Summer photo competition: Winning photo captured during 'spur of the moment'

And the winners are ...

Every year the Herald sees hundreds of airborne Kiwi kids jumping, bouncing or bombing their way through summer.

However, rarely do we see a child so full of joy as we did this year when Robyn Anderson captured a terrific photo of her grandson, Mason.

The 3-year-old was playing in the water at Kai Iwi Lakes and was being hoisted skyward by his poppa Kerry with a grin ear-to-ear.

Mason Anderson having fun with his poppa Kerry at Kai Iwi Lakes. Photo by Robyn Anderson

"Mason loves the camera so he was all smiles and I managed to fluke [the photo]," Robyn Anderson told the Herald.

"It was [a] flukey shot really, that I managed to get him with such a clear expression on his face.

"It was literally a spur of the moment. Mason was just playing in the water with his poppa - my husband Kerry - started throwing him into the air."

The family heads to Kai Iwi Lakes each summer and Anderson said they had only just returned home.

Anderson said she was "pretty stoked" she had won the competition and since hearing the news, Mason's dad has already put his hand up for her old camera.

Jack Buckley pushes sister Ruby on the clothes line, while little brother Luke tests the sprinkler. Photo by Katie Buckley.

Second prize went to Katie Buckley with a black and white photo of the three Buckley siblings making the use of their sprinkler and clothesline.

Meanwhile, a drone photograph of a horse casting a shadow as it walks through a paddock by Jimmy Wu captured our third prize.

Head of Visuals for NZME, Chris Marriner, said the competition is a great way to get an insight to our readers' holidays.

"The images provide a window into all the diverse ways that we enjoy this special time of year," he said.

Jimmy Wu captures some shadow play at Whitford.

First prize winner Robyn Anderson won a Canon EOS 800D EF-S 18-55 DSLR camera (Kit $1599).

Second prize winner Katie Buckley won a Canon EOS M100 with EF-M 15-45 mirrorless camera (RRP $999).

Third prize winner Jimmy Wu won a Canon PowerShot G9XII Digital compact camera (RRP $799).