This year has been an outstanding one for me. The greatest achievement for me has come having been awarded the Panasonic Lumix 2017 New Zealand Geographic Photographer of The Year for time-lapse. It is the culmination of dedication, planning, and a lot of hard work. In some instances, it was spending whatever it costs just to get the shot with the sole aim of submitting my absolute best work. The awards night was special for me – it was my birthday and I could not have asked for a better present.
The New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious of all photo competitions we have in New Zealand. “The exhibition is the work of the very best eyes in the country” says publisher, James Frankham. Some 3500 entries were received. Each year, the entries increase and the standard of work gets better and better. For me, that means lifting my game and striving to do something more than last time. The competition is tough. One thing is for sure, you can never predict what the judges are thinking. Time-lapse photographers constantly strive to do something different thereby setting the new benchmark. Not only with the camera and scene, but more so now in post production which involves enormous amounts of time in front of the computer.
The exhibition this year was something very special. Lifting the game to another level, the work is on show at the Auckland Museum until Sunday 25 February. Images are displayed on back-lit panels to reveal every stunning detail which really makes them ‘pop’. The dimly lit gallery shows the colour depth making this a first for the homegrown exhibition. All the time-lapses are stunningly displayed on 75-inch ultra high definition televisions which shows so much detail. It’s a bit like the awesome footage you see on the display TVs in the electronics showroom.
For the past two years, Wellington, the city where I live, has been overlooked as a venue to show the work of the country’s best photographers. I will be working hard with Wellington City Council and New Zealand Geographic to get this to the creative capital in 2018. Anyway, congratulations to all the finalists and my fellow time-lapsers. Here’s a slideshow from the awards night at the Auckland Museum.
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My bragging rights extend to another time-lapse achievement this year, which I’m also proud of. I was fortunate to be selected as a finalist in the time-lapse category of the Photo Nightscape Awards, an international astrophotography competition hosted in France. What is also working well for me in 2017 has been the selling of my stock time-lapse footage having only started this a year ago. It’s always gratifying to check my email inbox and notice that a clip has just been sold. Some clips have sold more than once which gives me an indication of what footage is popular or in demand.
Lastly, a further achievement for me this year had been setting up this website to make my time-lapse work more prominent. There will be a few more functionality tweaks as time permits. I reckon this site is better than it has ever been. What do you think ? Your feedback is always welcome.
Thanks for visiting ! Come back throughout 2018 to be informed of upcoming projects.