Photographer of the Year finalists named

Fairfax photographer Lawrence Smith was at the front line when protesters from Auckland Action Against Poverty rushed the police barricade at SkyCity casino, where John Key was discussing sweeping Budget changes. The protesters started to get ‘‘a little bit rowdy’’ and charged at the hotel entrance, which took police by surprise. FOUR Wellington photographers who captured a timelapse of glowworms in a cave, an aerial still-shot of the Whanganui coastline, a silhouette of two seals and the city’s nightscape are among the finalists for this year’s New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year awards.

Out of 5800 entries, photographs taken by Jordan Poste, Mark Gee, Jeff McEwan and Spencer Clubb were selected as five of the 29 finalist images, which are now on display in Christchurch.

New Zealand Geographic editor James Frankham said the finalists’ images celebrated the diversity of New Zealand.

‘‘How many people have hunted fish with bows and arrows? Who has camped in a cave in temperatures like a fridge for a week?

‘‘These photographers have been to little-known and remarkable corners of our nation, and shared these original perspectives with us. They help us understand who we are as a people, and what makes our country unique.’’

Frankham said the photographs spanned the entire realm of New Zealand – from deep underground caves on the mainland, to albatrosses dwarfed by massive waves off the subantarctic Bounty Islands, some 700 kilometres to the east of the South Island.

‘‘Photographers lay in sleeping bags beside their cameras, monitoring the output every few minutes throughout the night – one photographer spent 40 hours in a glow-worm clip.’’

Three Fairfax Media photographers also made the cut – Lawrence Smith, David White and Iain McGregor.

Frankham and internationally recognised professional photographers Andris Apse and Kim Westerskov will judge all the finalist entries and announce the winners of each category – Society and Culture, Wildlife, Landscape and Photo Story – in late October.

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