Russell Drew, Gregor Richardson, Izumi Schmidt Uchida, Craig McKenzie, Douglas Thorne, Nick Beadle and Shanaya Cunninghame had quite a challenge yesterday, arguing for the entries they believed should be category winners in the Tūhura Otago Museum Photography Competition.
Mr Beadle said it was his fourth year adjudicating the entries and the job was not getting any easier.
"There are some very, very impressive shots.
"Photography is so accessible now and everyone’s getting into it, so it’s actually cool to see the diversity and range of photos coming in.
"The beauty of Otago’s wildlife in these photos never fails to impress."
Ms Cunninghame said it was great to have such passionate photographers sitting around the table, all with different eyes and skill sets, so that everything was covered.
There was plenty of "robust" conversation in their search for the finalists, she said.
Museum marketing manager Charlie Buchan said this year’s event was the 25th anniversary of the competition, and it had a record numbers of entries.
"This year has set a new benchmark with an astounding 5453 entries, surpassing the previous record of 3646 entries in 2022.
"This remarkable increase is attributed to the ongoing enthusiasm for photography and the special activities celebrating the competition's silver anniversary.
"With the addition of the 25 Years Captured Exhibition and the Wild Dunedin Festival in April, we knew numbers would be strong, but this massive number was a welcomed sight — although I don’t feel envious for those judging these high calibre photographs."
Now that the judging was completed, there would be a private prizegiving ceremony for the finalists.
The winners would then be featured in the 25 Years Captured Exhibition, open to the public until mid-October.
