Tag Archive for: Auckland Award Winning Photography
Between two Rocks
Nude female figures can be found represented in art as early as the last Stone Age period. Similar images which represent fertility deities, gods and goddesses in Babylonian and Ancient Egyptian art were precursors to the works of Western antiquity. Other notable traditions of artistic nude representations can be found in India and Japan: in particular, traditional Hindu temple sculptures and cave paintings – some very explicit – indicate the value of sexuality; revealing a culture where partial or complete nudity was acceptable in everyday life.
The nude figure was commonplace in Ancient Greek and Roman art. After a semi-dormant period in the Middle Ages, it returned to a central position in Western art during the Renaissance. Athletes, dancers, and warriors statically express human energy and life, while nudes express basic and complex emotions.
Nude photography is a genre of fine-art which depicts the human body with an emphasis on form, composition, emotional content and aesthetic qualities. The nude has been a prominent subject of photography since its invention and played an important role in establishing photography as a fine art medium.
Erotic interest, although often present, is secondary. It distinguishes art photography from both glamour and pornographic photography. The distinction is not always clear and photographers tend to characterise their own work subjectively, while viewers may have different impressions. The nude is a controversial and provocative subject across all artistic mediums, but more so within photography due to the inherent realism. The medium examines issues of representation and identity, sexuality and voyeurism – some nude photography deliberately blurs the boundaries between erotica and art.
In the context of the 21st century, it is difficult to make an artistic statement in the medium of nude photography, given the proliferation of pornographic imagery – which has tainted the artistic subject in the perception of most viewers, limiting the opportunities to exhibit or publish artistic nude images. These photographs portray powerful, vulnerable and independent women.
2019 North Shore Salon
Delighted to win a plethora of awards including seven medals at this year’s North Shore Salon! “Don’t enter again please” said one of the volunteers who helped out on the opening night…
“I am very excited to win these prestigious awards” says Ilan. “I am a portrait photographer, so winning both Gold and Silver in the People category is especially meaningful to me. I first entered this wonderful competition in 2010”, says Wittenberg “and it’s a big honour even to get an Acceptance”.
Established in 1995 by the North Shore Photographic Society [NSPS], the North Shore National Salon of Photography aims to promote the art of photography in New Zealand through a respectful and inspiring annual event. Founded in 1954, the NSPS has 150 members ranging from amateurs to professionals and from beginners to experts. Affiliated with the Photographic Society of New Zealand, it is part of a network of photographic clubs and societies across New Zealand. Each year, the Salon has run a competition for New Zealand photographers, with the 2019 Salon attracting 1,800 entries from 600 entrants including members from 33 photographic clubs and societies from Whangarei to Southland and overseas. The Salon convenes independent panels of six selectors to judge entries in various categories such as Impressionism, Scapes, People, Open, Abstract, Fantasy, Street Photography, Monochrome and Colour.
All awarded prints and digital images will be publicly exhibited at Mairangi Arts Centre and all accepted photographs are reproduced in a beautiful printed catalogue. The show is currently exhibited at Mairangi Art Centre until June 17 – entry is free.
Where
Mairangi Bay Art Centre, 20 Hastings Rd, Mairangi Bay, Auckland
When
Mon-Fri 9:30am-4pm
Sat-Sun 10am-2pm
Honours – 2019 North Shore Salon – Open category, digital
The Big Idea
Kiwis triumph in the 2018 Sony Alpha Awards, a celebration of the best Australian and New Zealand photography
10 May 2018
The Sony Alpha Awards, now in its third year, showcases the very best of Australian and New Zealand photography using the Sony Alpha camera range. Over 5000 stunning images were submitted from both professional and amateur photographers, for the chance to be recognised and celebrated for their talents. This year’s competition saw Kiwis triumph with established photography talent and new-blood being recognised as winners.
The overall Grand Prize and also the Portrait category was awarded to Auckland photographer, Ilan Wittenberg. Ilan made New Zealand his home in 2001 and took up photography in 2011, going on to become a professional photographer who has garnered an impressive collection of photography awards of which the Sony Alpha Awards is his most recent achievement.
The concept for Ilan’s stunning portrait shot was created in collaboration with his model. He explains, “the idea was to create a cracked earth background using drought as the theme” and elaborates “I love Alicia’s eyes, she looks so fragile and vulnerable. Her beautiful eyes are truly the windows to her soul”.