Family images score highly for Christchurch photographer
The first serious photographs Christchurch's Dean MacKenzie has taken of his family have taken the top prize at the 2007 Epson/NZIPP Iris Professional Photography Awards. MacKenzie was named as Photographer of the Year at a gala dinner in Auckland last night. Judges looked at over 1100 entries before naming their six finalists.
He persuaded his mother and brother to be the subjects for an entry in the People category of the awards. The pair are shown sitting at a table smoking. "They were the only people I knew who fitted the idea I had, and with the smoke wafting through the air it would give me the feel of the shots I was looking for. I was playing around with some techniques for a people series I'm working on.
"Mum has a great sense of hunour and when I told her I had won, she said she was available for other assignments."
MacKenzie, who caught the photography "bug" 10 years ago when he was captivated by "the rich, fantastic" colours of Asia, set up his own photography business in Christchurch three years ago. His interest in snowboarding and mountaineering have helped develop his love of the New Zealand landscape and he is especially adept at campaigns that use the outdoors as their backdrop.
He said he was overwhelmed to win the major award, which he expects will be a boost for his business that already has a core of steady clients.
A selection of award-winning images will tour New Zealand from November. The images will also be available on the NZIPP website www.nzipp.org.nz from 1st September 2007.
The award winners were:
| Photographer of the Year: | Dean MacKenzie (Christchurch) |
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| Overseas Photographer of the Year: | Peter Eastway (Australia) |
| Highest Scoring Colour Print: | Nikki South (Tauranga) |
| Highest Scoring Monochrome Print: | Stuart Riddell (Auckland) |
| Tertiary Institution of the Year: | UCOL (Palmerston North) |
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| Commercial: | Steven Boniface (Wellington) |
| Creative : | Lucy Gauntlett (Auckland) |
| Editorial/Illustrative: | Terry Wreford-Hann (Featherston) |
| Landscape: | John Doogan (Christchurch) |
| People: | Dean MacKenzie (Christchurch) |
| Student/Assistant: | Karina Badger (Palmerston North) |
| Wedding: | Steve Sharp (Whangarei) |
| Wedding Album: | Johannes van Kan (Christchurch) |
Results from all Award Winning images are available in the PDF documents below:
All Award Winning Images by Entrant Name
Tertiary Institution Results
All Image Entries by Entrant Name
All Images Entries By Category
All Image Scores by Ranking
Click here to see the Iris Awards 2007 online gallery.
