Photographers stun local judges

The judging panel of the inaugural Trustpower Photographic Exhibition in deliberations earlier this week. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.

This week the judging panel for the TrustPower Photographic Exhibition faced the monumental task of examining and scrutinising more than 1740 photographs in order to select the 20 best images.

But it's an assignment that's produced more beaming smiles than headaches for the 10-judge panel, which has been left thoroughly delighted by the high calibre of entries into the inaugural competition.

'We've seen some absolutely stunning photography across the four different categories and it's been so pleasing to discover the level of talent we have living her in the Bay of Plenty,” says TrustPower ‎marketing communications manager Carolyn Schofield.

'I'm not a photographer, but part of my role as marketing communications manager is choosing visual material with the most impact, so I've been looking for arresting images which made me stop and produced a response in me instantly.”

With the title ‘Our Place To Shine', the competition invited amateur and professional photographers to submit images showcasing the Western Bay across four categories: Our People, Land and Sea, Our Heritage, and Emotion.

The category that attracted the most entries was ‘Land and Sea' and this has come as no surprise to Carolyn.

'Given where we live and our natural environment, both the land and sea are one of the key aspects which attract people to the Bay in the first place, so the number of entries received didn't come as a surprise at all.”

The panel has now selected the 20 winners – the first and second place winners in each category, the excellence and merit award recipients for the best young and student photographers, plus the overall supreme winner – which will be announced at a special ceremony tonight.

Then on Saturday the 20 winning photographs, which have been enlarged to into 1.2m high x 1.8m wide prints, will go on display in an outdoor exhibition on The Strand that will run up until April 9.

Carolyn says they can't wait to unveil the exhibition to the community and is encouraging everyone to head down to The Strand and check the display out.

'The level of talent out there in the community is absolutely amazing and we can't wait to share it with the community.”

Joining Carolyn on the judging panel was The Weekend Sun's Claire Rogers, MediaWorks' Belinda Francis, Tauranga Photographic Society's Paul Byrne, BOP Film's Anton Steel, Tuskany Agency's Tara Fowler, UNO. Magazine's Jenny Rudd, Tauranga Art Gallery's Karl Chitham, Tourism BOP's Kristin Dunn, and Tauranga City councillor Larry Baldock.

TrustPower's ‘Our Place To Shine' Photographic Exhibition will be on display on The Strand from Saturday, January 28, until Saturday, April 29. For more information, visit: www.downtowntauranga.co.nz

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