George Botha's winning shot of kids jumping from a pontoon at Whangaparaoa in 2022.
George Botha's winning shot of kids jumping from a pontoon at Whangaparaoa in 2022.
The hugely popular Herald summer photo competition is back, with three great Canon cameras to be won. Photo editor Alex Robertson explains how to enter and recalls some of our previous winners.
Summer is a time for holidays and fun, a time when memories are made that willlast a lifetime. And those memories linger for longer with a photo or two.
The New Zealand Herald has once again teamed up with Canon for the annual Summer Holiday Photo Competition, encouraging you to share your memories for the chance to win one of three cameras.
Many of those winning memories are of Kiwis having fun around the water enjoying the best of times and the best of weather.
The Bell Family at Whangamata won Debbie Bell the first competition in 2002.
That first winning entry, by Debbie Bell of Mt Eden, showed her husband and three boys paddling at Whangamatā in a classic summer holiday shot.
Last summer’s winner, the 21st award, featured kids on the water again. But the weather wasn’t so hot last year, as many of us will recall, and the competition’s best picture told a different story.
“We were cracking up when we looked at this picture,” said winning photographer Simeon Houtman. “[the kids] wanted to go fishing and when we rowed out it was raining, and the wind picked up. The kids were not really into it at that point.”
Simeon Houtman's picture classic - the first fishing adventure with a twist - won last year's competition.
Houtman’s photograph shows his brother, William, and twins Furio and Dulcie on their first fishing experience together. But it’s raining and the kids are looking cold and miserable.
“This is a real moment to treasure,” said competition judge and Herald chief photographer Dean Purcell. “The first time fishing is a classic picture that most Kiwi kids will have in their album. This one is made even more special by the slightly comical situation of terrible weather, the kids looking grumpy, but dad is still smiling, trying to put a brave face on it all. It’s just an outstanding photograph.”
First prize in the competition is a Canon EOS R10 mirrorless digital camera plus lens, with a recommended retail price of $1889.
Houtman’s picture is just one of thousands of incredible snaps sent in over the years and it’s always hard to pick the winner.
We expect this year to be no different and look forward to sorting through our mailbox over the coming weeks to seeing how you, our readers, are enjoying making summer memories.
