UCOL photographers shutter out their competition

25 September 2012

UCOL photographers shutter out their competition

UCOL photographers shuttered out their competition at this year’s Epson/New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers (NZIPP) Iris Professional Photography Awards, announced in Christchurch last night.

Second year Diploma in Photographic Imaging student Rochelle Swensson won the Student/Assistant category at the prestigious national competition. Rochelle’s powerful image of her husband and son, depicting three generations, scored a Gold award. That, combined with her Bronze entry, was enough to claim the Student/Assistant title.

UCOL BAVI Lecturer Anna Kernohan won the hotly contested Landscape Category with one Gold Distinction, four Silver and one Bronze award. Anna won the Student/Assistant category in 2010 as a third year BAVI student.

BAVI students submitted a record 100 entries in the Student category print judging this year and won an impressive haul of 66 awards.

Second year students Heather Hocken, Rochelle Swensson and Diploma student Kelvin Gilbert, and third years Fleur Verhoeven and Genevieve Senekal, gained Gold awards.

In total, four Silver awards with Distinction, 22 Silver and 35 Bronze awards will also return to Palmerston North.

Penny Aspin and Kelvin Gilbert were named as finalists in the Student/Assistant category with Rochelle.

Chair of the NZIPP Honours Committee and UCOL Photography Lecturer, Kaye Davis, said the overall standard of this year’s awards was exceptionally high. “The judges recognised this with a total of 763 awards presented, including four Gold distinctions and 40 Gold awards,” she says.

This year the largest number of entries occurred in the landscape, portrait, wedding and student categories.

Other UCOL BAVI teaching staff members deserving mention are: Creative Category Finalist:
Kaye Davis (One Gold, two Silver Distinction, and four Bronze awards), Fusion Category Finalist: Melissa Edmon with a Silver Distinction award.

Ian Rotherham received two Bronzes and Paul Gummer received one Bronze award for his entry in the Fusion category.

Queenstown’s Jackie Ranken, was named NZ Photographer of the Year 2012.

The annual awards celebrate the excellence of New Zealand’s professional photographers, providing a platform for recognition within the industry and the wider public.

Next year, NZIPP celebrates its 75th anniversary.

The Iris Awards Media Centre www.nzipp.org.nz has more information about the winners and the winning photographs are available there in high-resolution format.

ENDS

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