Lucky shot wins Porirua man photography award

The Dominion Post
Last updated 05:00 03/11/2009
WINNING SHOT: This picture won Ray Lovell the wildlife category in the New Zealand Geographic photographer of the year awards.
RAY LOVELL

WINNING SHOT: This picture won Ray Lovell the wildlife category in the New Zealand Geographic photographer of the year awards.

Relevant offers

CuteStuff

Zoo gets back to normal Miss your dog more than your mate? You're not alone... Peruvian hits waves with surfing alpaca It's getting a bit nippy Albatross flies free after storm ordeal Retired racer takes new role in her stride Storm blows albatross into suburban yard Miracle elephant makes wobbly debut My dog wins a prize How did they get so cute?

A playful bottlenose dolphin and a fast shutter speed have landed Porirua amateur photographer Ray Lovell a prestigious prize.

He has taken out the wildlife category in the New Zealand Geographic photographer of the year awards.

The winning shot – taken while on a tour of Doubtful Sounds with his wife last November – was pure luck, Mr Lovell said. A pod of the rare dolphins started frolicking in the boat's wake – and the passengers reached for their cameras.

He set his Sony R1 digital camera on a fast shutter speed, and started firing off shots. Anyone on board could have got the photo.

"No-one else thought to enter [the competition]."

Mr Lovell, 65, a retired policeman, decided to enter the photo after realising it filled a lot of the criteria. "I knew just a picture of a kingfisher on a power pole, or a tui in a tree wouldn't make it."

Judge Tui deRoy said the picture encapsulated the best aspects of photography – the ability to capture contradictory elements in a balanced way.

"This synergy almost never happens, but when I saw this shot I recognised it instantly. It doesn't get any better."

Other winners included Amos Chapple for the culture section, Alex Wallace for landscape, and overall winner Tobias Bernhard, of Whangarei.

They shared $7000 in cash plus other prizes.

Ad Feedback
Special offers

Featured Promotions