Colin Gosden was named Photographer of the Year for a picture of a pipipi, or brown creeper, dangling from a pittosporum tree.
Mr Gosden said being in the right place at the right time was the trick to snapping his prizewinning picture.
He had been attempting to photograph a "very unco-operative" bellbird when the pipipi landed in front of him.
"They usually move very quickly. I was lucky enough that it stayed long enough to get three photos of it."
This was the second year Mr Gosden had entered the contest, and the lifelong photographer had focused on birds for the past five years.
Competition judge Craig McKenzie said although the pipipi was quite common around Dunedin, it was difficult to take a good picture.
"It’s a bird that lives up in the canopy [which is] quite twiggy, so it’s really hard to get a clear photograph of one."
The winning photograph was notable for both its clarity and the posing of the bird, Mr McKenzie said.
Oscar Hetherington was runner-up to the main prize, and also won the Landscape category with a vista in Mt Aspiring National Park.
Emily Aubin was named Youth Photographer of the Year for a picture of a young tern being fed at Pancake Rocks, and Geoff Marks was the best first time entrant for a shot of a pair of boisterous kea.
Gretta Wallace was the winner of the adult botanical category and Jack Aubin won the youth botanical category.
Oscar Hetherington gained the all ages landscape award and Brian Anderson was the winner of the over 15 video category.
Katja Riedel won the award for all ages impact photography.
