees burning like candles in a bush fire, and the quiet awe of grand and broken interiors left to gather dust in the Christchurch earthquake red zone. One photographer abseiled 35 meters and dived through several pitch black underwater passages to capture a shot of the sump of Ruakuri Cave entirely lit by glow worms, while another collected images of Tongariro National Park, the favorite of which shows low cloud drifting over the ridge at the rim of The Red Crater. A portrait of a man spotlighting for flounders under the Wellington Harbor lights, an unaware kayaker strolling past a multi-million dollar beachside mansion engulfed in flames.
Unique perspectives, textures and people both behind the camera and in front of the camera will be celebrated this year in the largest exhibition in the competition's history.