Pluteus' Fireflies, the Plants and Fungi section winner for Oceania, features Pluteus velutinornatus, with sunlight illuminating moss heads like tiny fireflies. Photo / Nic Wooding, TNC Photo
Pluteus' Fireflies, the Plants and Fungi section winner for Oceania, features Pluteus velutinornatus, with sunlight illuminating moss heads like tiny fireflies. Photo / Nic Wooding, TNC Photo
The power of photography to connect people with nature and inspire conservation action is celebrated in the winning entries for this year’s Nature Conservancy Photo Contest, announced this week.
New Zealand photographers made up a third of entries to the Oceania competition, which attracted 3500 images in all from Australia,Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Aotearoa.
Kiwis won category prizes in the regional contest, with Nic Wooding from Tasman region earning first place overall in the Plants and Fungi section with her image Pluteus’ Fireflies.
Wooding’s photo shows a Pluteus velutinornatus towering over moss heads backlit by sunlight in her incredible study.
“Every shot is a story of survival or majesty, a reminder that the natural world is part of us as much as we are part of it,” said Nature Conservancy Aotearoa New Zealand country director Abbie Reynolds, adding that the overall quality of this year’s images was astonishing.
“From pollinators to the weather, it is all part of a system that we totally rely on and often forget. Images can arouse curiosity, create an emotional connection or inspire action.”
Chin Kang Chia from Otago and Auckland’s Olivia Wenztell were placed third overall in Oceania in the Plants and Fungi and Lands categories, respectively.
Each country in the Oceania contest had its own winners over six categories, with some extraordinary pictures coming from Aotearoa New Zealand.
“New Zealanders from all over the motu have captured the awe of nature and much-loved landscapes we are working hard to protect,” said Reynolds.
“It’s a reminder that New Zealand is home to a huge array of species found nowhere else on earth.”
Kaitlin Groom won the Climate category with Surge, a powerful image of a lightning storm over the Paraparaumu Estuary.
“The colours feel natural and showcase the moody atmosphere superbly,” the judges said.
In the People and Nature category, Tony Stoddard was the winner with his image Return to the Wild, of kiwi being released at Mākara, Wellington, which also claimed second prize overall.
Return to the Wild, featuring Capital Kiwi placing two large kiwi into the sanctuary at Mākara, Wellington, earned Tony Stoddart second prize and won the People and Nature category. Photo / Tony Stoddard, TNC Photo
Colin Marshall won first prize in the Waters section with an image of eels in a Nelson river, with the judges saying, “The image captured a presence … the quiet mauri (life force) that sits beneath the surface."
Colin Marshall's photo of a pair of longfin eels (Anguilla dieffenbachii) in a tributary of the Wakapuaka River at Hira, Nelson, won the Water category. Photo / Colin Marshall, TNC Photo
“Technically, the exposure is beautifully balanced; nothing feels forced or overworked.”
Hocus Pocus by Chin Kang Kia won the Plants and Fungi category, in which he’d been runner-up last year, with the judges describing his photo taken in Pelorus Sound as “a fascinating formation, while bright, and rich in detail”.
Roger Smith won the Wildlife category with his rare shot of a kōtuku enjoying a bath in Waimanu Lagoons, Waikanae Beach.
Roger Smith won the Wildlife category with his shot of a kōtuku enjoying a bath in Waimanu Lagoons, Waikanae Beach. Photo / Roger Smith, TNC Photo
Regular Herald contributor Tim Cuff managed runner-up in both the Climate and People and Nature categories, with images of girls riding through floodwaters in Nelson and a whale stranding in Golden Bay.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organisation dedicated to conserving the lands and waters, creating innovative, on-the-ground solutions to the natural world’s toughest challenges so nature and people can thrive together.
Reynolds says photographers help to tell the stories of a beautiful yet fragile world, for which Nature Conservancy is working towards making a lasting difference.
“All photographers have an important role to play in capturing the awe of the natural world and inspiring us to reflect on the part we play in safeguarding its future,” she said.
