Wānaka photographer Richard Young has achieved an extraordinary double victory, winning both the Wildlife and Landscape Photographer of the Year awards at the prestigious New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year Awards in Auckland.
“This is my first time entering the competition in a number of years, so it's particularly rewarding to have my work recognised,” said Richard.
Richard's winning wildlife category image captures the dramatic moment two emperor penguins leapt out of a hole at the edge of the pack ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica - New Zealand Ross Dependency.
"Our ship had lingered near the ice for several hours to observe the penguins as they hesitated to re-enter the water after orcas surfaced nearby. Just before this shot, some penguins decided it was safe to dive back into the sea, only to be startled once again, prompting them to burst out of the water in a sudden, synchronised leap," he explained.
Young's winning landscape category photograph depicts a serene scene of poplar trees on a misty autumn morning beside the Clutha River. The parallel tree trunks in the background are framed by the soft, out-of-focus leaves in the foreground, creating the illusion that the leaves are gently falling from the trees.
The award-winning photographs will be on display until 20th November at Auckland’s Britomart and will be published in the November/December issue of New Zealand Geographic magazine.
Richard is a full-time nature and landscape photographer and founder of New Zealand Photography Workshops.
His landscape-focused work has won previous awards in numerous international landscape photography competitions, including winning the Best Landscape at the Banff Mountain Photography Competition in 2010. His work has been widely exhibited across New Zealand, Canada, America and England in solo and group exhibitions, along with displays in his own Wellington gallery space for seven years up until 2020.
Richard’s winning photograph and more detailed information about each image can be found at: https://www.richardyoung.co.nz/blog/nz-geographic-photographer-of-the-year
https://www.richardyoung.co.nz/
- Jane King
