Winners announced for MFish photography competition
8 February 2008
Four winners have been selected for the Ministry of Fisheries Photography Competition.
The overall winner and winner of the aquatic ecosystems category went to Kura Paul-Burke from Whakatane.
Her image, Deep, blue kina, was taken while hauling heavy nets of kina by hand after free diving at White Island.
Judges of the competition noted that her image was hugely atmospheric, had great depth and brilliant colour contrast.
The winner of the commercial section was Peter Langlands of Christchurch whose image, Shooting trawl gear at dawn, epitomised a typical commercial fisher in New Zealand during a reflective moment at sea.
The customary winner went to Alan Riwaka from Wellington. His shot, “I’ll eat this one” was captured at Waikawa Marae at Queen Charlotte Sound.
Judges said the picture encapsulated a fun, spontaneous moment of being together during a customary gathering.
Finally, the winner of the recreational category was Juergen Schacke from Hokitika. His image, Local knowledge, captured a whitebaiter at sunset along the Hokitika River mouth.
Judges said his image caught a number a different elements very simply with great composition and use of brilliant light.
More than 250 entries were received for the inaugural competition.
“We were delighted to see such a wide range of high quality images from all around New Zealand,” says Ministry of Fisheries chief executive Wayne McNee.
“The competition raises awareness of aquatic biodiversity and sustainable fishing practices within New Zealand and is a great way to celebrate New Zealand’s connection with the sea,” he says.
The winning entries, as well as selected others, will be displayed at an exhibition at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington from March 2030, 2008.
Judges were Ross Giblin from Wellington’s Dominion Post, Athol McCredie, Curator of Photography at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland underwater photographer Darryl Torckler and Simon Woolf, a well-known Wellington photographer.