Congratulations to Helen Oliver LPSNZ, the winner of the Canon Online round 1 for 2025.  There were 143 entries in this round.

A bit of history about Helen:

Photography has been a passion for me most of my life. I learned to develop film and print images at Design School in Wellington. My photography then was exclusively black and white.

To me, digital photography was and is an exciting development. I learned the basics of digital developing through distance learning and built on that by attending some workshops and by playing. I find the digital development as well as the building of imaginative images to be a lot of fun.

I live in a rural area in a lovely part of the country and I am a member of the Greymouth Photography Club . My photography is of what I see or can find locally including macro and some landscape.

About the winning image

This image is my solution to a prompt from a weekly challenge group that I belong to. The prompt was ‘Chair’. I have no idea where this solution came from – it just popped up in my head. I took all of the elements for this on one day except for the cloud which I took the day before because I saw a good cloud that wasn’t too cluttered. It was all taken and built in colour but didn’t really work until I converted it to mono. I aimed for a vintage feel.

 

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The judge for this round was Simon Forsyth

An introduction to Simon:

I have been interested in photography for over 50 years, and had a professional studio for 20 years. I have endured the change from film to digital with its issues.

I am a PSNZ Accredited judge, as well as mentoring people.

My interests at present are landscape photography, especially places where there aren't many people, and learning more about processing, as well as black and white, which reveals something in an image that can be reduced with colour!

Even after 50 years there is still something to learn as things keep changing and improving!

 

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Judge’s Comments

The overall quality of the images was excellent, and the range of subjects and genres was great. I enjoyed the experience of perusing and judging this set of images.

 

1st Sweeping - Helen Oliver LPSNZ

The surreal idea behind this image works well for me. The use of black and white forces the viewer to examine it that colour wouldn’t do.

There is an air of mystery here that raises the question of whether the woman is just holding up the broom to the sky, or whether the cloud and sky are actually painted on a wall!

Well thought out!

 

2nd Following the coast - Markham Mail APSNZ AFIAP

The quirkiness of the aircraft in this image caught my eye as the wings remind me of the car in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The overall blue-green tone of the image causes the pink helmet and bits of red to stand out. The image also makes me want to know more about the plane.

The positioning of the plane level with the shore and the composition are great.

 

3rd Not looking, not looking, not... - Lynda Leng LPSNZ

The composition and use of black and white works well here. If colour had been used, it would have detracted from the overall impact.

This is an example of waiting for the decisive moment, then taking the picture. The posture of the man fits well with the title.

Using a square crop removes anything that might be distracting!

 

4th Binary - Sandra Jones

This is well thought out, with the placement of the glasses against the background and the chequered pattern in the glasses contrasting well against the background.

Minimising the tones helps keep everything simple and gives the image impact.

The lighting is great, and it is obvious that creating this image took some planning.

For me, the simplicity of the image makes me keep coming back to it!

 

5th Half - Allysa Carberry APSNZ

The use of steampunk paraphernalia, with the contrast between the red glasses and the blue-green of the object on the hat, grabs the viewer’s attention.

The fact that the image has been composed with only half of the person’s face being shown is good, as it creates lots of tension in the image!

The use of minimal depth of field helps make the person stand out.

The slight colour cast gives the image a cinematic look.

 

6th Windows-Hobbit-Style - Angela  Harris

These three images put together in a triptych work well together. The windows placed in the left and right panes help contain the viewer and draw them to the middle image.

The use of black and white and a slight drawing look all help the set, as does the shadow effect on the bottom and right sides of the individual images.

Individually, each image wouldn’t be as captivating as the three together!

 

7th Trees on Beams - Iain Galloway LPSNZ

The simplicity of this image, with two trees and some light beams, works very well. The minimalism helps keep the viewer within the frame. The direction of the light beam leads the viewer into the frame from the left and across the frame to the right.

The warm tone of the image works well.

 

8th Cernunnos Awakens - Karen Moffatt-McLeod APSNZ

The use of black and white works well here as it accentuates the smoke and also creates a sense of mystery.

The creation of this has obviously required some careful planning, and you are to be congratulated for the execution.

The surreal nature of the image keeps me looking at it because it is so unreal.

The framing of the subject is great with no wasted space.

 

9th Mandarin Cocktail - Nicola Jackson LPSNZ

The simplicity of this is great. The use of black as the background and foreground makes the glass stand out well! The lighting is great. The appearance of the glass being broken works well.

The inclusion of a piece of fruit in the glass helps break up what could be a monotonous image.

 

10th Watermelon Splash - Russell Taylor

The green and red colours in this image work well together.

Catching water droplets in action requires specialist equipment and lots of patience because each droplet is different! 

Composition is good and results in a balanced image. Exposure is great.