NZ Geographic Awards Night 2017

Beautiful backlit display of my Milford Sound print which was a finalist in the Landscape category

On Wednesday we attended the NZ Geographic Awards Night 2017 in Auckland. The 2016 event had been the highlight of my photographic career, being a finalist with Edin and taking the runner-up place in the Landscape section. Being a finalist again in 2017 was nice validation that I have some ability at driving a camera but was not quite the same as last time when I could share the excitement with Edin. The NZ Geographic Awards Night 2017 made up for it. Despite not achieving a placing this year, the entire evening was fantastic.

Entry to NZ Geo Photography of the Year 2017 exhibition at Auckland Museum.

The beginning of the Landscape section. Takashi Tsuneizumi's winning image obscured on the far right. — The beginning of the Landscape section. Takashi Tsuneizumi’s winning image obscured on the far right.

More of the landscape finalists. Yan Zhanh's image at the right of stars reflecting on the snow was runner up. — More of the landscape finalists. Yan Zhanh’s image at the right of stars reflecting on the snow was runner up.

Winner of the Landscape category, Takashi Tsuneizumi. Stirling Falls at Milford Sound is probably photographed by every visitor but not quite like this. A well deserved winner.

The exhibition has moved from the Viaduct to the Auckland War Memorial Museum which also hosts the international Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. This year, for the first time, the Wildlife Photographer images had been displayed as backlit prints. At first I had found this a bit odd. The one image that really looked good to me was one of glowing lava at night and I felt that this was because we are used to seeing subjects (and prints) reflecting light and not emitting light toward us. Glowing lava does emit light which is why that specific image seemed to work especially well in the Wildlife Photographer exhibition.

Wildlife images with Chris Helliwell's lovely Kingfisher and Dabchick images — Wildlife images with Chris Helliwell’s lovely Kingfisher and Dabchick images

Chris Helliwell looking at the winner of the Resene Colour Award, Joanne Ottey's Jumping Spider. — Chris Helliwell looking at the winner of the Resene Colour Award, Joanne Ottey’s Jumping Spider.

The backlit print display at the Auckland Museum exhibition is stunning. This was first used for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition earlier this year.

Maybe it is just getting used to a new display or getting used to seeing images on-screen more but the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017 exhibition is beautiful. The standard of entries seems to have gone up a notch yet again and the venue displays them breathtakingly. The fact that all images have to be taken in New Zealand since January 2016 showcases the amazing natural beauty of our little country and passion and talent of the photographers.

More wildlife finalists. Great to see that there is still a place for B&W with Alex Stammers' photo of a NZ Fur Seal at the Poor Knights. — More wildlife finalists. Great to see that there is still a place for B&W with Alex Stammers’ photo of a NZ Fur Seal at the Poor Knights.

Some of the aerial finalist images. Rob Suisted's winning image on the left. — Some of the aerial finalist images. Rob Suisted‘s winning image on the left.

Passion, like awesome, tends to be an overused term but it seems the only good word to describe the commitment of many of the photographers. One of the real pleasures of the NZ Geo Awards night is having the chance to speak with other photographers. In a sense it is a bit like a support group for fellow sufferers of a chronic condition. In my medical world, at conferences or workshops there seem always to be egos and point scoring. Photographically there seems only to be sharing and mutual celebration. Awe at the natural world and the motivation to communicate to protect this overrides everything and there is none of the self-centred self promotion that seems to infect colleagues in my other life. Maybe there are just more introverts in nature photography.

Richie Robinson and James Frankham spoke about the challenges and excitement of 360 degree filming underwater and with drones to create footage for virtual reality. This footage can be presented though a headset that allows the viewer to move their head and look around the as though in the environment. This is a very exciting way to engage people in something they would otherwise not experience and as a result hopefully care more than they otherwise would. Few of us are lucky enough to experience the wild places impacted by our modern lifestyle and fully appreciate our effect on them. If more can appreciate the wonders of the world they may be more inclined to make the small changes that can add up to improving the situation. Richie has been doing some incredible work recently and those who have seen David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2 will have seen some of his images. The image of False Killer Whales promoting the first episode was also his.

Richie Robinson talking about the challenges of 360 degree video capture.

I really enjoyed catching up with Jason Hosking who has been a finalist in multiple categories the past 2 years after having taken out the supreme award in 2015. Read his bio to see what I mean about talented, passionate people wanting to make a difference by communicating with images. It was also great to meet Chris Helliwell who had 2 stunning bird images in the finals. I have admired his work for some time and was pushed down the ranks in this year’s birdsAplenty competition by his Kingfisher image. It is reassuring to know others suffer from similar afflictions to ourselves.

Overall winner of NZ Geo Photographer of the Year 2017 was Neil Silverwood. He had a stunningly lit underground landscape image that I was surprised hadn’t been recognised with a placing. He placed in the photo-story category and was also a finalist in the aerial category so the overall award was very well deserved. With overseas entrants taking out some of the awards it was nice to have a New Zealand photographer recognised and Neil brought some real kiwi to the evening. On his first visit to the stage he commented “my girlfriend told me not to drink too much and not to make a speech. Here I am 4 beers in with a microphone in my hand”! Classic.

New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2017, Neil Silverwood.

The change in venue has really ramped the NZ Geographic Photographer of the Year exhibition and Awards Night up a level. The NZ Geographic Awards Night 2017 definitely goes down as one of the memorable moments of my life. I would highly recommend attending the exhibition which is free with entry to the Auckland Museum and runs until Sunday 25 February 2018.