Photographer of the Year is bigger and better than ever in 2023 with a whole new category—Sony Portrait—and new awards; Metlifecare Senior Photographer of the Year, Electric Kiwi Mobile and the RealNZ Environmental Impact Award. New sponsors have brought new prizes and with $8,000 cash up for grabs.

But it’s not all about odds, now, is it? Photographer of the Year celebrates photographic craft and those moments that make our society and environment unique. Be part of this new season of photography, and exhibit your work with the best photographs of 2023 in Britomart, Auckland. Finalists will be announced in early September, and will be voted on by the public for the Ockham Residential People’s Choice award. The winners will be announced at an awards night in Auckland on October 27.

Stay tuned for more details.

AWARDS

Categories include Resene Landscape, Britomart PhotoStory, Electric Kiwi Wildlife, Panasonic Lumix Society, Resene Built Environment, The North Face Adventure, Aerial, and the new Sony Portrait category. The RealNZ Photographer of the Year 2023 will be picked from all entrants, as will the Resene Colour Award, the Sony Young Photographer of the Year, Metlifecare Senior Photographer of the Year, Electric Kiwi Mobile Award and the RealNZ Environmental Impact Award.

All photos must have been shot after January 1, 2022 (except PhotoStory, after Jan 2021) and within New Zealand territory—including New Zealand-administered Pacific and Antarctic dependencies. A maximum of 26 entries per entrant over the six categories—so 20 images and one set comprising four to six images in the Photostory category. All finalists will have a crack at the Ockham Residential People’s Choice award, voted on by the general public. Read the full terms and conditions.

Finalists will be announced in early September, and will be voted on by the public for the Ockham Residential People’s Choice award. Winners will be announced at an awards night in Auckland on October 26.

Entries close midday, Wednesday 12 July, 2023—don’t leave it to the last minute!

Enter Photographer of the Year 2023

ENTRY FEE & FREE NZGEO.COM SUBSCRIPTION

Young photographers enter for free, but to cover the costs of the competition, there is a $25 entry fee for all others, payable with a credit card, and entrants can enter as many photographs as competition terms allow. Every entrant receives a free six-month subscription to nzgeo.com—2500 stories, 10,000 images and 250 hours of streaming natural history documentaries. (If you already have a digital subscription it will be extended by six months.)

TIPS

Read full terms and conditions

Read tips on how to win

AWARDS

REALNZ PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Chosen from amongst all entrants, the winning portfolio demonstrates skills, consistency and creative insights that make for quality visual storytelling. It rewards originality and competence across all the images entered, and the ability to reveal a fresh perspective on our land or people.

SONY YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

The young photographer is chosen from all entrants under the age of 25 on September 30, 2023, and like Photographer of the Year, the quality of the entire portfolio of entered images is considered.

METLIFECARE SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR — NEW FOR 2023

A new award to acknowledge the best portfolio of images shot by a photographer aged 60 and over on September 30, 2023.

OCKHAM RESIDENTIAL PEOPLE’S CHOICE

Visitors can vote on finalist images at the Photographer of the Year exhibitions in Auckland and on the New Zealand Geographic website. Public votes are tallied across the exhibition season in time for the awards night.

RESENE COLOUR AWARD

A special award that recognises special vision in the use of colour where it contributes to the success of the image. This award is chosen from amongst all entrants.

ELECTRIC KIWI MOBILE AWARD — NEW FOR 2023

Not all images are shot on cameras, and this new award recognises the best imagery shot on a mobile device—a phone, tablet, phablet or Raspberry Pi!

REALNZ ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AWARD — NEW FOR 2023

Chosen from all entrants, this new award is for the image that best expresses the threats to the structure and function of the natural world.

CATEGORIES

RESENE LANDSCAPE

Showcase the wonders of New Zealand—its mountains, wetlands, coasts and plains. The judges will be looking for attention to light and drama.

ELECTRIC KIWI WILDLIFE

Capture New Zealand’s flora or fauna in its natural environment. We are looking for images that exude life and show behaviour or adaptations that make the animal or plant unique.

BRITOMART PHOTOSTORY

A set of four to six images. Judges will be looking for the quality of the images overall, as well as how they work together to tell a story.

PANASONIC LUMIX SOCIETY

This category celebrates the traditions and relationships of all New Zealanders. The winning entry will be an image that captures our identity as a people.

RESENE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Our cities, towns and structures reflect who we are as a society and how we interface with the natural world. We are looking for images that exemplify this connection.

SONY PORTRAIT — NEW FOR 2023

A new category in 2023 celebrating the time-honoured art of the portrait photograph, exuding the personality and lived experience of the subject.

THE NORTH FACE ADVENTURE

A new category in 2022 covering outdoor adventure in Aotearoa—climbing, caving, diving, mountain biking, hiking, surfing. Tell the story of your adventure.

AERIAL

The aerial category celebrates the art of aerial photography, be it from planes, helicopters or drones. Judges will be looking for images that defy the old visions from above and bring innovation and new perspectives of our landscapes and life.