Tūhura Photography Competition

New Zealand's own awards to celebrate our nature, our landscapes, and you, our people, taking images of all of it!

Taken a great photo this year? From the beautiful shots of nearly-professionals to children taking photos while exploring the world, from the Insta-obsessed to a beautiful snap you happened to take on a walk through your town, we want you to send them to us!

Enter your best photos and be in to win great prizes and the chance to feature in the Museum’s amazing exhibition.

This year, we have a new category, 'Wild Aotearoa', open to all New Zealand residents. This is the first time the competition has been open to amateur photographers across the whole country. 

To help you hone your photography skills, Tūhura Otago Museum will be running talks and workshops throughout the competition period. We will be finalising these events soon. Keep an eye on our website or join our mailing list to find out more.

So, come on Aotearoa, share your best photos with us and we will share them with the world! Learn more about the different entry categories, and enter below.

Entries close 12pm, Sunday 1 February

2025 CATEGORIES: 

Please note:

• The competition is open to all amateur photographers in New Zealand. Professionals (defined as having earned 20% or more of their income through photography at any time) are barred from entry, as are commissioned images, images used for a commercial purpose, or images entered in other photography competitions.
• Images that are heavily digitally altered will not be accepted as entries.
• Otago residents can submit a maximum of 15 photographic entries overall, with a limit of 10 photographic entries per category.
• Non-Otago residents can submit a maximum of 10 photographic entries overall, within the Wild Aotearoa category only.
• Entries will be judged by a panel of judges – this is a blind judging process.
• Full terms and conditions are available here.

Entry Specifications

• Maximum file size 10 MB
• Photos must be submitted as JPEG files. They can be portrait or landscape orientation.
• Images may be printed to these dimensions: 200 mm x 250 mm (8 in x 10 in), A2 (420 mm x 594 mm), A1 (594 mm x 841 mm), or A0 (841 mm x 1189 mm) and displayed digitally (1920 x 1080 pixels).
• Images may be cropped to the above specifications as required.
• Borders, watermarks, signatures or other additions will result in images being disqualified.

Judges

Our judges have been selected from around our community. All keen photographers, they are a mix of professionals and talented amateurs. These people have all given their time and talent, and we would like to thank them for their contribution.

Paul Le Comte – Photographer
Jeff Yen – The OPERA – Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance Photographer
Shanaya Cunningham – Exhibition Designer
Isabella Harrex – Photographer
Taylor Davies-Colley – Orokonui Ecosanctuary
Craig McKenzie – Wildlife Photographer
Russell Drew – Jonathan's Photo Warehouse