UCOL | Te Pūkenga Success At NZIPP Iris Awards

UCOL |Te Pūkenga photography learners claimed 29 awards at the 2023 New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography (NZIPP) Iris Awards, while lecturer Paul Gummer received a special award for his service to the industry.

The Iris Awards are New Zealand’s premier annual photography awards and attract professional and student photographers from around the country.

Learners from UCOL’s New Zealand Diploma in Photography Levels 5 and 6, and Certificate in Intermediate Photography submitted entries for the competition. The judging and awards gala dinner took place in Christchurch.

UCOL ākonga (learners) took home one gold, two silvers with distinction, 11 silvers, 11 bronzes, and four professional standard awards.

UCOL Photography Senior Lecturer Paul Gummer received the Silver Spool Award for service to the photography industry. Gummer first attended the Iris Awards in 1998 and has only missed the event three times in the past 25 years. He has been a mainstay in helping UCOL students set up their entries, guiding them through the judging process, and offering support and advice to up-and-coming photographers.

Gummer says that UCOL has been very supportive in allowing him, his colleagues, and learners to work behind the scenes at the Iris Awards.

“The awards only happen as a result of the huge amount of voluntary work behind the scenes. We have used these awards as a centerpiece to our photography programmes to introduce students to the professional world and at the same time give them an opportunity to shine.”

Gummer got his start as a photographer in the late 1980s, photographing for architects and architectural magazines in and around London. He and his family moved to New Zealand in 1997, and he started teaching at UCOL the following year.

For Gummer, some of his most memorable moments from the Iris awards include seeing UCOL staff and learners win awards and introducing learners to some of their photographic heroes, who themselves are UCOL graduates.

“Our students have won the New Zealand Student Photographer of the Year 15 times in the 25 years we have been attending. That only happens with a huge amount of hard work by students and staff.”

UCOL learner Katie Shand was a finalist in the student category and received a gold, two silvers, and a bronze award.

Shand’s gold award-winning photo shows two people celebrating a birthday on separate levels of a doll house. The piece started off as a composite photo assignment designed to enhance Shand’s Photoshop skills.

“I wanted to put little Easter eggs in there so people could tell it was a doll house. That’s how I got the idea for the licorice allsort as a birthday cake. There is also a padlock as a handbag, and a matchstick acting as a candle. There are a few things in there where I got to experiment with scale,” says Shand.

“After I photographed the girl, I was looking at the doll house and I thought it would be cute to expand the narrative by having another person in another room.

“The judges all had different narratives in their heads, but it’s just about two people who, for whatever reason, can’t be together but they’re still celebrating.”

Shand was unable to attend the awards event, but was excited to hear her name announced while she watched the judging live on YouTube .

“When I got the gold award I stood up and had a little yay moment. It was really encouraging. I’ve never really won anything before, so it is great for my confidence. It’s scary to have your work judged by professional photographers, but I’m really happy with the outcome.”

Currently living in Whanganui, Shand aims to start her own photography business in the city after she graduates and work on more community projects.

Q and As with Paul Gummer

When did you start working in the photography industry?

In the late 1980’s when I started working for architects and magazines in and around London. I had spent over a decade working as a laboratory technician in science and medical research but had no passion for it. I started a photography course with no intention of doing more than a few weeks but I got hooked from the outset and have never looked back.

What was your first photography job?

My first professional job was for an English magazine called Country Life, which is really geared towards expensive country houses. I grew up reading it in the dentist’s waiting room. As my goal was to become involved with architectural photography, I targeted them first with my portfolio as they were top of my list of potential clients. Whereas many would start with lower-end clients and keep going up the ladder to find a level, I figured it would be good to start at the top and work down if nobody gave me work. As it turned out, the Picture Editor gave me a job straight away to shoot a large country house. The squire of the mansion even brought me sherry on a silver tray. My second job for the magazine was to shoot antique tennis gear which included photographing the first-ever tennis racket at Wimbledon.

When did you start teaching at UCOL?

My family moved to New Zealand in 1997 and I started at UCOL (or Manawatu Polytechnic as it was then) the following year. I had contacted the legendary Joe Sing who had started the photography department here to see if there was any work. As it happened, they were just about to launch the first diploma programme, so it was a case of right place, right time. We worked well together with our different strengths. Joe was a master with the finances and buying equipment, while I covered the curriculum writing and other academic aspects of the course. We soon turned the one-year diploma into a two-year programme and then added a third-year advanced diploma. Within a couple of years, we developed the Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging degree. It was Joe Sing who introduced us to the Iris awards.

About UCOL | Te Pūkenga: UCOL | Te Pūkenga inspires ākonga (learners), businesses, and communities to succeed. We are a business division of Te Pūkenga – a strong, unified vocational education system that makes collaboration easier. UCOL is an educational institution with a history dating back to 1892 and has campuses in Manawatū, Whanganui, Wairarapa and Horowhenua.

About Te Pūkenga: Te Pūkenga, New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, was established in 2020 as one of seven key changes in the Reform of Vocational Education. Te Pūkenga is bringing together a national network of integrated learning that supports learners, employers and communities to gain the skills, knowledge, and capabilities Aotearoa needs now and for the future.

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