Jason Hosking

Photographer of the Year 2015

Congratulations to the winners of the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2015. From 5800 entries, these are the finest visions of our environment and society, and this year’s contribution to the ever-expanding record of our place, and our people.

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A professional photographer of a decade's experience, Jason Hosking recently took to the skies in search of perspective, building a drone, mounting a camera, and finding entirely new angles on his subjects. The new aerial images complement his regular documentary work in a compelling way, adding unexpected and artful interpretations on the world below—fruit-pickers harvest a grapefruit orchard with red crates among trees billowing with fruit, the drone captures a new view high above the well-touristed Muriwai gannet colony and wakeboarder scythes down a river, weaving a fine white ribbon through forest and water.
A professional photographer of a decade’s experience, Jason Hosking recently took to the skies in search of perspective, building a drone, mounting a camera, and finding entirely new angles on his subjects. The new aerial images complement his regular documentary work in a compelling way, adding unexpected and artful interpretations on the world below—fruit-pickers harvest a grapefruit orchard with red crates among trees billowing with fruit, the drone captures a new view high above the well-touristed Muriwai gannet colony and wakeboarder scythes down a river, weaving a fine white ribbon through forest and water.
Gore teenager Jenny Mitchell prepares to take the stage at the 2014 Gold Guitar Awards. Country music clubs and competition at the Gold Guitars provide young performers an arena in which to hone their music and performance skills, but opportunities beyond the awards are limited in this country. For talented young artists such as Mitchell, Australia and America beckon.
Sheep jostle in a holding pen at Blue Sky Meats in Woodlands, Southland. The total number of sheep in New Zealand fell with the removal of farm subsidies from around 70 million in 1982 to dip below 30 million for the first time since the 1930s this year as land use changes and farm conversions—particularly to dairy, and particularly in the South Island—continue. Sheep meat makes up about half of all New Zealand’s meat exports. However, consumption of sheep, beef and poultry has fallen steadily since the mid 20th century, from 130 kilograms per person per year to 91 kilograms in the early 2000s.
Ricky Wilson had spent a couple of hours photographing Havelock’s annual Muddy Buddy adventure race—a costumed fun run and obstacle course—when the fire service arrived on the scene to hose down competitors covered head-to-toe in mud. He switched to a wide-angle lens and got in close. It was a typical day out for Wilson, who spends his weekends shooting sports and other public-interest events around the Tasman region.
Photographer David White travelled to the Urewera for a Sunday Star Times photo essay on the historic Treaty settlement with Tūhoe. “The backbone of the story was going to hinge on an interview with tribal elder Tame Iti, but from a photographic point of view, I wanted to concentrate more on the Tūhoe youth,” he says. In the village of Tuai, he came across nine-year-old Te Ataahia Lambert and her family; after a cup of tea, he asked if he could photograph the children while they tended their horses in the fading light. When he raised his camera to photograph Te Ataahia, she widened her eyes and clenched her mouth in a pūkana, a facial expression used for emphasis.
Photographer David White travelled to the Urewera for a Sunday Star Times photo essay on the historic Treaty settlement with Tūhoe. “The backbone of the story was going to hinge on an interview with tribal elder Tame Iti, but from a photographic point of view, I wanted to concentrate more on the Tūhoe youth,” he says. In the village of Tuai, he came across nine-year-old Te Ataahia Lambert and her family; after a cup of tea, he asked if he could photograph the children while they tended their horses in the fading light. When he raised his camera to photograph Te Ataahia, she widened her eyes and clenched her mouth in a pūkana, a facial expression used for emphasis.
Making long exposures of seascapes is a passion for photographer Susan Blick. “It allows me to blend photography with art and gives an image a story,” she says. This one, taken from Auckland’s North Shore facing Rangitoto Island, was made during a peaceful sunrise “where the sea was calm and the light fantastic”. An exposure of more than 500 seconds gives the image a soft, dreamy feel.
Making long exposures of seascapes is a passion for photographer Susan Blick. “It allows me to blend photography with art and gives an image a story,” she says. This one, taken from Auckland’s North Shore facing Rangitoto Island, was made during a peaceful sunrise “where the sea was calm and the light fantastic”. An exposure of more than 500 seconds gives the image a soft, dreamy feel.
Underwater photographer Richard Robinson was looking for mako sharks behind Little Barrier Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, and not having much luck. It was getting late in the afternoon, and he’d been out most of the day throwing berley into the water when a blue shark swung by to investigate, rearing out of the water barely half a metre from the dome of Robinson’s camera housing. “Blues are the most beautiful of the sharks in New Zealand,” he says. “I think they’re really elegant.”
Underwater photographer Richard Robinson was looking for mako sharks behind Little Barrier Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, and not having much luck. It was getting late in the afternoon, and he’d been out most of the day throwing berley into the water when a blue shark swung by to investigate, rearing out of the water barely half a metre from the dome of Robinson’s camera housing. “Blues are the most beautiful of the sharks in New Zealand,” he says. “I think they’re really elegant.”
Auckland photojournalist Peter Meecham always thought beauty pageants had plenty of photographic potential, so when an opportunity arose to document Miss Universe for Sunday magazine, he seized it—shooting an entire photo essay rather than the “two or three” pictures the accompanying story required. He knew the success of the series depended on access, so he negotiated complete freedom backstage and attended two long days of dress rehearsals at Sky City Theatre as well as the event itself, he says. “You’ve got to stay quite a while before people start to not notice you.”
Auckland photojournalist Peter Meecham always thought beauty pageants had plenty of photographic potential, so when an opportunity arose to document Miss Universe for Sunday magazine, he seized it—shooting an entire photo essay rather than the “two or three” pictures the accompanying story required. He knew the success of the series depended on access, so he negotiated complete freedom backstage and attended two long days of dress rehearsals at Sky City Theatre as well as the event itself, he says. “You’ve got to stay quite a while before people start to not notice you.”
During the five-kilometre Colour Run, inspired by the Hindu festival Holi, participants are encouraged to wear white clothing, and coloured powders are thrown at them as they loop the course at Canterbury Agriculture Park. But the day dawned grey and wet, and the colours blurred and ran together during the race. It wasn’t until the finish line dance party, when the mood lightened, that photojournalist Iain McGregor grabbed a plastic sleeve, wrapped it tightly around his camera, and joined in the fray. “I went back to the office with multi-coloured hair, multi-coloured clothes,” he says. “Colour got everywhere.”
During the five-kilometre Colour Run, inspired by the Hindu festival Holi, participants are encouraged to wear white clothing, and coloured powders are thrown at them as they loop the course at Canterbury Agriculture Park. But the day dawned grey and wet, and the colours blurred and ran together during the race. It wasn’t until the finish line dance party, when the mood lightened, that photojournalist Iain McGregor grabbed a plastic sleeve, wrapped it tightly around his camera, and joined in the fray. “I went back to the office with multi-coloured hair, multi-coloured clothes,” he says. “Colour got everywhere.”

“Twelve significant photos in any one year is a good crop.”

So reckoned legendary American landscape photographer Ansel Adams. He wasn’t wrong. In any given year the entrants in the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year shoot thousands of frames, then whittle them down, one by one, to a small handful they deem fit to enter in this competition.

This year the competition received 5800 entries, which were carefully sorted and selected again by a panel of four judges across five categories—Wildlife, Landscape, Society, PhotoStory and Timelapse. It was a taxing process, each judge sweating over the final shortlist to select one winner and a runner-up from among the many deserving entries, separating out worthy images by their unique ability to communicate an idea, an emotion, or telegraph the values of a people, place or ecosystem in a way that told the viewer something new or important.

Twenty-eight eye-wateringly good finalists were reduced down to 12 winners and runners-up—a ‘good crop’ of the most significant photographs shot in this calendar year. Each of them give the casual viewer a moment’s pause, and perhaps a new perspective on the country they thought they knew well.

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2015: JASON HOSKING

Each year special recognition is given to a photographer whose submitted portfolio exhibits a coherence of visual approach and technical excellence across all categories entered. Jason Hosking’s entries added innovation to those qualities also.

A professional photographer of a decade’s experience, Hosking recently took to the skies in search of perspective, building a drone, mounting a camera, and finding entirely new angles on his subjects.

The new aerial images complement his regular documentary work in a compelling way, adding unexpected and artful interpretations on the world below—fruit-pickers harvest a grapefruit orchard with red crates among trees billowing with fruit, the drone captures a new view high above the well-touristed Muriwai gannet colony, and a wakeboarder scythes down a river, weaving a fine white ribbon through forest and water.

Turning his lens upon human society he captured a photo essay of the sheep meat industry from life to lamb, challenging viewers and consumers alike, and submitted a frame into the Society category of a performer and engineer quietly going about a last-minute sound check backstage at the Golden Guitars country music awards in Gore. Perhaps his most powerful frame, however, was judged runner-up in the Landscape category; a breaker rolling into Palliser Bay—an image of raw natural power, but delicately back-lit by evening light.

These are images of our environment and society captured with ingenuity, commitment and empathy; the values that have always powered the world’s finest photojournalism, and also appear to drive the 2015 New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year.

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