The Winner!

Congratulations to Paul Whitham APSNZ, the winner of the Canon Online round 1 for 2025.  There were 145 entries in this round.

A bit of history about Paul:

I started photography back in the late 1970s at school when one of the teachers formed s club. I carried it on at the university when I had access to their camera club darkroom. But after graduating life got in the road and photography went onto the back burner. I really didn’t pick it up again until 2007 when I bought my first decent digital SLR camera. After spending a year trying to master it myself with varying degrees of success I decided that I needed to be in control. So I enrolled in a night class and that lead onto joining Camera clubs and eventually PSNZ.

While I have dabbled in most genres I learned early on that my passion was people and that is what I mainly shoot.  I also like control so I prefer to shoot in studio rather than under natural light.

About the winning image:

The image was taken at a session where I was teaching a fellow club member how to use studio strobes. The model Aurora was positioned between two gridded strip boxes and this created a really good look. The old camera is part of my collection and I tend to take an image of it with every model shoot I do as a way of linking them together.

It is amazing how other people can look at your work and read much more into them than what you were thinking at the time.

 

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The judge for this round was Christopher Parkin APSNZ.

An introduction to Christopher:

I’ve been teaching Photography at the Southern Institute of Technology for over 11 years. I’ve also branched out to teaching pottery and am a city councillor, so life is busy and full of variety.

I don’t get out as much as I’d like to with my camera, but last weekend I had the pleasure of taking images for a camp with Christian Fellowship for the Disabled, Wellington. I got out my very old Fujifilm waterproof camera and it’s amazing to see how far the technology has come over that time (the image quality was terrible!). While the technology has changed, it’s the brain behind the camera that is the key piece of equipment.

It’s the stories that we tell using our cameras that matter, I hope you enjoy the stories that these images tell as much as I have enjoyed selecting them.

 

 

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Judge’s Comments

Firstly, I’d like to say thank you for the privilege of judging Canon Online. It’s been a few years since I’ve done this and its always a pleasure to see the quality of work coming through. The storytelling in some of the images you will see is brilliant along with the technical expertise.

Top Three Note: these three were really hard to differentiate, and they changed places during the process a few times, so well done to everyone. (To the authors of # 2 & 3, feel free to email me if you would like to know what I would change and what stopped this from placing higher Chris.Parkin@SIT.ac.nz )

1st Shooting from the Shadows | Paul Whitham APSNZ

A lovely portrait, well light and composed, but with such an intriguing story. As photographers, we often get to see and capture people metaphorically naked, at their most venerable or ecstatic. This is a fascinating take and reflection on our mahi.

Nice to see the twin lens reflex getting some work done as well.

2nd Nap Time | Brent Higham

Such a cute image.

The focus on the birds in pin sharp and the story is lovely. Good use of the soft background to add to the sense of place. The splash of white of the eyes of the Tauhou really helps to hold your attention.

3rd Weeping Dahlia | Brian Turner LPSNZ

Wow, brilliant use of colour that adds to the overall effect. I love the way the move drops down the right side of the flower and billows around the left mimicking the shape of the flower.

4th Fleur de Dahlia | Sandra Jones

This image has an elegant simplicity that I’m drawn too. Reminiscent of Blossfeldt’s work with a great use of a high key set up, nailing the focus to the centre of the flower and letting the stem go out of focus. The twisted petal on the left side helps break the balance.

5th Cramped | Chryseis Vivienne Phillips

I love the visual playfulness here even though the subject could be quite dark. The use of a tight crop above the subject, while normally something you want to avoid, works very well in this setting as it adds to the feeling of being trapped. The NASA tee-shirt is a great touch.

6th Sandgrouse Rising from Water | Sherilee Swanepoel

Brilliant timing and a very difficult shot from a technical perspective. Really well seen, ensuring that the bird is fully illuminated, and the water splash is dark creating an interesting secondary focal point.

7th Crown Towers, Sydney | Kate Burton

A striking architectural shot. Great use of black and white to simplify the overall image. I love the sweep and twist of the glass fronted tower paired with the two more brutalist towers in the background. The leading lines in this image all lift you up to the peak of the tower and the point of the triangle.

8th Grace | Lynn Fothergill LPSNZ

A classic portrait with the subject well differentiated from an attractive background (good use of Bokah here). The fly away hairs and quizzical expression on her face add to the overall effect.

9th For Our Entertainment | Roy Cernohorsky

Effective lighting to give shape to the rhino horn and to provide the needed contrast to focus our attention on the eye. An effective use of a vignette to hold our attention.

The title adds to the story well with the animal’s posture communication the sense of despair.

10th The Deer Hunter | Karen Moffatt-McLeod APSNZ

I love the way you have used the antlers to frame her face.

Good use of the reds to suggest blood and a neutral background with lighting that helps us focus on the subject. Nice job with the placement of the hair so we can see her eyes.