Photography competitions are something that I am a little conflicted on. At the simplest level I don’t see photography (or flyfishing) as a competitive sport. I pursue both as simply selfish pleasures that nourish the soul and add immense enjoyment to my life. Practicing either with another person adds to the pleasure in having the opportunity of sharing the joy and excitement of being outdoors and achieving a goal. Sharing and appreciating the images in photography adds to that pleasure. It is never a competition to see who can make the best picture (what ever that is). My images give me pleasure and I don’t care what others think of them. If you like them, that’s great and I would appreciate knowing specifically what you like about them as that interests me. 

Having said that, photography competitions (like flyfishing competitions) do exist and have a place. Edin has done remarkably well in competition and has, as a result, achieved a profile as a photographer that has brought her a number of opportunities. We both have had some competition success over the past few years and it adds some credibility in the workshops we teach to be able to show images that have been recognised with awards. It is important to see competitions in context though. They are purely subjective and for every winning image there can be many other equally good images that would have succeeded with different judges or even the same judges on different days. It is important to have a bit of a thick skin when submitting images.

Selecting images to enter is a horrible process as it needs you to try and be objective with your images. This is almost impossible as we are emotionally invested in them and they remind us of the feeling we had being in the situation and taking the photo. We should all be our own harshest critic and that can further complicate the selection process as we can see all the flaws in our images. I have had images that I almost didn’t submit because of a flaw that spoiled it for me but was ignored by the judges. It really helps to have someone else to help in the selection process. Edin explained this point well in a recent post on her blog. We will usually make a shortlist of photos and then discuss them with each other. Last year for the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year competition I had an image that I had decided not to enter and she convinced me to put it in. The judges obviously saw what she saw in it and shortlisted it for review. Another panel of judges shortlisted the same image in another competition this year so it obviously has some merit despite the flaws I see in it. Non-photographers can also give good advice as they can react to images without the baggage that goes with analysing technical details too closely.

Photography competitions can be fun and the shared success Edin and I had last year in the New Zealand Geographic competition made it more than twice as much fun than if we had individually had success. It is important to look carefully at the terms and conditions of any competition you plan to enter as many “competitions” are merely image gathering exercises where photographers sign over their rights to their photos. Always ensure that any copyright stays with the photographer and that any rights you are granting by entering are clearly stated. 

The pinnacle of wildlife photography competitions is the Wildlife Photographer of the Year run by the Natural History Museum. This is the Olympics of wildlife photography and has a stunning level of imagery. I was very lucky to have one of my Snow Petrel images shortlisted by the judges in 2016 competition. See this post for the story behind the image and how it only cost me a missed beer and  sausage.

Regionally the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year, is an option for New Zealand photographers as images  need to be captured in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica or New Guinea to be eligible. In New Zealand, the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year competition is the most prestigious as it is open to amateurs and professionals with a very high standard of entries. It has a junior section which Edin won in 2014.

The D-Photo Amateur Photographer of the Year is a larger competition with free entry but only open to amateurs. Edin won the overall prize in this competition in 2014 and we both were awarded category prizes last year.

Local to the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Whakatane has an annual birdsAplenty festival which includes a bird photography competition. This competition is a little unusual in that it offers cash prizes instead of photography gear donated by sponsors. I was lucky last year to get a highly commended (White-faced Heron) and a runner-up (Gull Chase) in the 2 adult categories in this competition.  

The birdsAplenty entries close on 6 October 2017 so there is still time to get your entries in for this year.