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Photographer of the Year 2014

Congratulations to the winners of the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2014. From 3400 entries, these are the finest visions of our environment and society, and this year’s contribution to the ever-expanding record of our place, and our people.

Congratulations to the winners of the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2014. From 3400 entries, these are the finest visions of our environment and society, and this year’s contribution to the ever-expanding record of our place, and our people.

Whitebaiters clear sock-nets of catch and “compost” on a stretch of pebbly beach along the north spit. A replica of the original signalman’s mast sits above them in the carpark. A combination of coloured balls and raised flags was once used to warn vessels of dangerous conditions before entering the river. Siltation from sluicing operations upstream at Kaniere means few boats venture to sea over the Hokitika Bar these days.
Whitebaiters clear sock-nets of catch and “compost” on a stretch of pebbly beach along the north spit. A replica of the original signalman’s mast sits above them in the carpark. A combination of coloured balls and raised flags was once used to warn vessels of dangerous conditions before entering the river. Siltation from sluicing operations upstream at Kaniere means few boats venture to sea over the Hokitika Bar these days.
The white-fronted tern is New Zealand’s most common tern, named for the thin white stripe separating its black bill from its black head. Never far from the water, white-fronted terns rarely swim, but feed by scooping shoaling fish such as smelt and pilchards from the surface without alighting. Parents feed their young during the months it takes them to learn the skill themselves, while male terns court mates by bringing them fish held crosswise in their beaks. Edin Whitehead captured this picture at the Muriwai gannet colony, a permanent nesting site for more than a thousand gannets and terns on Auckland’s west coast.
The willow in Lake Wanaka is arguably the most photographed tree in New Zealand, drawing Dennis Radermacher outdoors on a foggy winter’s morning. Wetland willows fringe Lake Wanaka and form its distinctive golden backdrop, but only one stands in the water. ‘The Lone Tree’ has weathered the lake’s rises and falls for at least 20 years; its bare branches offer a resting place for shags.
The willow in Lake Wanaka is arguably the most photographed tree in New Zealand, drawing Dennis Radermacher outdoors on a foggy winter’s morning. Wetland willows fringe Lake Wanaka and form its distinctive golden backdrop, but only one stands in the water. ‘The Lone Tree’ has weathered the lake’s rises and falls for at least 20 years; its bare branches offer a resting place for shags.
Feral horses were first discovered in the Kaimanawa Range in 1876, and their numbers swelled over the years as horses escaped or were released. The New Zealand government musters and culls the Kaimanawa herd every two years in order to protect endangered plants within their habitat. Kelly Wilson took this photograph in the Argo Valley of the Waiouru Military Training Grounds during the May 2014 muster. It shows the horses’ final moments of freedom as helicopters herd them across the Moawhango River into the mustering yards. Wilson rehomed 11 horses from the 2012 muster and another 10 in 2014, and this year created a national training program for Kaimanawa stallions in order to save them from slaughter. After the 2014 muster, 15 horses were culled; in previous years the number reached 120.
Feral horses were first discovered in the Kaimanawa Range in 1876, and their numbers swelled over the years as horses escaped or were released. The New Zealand government musters and culls the Kaimanawa herd every two years in order to protect endangered plants within their habitat. Kelly Wilson took this photograph in the Argo Valley of the Waiouru Military Training Grounds during the May 2014 muster. It shows the horses’ final moments of freedom as helicopters herd them across the Moawhango River into the mustering yards. Wilson rehomed 11 horses from the 2012 muster and another 10 in 2014, and this year created a national training program for Kaimanawa stallions in order to save them from slaughter. After the 2014 muster, 15 horses were culled; in previous years the number reached 120.
Devonport resident Shirley Wilma is comforted by a friend after a tornado ripped through the Auckland suburb on the evening of October 8, 2013. Brett Phibbs arrived on the scene shortly after the wind gusts struck and photographed the embrace of friends among uprooted trees and fallen power lines. A photographer for the New Zealand Herald, he says the most important thing in covering natural disasters is arriving quickly enough to capture the human reaction.
Devonport resident Shirley Wilma is comforted by a friend after a tornado ripped through the Auckland suburb on the evening of October 8, 2013. Brett Phibbs arrived on the scene shortly after the wind gusts struck and photographed the embrace of friends among uprooted trees and fallen power lines. A photographer for the New Zealand Herald, he says the most important thing in covering natural disasters is arriving quickly enough to capture the human reaction.
Three Sea Shepherd vessels travelled to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary over the summer of 2013/2014 to disrupt Japanese whaling activities for the tenth year in a row. Japan had intended to take 1035 whales from the area for research purposes, but managed just 287 due to Sea Shepherd’s intervention. Styling themselves as pirates for the environment, Sea Shepherd’s tactics included closely following Japanese ships to prevent the transfer of whales from harpoon vessels to the processing ship. In March, the International Court of Justice ruled that Japan’s whaling programme was unscientific and should cease immediately.

More than technical prowess, the photographs that were short-listed in each category share an original perspective—a insight into the fabric of our country and society that tells us something new about what it is to be a New Zealander or live in New Zealand. Each image trades on the access that the photographer gained, the moment they captured, and their unique contribution as an artist.

Some of the images are universally delightful, others have proved wildly controversial, but all of them elicit a response, whether that be charm, awe, horror or the simple feeling of recognition that wells up on seeing a true, clear reflection of an aspect of this country that we love.

The prize-winning photographs that follow depict only New Zealand and its dependencies, and all were shot after January 2013. A few of the photographers are professional, but not all. Many have entered the competition in the past, but few have won before.

This is New Zealand as you saw it—quiet places that gave you pause, moments of tragedy and comedy, and windows into lives and landscapes far from your own experience of Aotearoa.

New Zealand Geographic would like to congratulate Peter James Quinn, supreme winner and New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2014.

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2014: PETER JAMES QUINN

Each year, the photographer with the strongest portfolio of images is selected from among the entries to win the overall Photographer of the Year award. Often, one of their images has won a category, but not always. This award recognises skill, consistency, and the insights that make for quality visual storytelling—a high bar to pass with a single year’s collection of pictures.

This year’s winner is Peter James Quinn, a photographer who has spent two decades summoning original visions of New Zealand into his viewfinder. He has submitted his images into this competition every year, and been among the finalists each time, but this is the first time he has won an award.

This year his images traverse subjects as diverse as West Coast whitebaiters, Tūhoe, and night life on Auckland’s Karangahape Road. In each, Quinn stacks up layers of competing ideas with well-composed and visually simple expressions of the complex cultural and industrial foundations of New Zealand.

His images of Tūhoe were shot at the end of a two-year project to document the iwi during their long transition to self-determination, a difficult assignment that speaks to Quinn’s patience and commitment, but also reflects modern and traditional values that are held in harmony: a couple dressed in piupiu push a stroller through a parking lot from a kapa haka festival, a descendant of the prophet Rua Kenana cradles the family Bible outside his home, while behind him, an ace of hearts is tucked into the weatherboards.

Quinn’s images champion content over process, and reinforce the photographic value of being in a location so long that you are no longer there, watching on as the rites of daily life are played out, without reference to the camera.

ALL AWARD WINNERS:

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Issue 198 Mar - Apr 2026

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