Night shot of Whanganui architecture highly commended in photography awards

Walkers on a bridge were photographed by Feilding's Heather Hocken. Photo / Supplied

Buldings that look good in daylight can really come alive at night, Whanganui architect Duncan Sinclair says.

He's the convenor of this year's New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) Western Branch digital photographic competition. The subject, built architecture at night, drew nearly 50 entries.

The winner was Feilding's Heather Hocken, for her photograph of people moving on a bridge. The judges liked the horizontal bridge panels and time-lapse photography, which gave the illusion of a moth flitting around the single bridge lantern.

Ms Hocken gets $500 for her effort.

All the entries are on the Black Pine Architects Facebook page, and they are striking.

The judges chose to highly commend a second image. It's a photograph of a Whanganui building at night, taken by Palmerston North's Kelly Taylor.

Palmerston North's Kelly Taylor photographed the exterior of this Whanganui building. Photo / Supplied

They liked the streetlight, the shadows, angles and the building's different textures and paint finishes.

The prize will be given at the NZIA Western Branch architectural awards night, on May 11, at Heritage House in St Hill St, Whanganui. It begins with a free public talk at 4pm, by NZIA gold medal winner Andrew Patterson.

The awards presentation follows, at 6.15pm.

The branch has held the photographic competition every year since 2011, Mr Sinclair said. Its purpose is to draw attention to good architecture.

It's open to people in the Taranaki/Whanganui/Manawatu region, and images must be taken within the region.

This year's judges were Whanganui photographer Mark Brimblecombe and architectural designer Fran Loader.