Napier photographer snaps up prestigious photography award with patient cicada shot

Napier photographer Kirsteen Redshaw's photo Cicada with Sprouted Wings scooped the William C. Davies Memorial Trophy for the Best New Zealand Natural History Print.

Patience paid off for a nature photographer after her shot of a cicada emerging from its shell won her a national photography trophy.

Napier photographer Kirsteen Redshaw was awarded the William C. Davies Memorial Trophy for the Best New Zealand Natural History Print for her photo Cicada with Sprouted Wings in the 2025 Sony National Exhibition, hosted by the Photographic Society of New Zealand (PSNZ).

Napier nature photographer Kirsteen Redshaw.

The excitement was twofold for Redshaw – the exhilaration of winning the trophy, coupled with the elation of witnessing the cicada emerge.

Redshaw said she was honoured to win this trophy as it reinforced her passion for New Zealand’s natural world.

But she said she had to put her emotions to one side when capturing the winning photo.

“Seeing its soft, almost translucent, body emerge and the way in which the colours arose as the wings were pumped up to expand was incredible,” Redshaw said.

Seeing a cicada emerge from its shell requires patience. The process involves the nymph, the immature and wingless stage of the cicada, climbing up a tree or other object after emerging from the ground, where it sheds its exoskeleton. The adult cicada will then stay put while its wings harden, which takes a few hours.

Redshaw said she scouted the location of the photo along a narrow walking track in Kinloch on the shores of Lake Taupō and was looking for holes in the ground where cicadas emerge.

The empty exoskeletons littering the trees nearby indicated she was in the right place and later that night, she returned and got her winning shot.

“Once I found a cicada in the process of emerging, I positioned myself lying directly on the track to achieve a low angle to enable the emphasis to go on the insect’s delicate features,” Redshaw said.

“Shooting handheld with good lighting, it ensured I captured the intricate details.”

While the preparation gave Redshaw the best chance of success, nature still dictated the exact moment – making the final image a blend of patience, preparation and luck.

For this passionate photographer, there is reward and motivation for winning the trophy, but what made it special was that she came to understand that not many people get a chance to see this part of the natural world up close, saying it was a truly unique experience to be treasured.

PSNZ president Caroline Ludford said the annual exhibition is a key event on New Zealand’s photographic calendar and represents some of the most outstanding works by New Zealand photographers.

“For a PSNZ member to have their image accepted in this prestigious exhibition is a real honour, to win a trophy is an even greater honour,” Ludford said.