Animals – Tuesday 10 February
Entry Deadline – Sunday 18 January
Judge – Janet Munnings LPSNZ LRPS – accredited PSNZ judge – Written
https://www.facebook.com/janet.munnings/
The main subject is to be an animal/s. For this competition, Animal means “Mammal”. It can be a pet, domestic, wild, found at the zoo or anywhere. Birds, reptiles, fish and insects are not included. Although they are mammals, humans are also excluded.
Patterns in Nature – Tuesday 10 March
Entry Deadline – Sunday 15 February
Judge – Sheryl Williams APSNZ – accredited PSNZ judge – In person
https://www.facebook.com/snowcat648/
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/capcha/sets
Here, what is sought are visible regularities of form found in the natural world. This includes plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans and human creations. The actual pattern is to be the highlight of the image, so an artistic or creative treatment that showcases a particular pattern is the goal.
Blur – Tuesday 14 April
Entry Deadline – Sunday 22 March
Judge – Jenny Dowling – PSNZ trainee judge – Written
A “blur” is something that cannot be seen clearly; something unclear or indistinct. Blur can be achieved ‘in camera’ by setting a low shutter speed or deliberately moving the camera as the shutter is pressed. Blur can also be introduced in post processing with Photoshop or similar programmes. The aim is to create an image in which “blur” is obvious but is also engaging in some way.
Landscape/Seascape/Skyscape – Tuesday 12 May
Entry Deadline – Sunday 19 April
Judge – Gary McClintock FPSNZ – PSNZ trainee judge – Written
https://www.oursight.co.nz/about/gary-mcclintock
https://52frames.com/photographer/31979
Landscape; a prominent feature of the image should be a landform like mountains, valleys, forests and deserts, but it can include where the land meets the sea, river or lake showing some representation of both land and water.
Seascape; features the sea, ocean, or coastline as its main subject. It captures the interaction between water, sky, and land, and can include elements like beaches, cliffs, rocks, and piers.
Skyscape; depicts an extensive view of the sky and may or may not include land and/or water.
The scapes as described above should capture a sense of “space” and “place” telling a story of the scene before the camera. They may include human elements for scale and context but not to the extent that they become a prominent element. Cityscapes are not acceptable.
The image should clearly be either a landscape, seascape or skyscape; according to the above definitions.
NZ Natural History – Tuesday 26 May
Entry Deadline – Sunday 3 May
Judge – Vivianne Baldwin FPSNZ AFIAP – PSNZ trainee judge – Written
https://52frames.com/photographer/28570
New Zealand Natural History – MPS Definition
Dots, dashes or diagonals – Tuesday 9 June
Judge – Janet Munnings LPSNZ LRPS – accredited PSNZ judge – Written
https://www.facebook.com/janet.munnings/
Let your imagination run wild … you can find these things on buildings, road markings, signs, fences, trees, flowers … The subject of the image can be one, two or all three, but they need to be the main focus.
Monochrome – Tuesday 14 July
Judge – Eric Johnston – ex-longtime MPS member and photographer – In person
“Monochrome” means an image that is composed of varying shades of a single colour, not just black and white. While black and white is the most common example, a monochrome image can be any picture composed of only different tints and tones of one colour, such as blue, green, or red. This technique focuses on tonal contrast between light and shadow rather than colour contrast.
Water – Tuesday 11 August
Judge – Lee Riley – Event and portrait photographer – In person
https://www.flashphotos.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/lee.riley.58/
https://www.instagram.com/flashphotosnz/
Rivers, the sea, fountains, taps, a hose, water being poured, a puddle, a flood … The saying is ‘water, water everywhere’. Water can indeed be found pretty easily, but how to show “water” as the standout feature of an image? Water is to be the subject. A creative or different approach is the aim.
Set of Four – All Things Red – Tuesday 25 August
Judge – Dave Simpson APSNZ LRPS – accredited PSNZ judge – in person
https://www.facebook.com/davesimpsonphotography/
https://www.instagram.com/dave_simpson_photography/
The subject must actually be red. It is not just a matter of a red monochrome (that is July’s subject). Perhaps a subject wearing red clothing, a red vehicle or building, red still life objects, even a red sky. Having settled on a subject the goal is to highlight the red. And to do all this within the Set of Four framework.
Macro – Tuesday 8 September
Judge – Jane Thorne – artist – online
https://www.facebook.com/jane.thorne.artist/
https://www.instagram.com/littleblackbugs/
Macro photography, in simple terms, is the art of making small things look big. It goes beyond capturing ordinary pictures and focuses on revealing the extraordinary details that are often overlooked due to their size. It can be an extreme close-up photograph of a small subject, or a isolated detail from a larger one. How close can you get? And, can you present an ‘ordinary’ object in a dramatically different way by getting up close?
Sprout – Tuesday 13 October
Judge – Irene Callaghan APSNZ – accredited PSNZ judge – Written
The dictionary definition is: “a shoot of a plant; young shoots, especially of alfalfa, mung beans, or soybeans”. But perhaps, being a bit creative, anything that “sprouts” also fits the requirements. The real challenge is to present the “sprout” artistically, creatively, mysteriously or … ??? Just make sure the sprout is the focus.
Circles – Tuesday 10 November
Judge – Karen Lawton APSNZ – accredited PSNZ judge – online
https://www.lensculture.com/karen-lawton
Circles are everywhere … tyres, wheels, signs, plants, plates, windows, a camera lens … the list goes on. The key is to highlight a circle or circles as the main focus of the image.
Manukau Photographic Society 