Capturing A Spot In Photo Finals

Just one word summed up how Cindy Griffith felt when she heard she was a finalist in the IHC Capture the Moment photography competition- ‘wonderful’.

Cindy is an NMIT Te Pūkenga Community Living ākonga at the Marlborough Campus and her tutor, Mini Foley, says Cindy had ‘the biggest smile’ when they heard the news.

"We've been doing photography once a week-learning about a concept and then going out and taking photos," says Mini. "We heard about the IHC competition, and I encouraged the students to look at their work and choose one image."

Cindy selected a photo she had taken of a Marlborough vineyard in winter, which appealed to her.

"It has got no shoots on it-and it has clouds," she says.

Mini was not involved in taking the photo, selecting it for the competition, or in the editing process. "Cindy was definitely in control. If I made any suggestions, she was quick to tell me, ‘I have done enough’," says Mini.

The framed photo placed in the top 30 in New Zealand and was exhibited at FOTO FEST in Hastings City. All the photographs were up for sale with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the photographer.

NMIT has purchased the original framed image, and it will be displayed in the Budge Street reception area on campus.

Cindy received a certificate, and she says the money she gets is going ‘straight into a bank account’ and staying there.

She plans to continue photography but isn’t sure what her next subject matter will be: "Something different," she says.

In the meantime, Cindy is not only celebrating her success behind the camera, but also her recent engagement-although there’s no date for the wedding set yet.

"When it is warmer," she says.

Capture the Moment 2023 Capture the moment is a photography competition for New Zealanders who have an intellectual disability, or an intellectual disability and autism.

Building on the success of the IHC Art Awards, it aims to showcase the talent of New Zealanders through a different medium.

The theme of this year’s competition was ‘Your Aotearoa, New Zealand’.

The judges were: Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, CEO of the fashion house WORLD, and the IHC Art Awards Ambassador and Patron of IHC New Zealand. Anna Briggs, Wellington freelance commercial photographer, and Hawke’s Bay based photographer, Shayne Jeffares.

See the 2023 online gallery of finalist images.

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