This winning image was captured by UOW Senior Lecturer Judy Ormandy while diving.
If you live by the ocean or fancy a swim in the sea, chances are you’ve encountered the 2024 Bulletin Photo Competition winners…or the creatures they’ve captured.
A sunbathing blue cod caught the judges’ attention and won Judy Ormandy top spot in this year’s competition.
A Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health at the Wellington campus, Judy describes herself as an “avid, possibly obsessed scuba diver” who shares her passion for scuba diving through photography.
“I am lucky to live close to the Taputeranga Marine Reserve on Wellington’s South Coast. Marine life has flourished since the reserve was established in 2008.”
Blue cod rāwaru are abundant and often “cheekily interact” with divers, Judy says.
“I was diving the shallow Yung Pen shipwreck and encountered this cod conveniently posing on a sun-drenched rock.
“A dome fisheye lens, patience, and slow, gentle movement allowed me to get close to this handsome fish and snap this photo.”
Third-year Marine Science and Ecology student Owen Dabkowski won second and third place with his entries featuring a yellow-eyed penguin and a hermit crab.
Marine Science student Owen captures wildlife in their natural settings.
Owen’s photography is inspired by his love for nature and conservation, he says.
“I try to capture animals as they go about their daily lives.
“The penguin was snapped during a return journey from the ocean.”
While the yellow-eyed penguin is a local from the Dunedin Peninsula, the hermit crab lives on the shores of Tonga, Owen says.
“This photo was taken on ‘Eua, Tonga in July this year during golden hour as the crabs were starting their evening rush.”
Judge and Otago’s resident photographer Dave Bull says quite a few of this year’s entries shared a common inspiration in Mother Nature and her residents.
“With almost 100 entries to choose from, shortlisting and picking this year’s winners was harder than we expected.
“The talent within the Otago community never fails to astound.”
Notable entries
Marc van Woerkom, Purchasing Officer, Supply Chain
Brooks Falls, where Marc captured this image, is famous for sighting brown bears.
Lua enjoying her first ever holiday.
A trip to Brooks Falls, Alaska in a small 10-seater sea plane is what took Marc and his wife to the natural habitat of the Katmai brown bears.
“The mother bear was just to the left, out of the shot, in the water fishing and the two cubs were honing their hunting skills.”
Marc’s second shot was closer to home, in Riverton, and features their dog Lua.
“It was the Christmas break, and we took Lua for her first holiday. I was shooting some birds when I saw Lua running towards me.”
Marc enjoys wildlife photography.
“I love capturing their existence, trying to tell their story as they cannot.”
Suzanne Voice, Senior Services Representative, AskOtago
The sea lions were in a friendly mood when Suzanne captured this image while snorkeling.
Suzanne was in for a special treat during a trip to South Australia for a milestone birthday celebration.
“My initial plan was to swim with the great white sharks, in a cage of course.
“But with no shark sightings in six weeks, we changed plans and went snorkelling with the sea lions near Port Lincoln instead.”
Capturing this shot was a “happy accident”, Suzanne says.
“I didn’t realise I had set the GoPro to timelapse and caught a sea lion waving hello.
“Totally worth the floundering and chilly 15-degree water.”
Eden Li, Bachelor of Arts and Science student and Tutor/Demonstrator, School of Computing
Eden titled this photo “Calling it a day”, saying it reminded him of going home after work.
Eden Li says this shot he captured in Tainan, Taiwan, reminds him of the journey home at the end of the working day.
“I found this picture quite interesting while editing it. The bird’s tail is like a bag, and its feathers are like his hands.
“It seems like he's off duty and waiting for the red light to turn green to go home.”
As a full-time Bachelor of Arts and Science student and a tutor/demonstrator, Eden has a lot on his plate but the encouragement and positive feedback from his parents inspires him to pursue his passion for photography, he says.
Raewyn Wright, Clinical Research Nurse, Paediatrics (UOC)
Raewyn enjoyed the blending of colours in this image, the lily pads blue green hues complimenting the delicate pink and yellow brightness of the water lily.
Self-taught photographer Raewyn says flowers are one of her favourite things to photograph, enjoying the “perfect symmetry of flowers and their petals”.
“The symmetry of flowers is similar to the symmetry and shapes you see in architecture and once you see shapes and lines and how the light changes these, it applies to all forms of photography.”
Raewyn captured this shot at the lily pond at Christchurch Botanic Gardens.
“This flower was near enough to the edge of the pond to be able to use my 18-400mm lens to get closer to it. Fortunately, it was sheltered a little by an overhanging branch which helped diffuse the light on the lily.
“So although it was taken when the light was overhead in the middle of the day, I was still able to get some detail in the petals and see a few water drops."
Brad Phipps, IT Intern, Information Technology Services
The sky is the inspiration for astrophotographer Brad.
Brad is a self-confessed “lover of the night sky” and counts himself lucky to be living in Dunedin.
“Dunedin is blessed with some amazing dark skies, especially for a city our size we have areas like Hoopers Inlet which are great for astrophotography.”
The image of the centre of the Milky Way rising over Mt Charles was captured at Hoopers Inlet, on a night with “perfect conditions”, Brad says.
“Low tide, no moon, the sounds of native birds calling to each other across the inlet. And more importantly, no one else around for miles.
“The galactic core was visible to the naked eye as it rose, the camera enhancing what was already there.”
Dunedin is also very lucky to be able to witness the Aurora Australis from “our backyard”, Brad says.
He captured this shot of the Australis at Sutton Lake in Middlemarch, during the geomagnetic storm in May this year.
“G5-level geomagnetic storms are quite rare; we haven’t had one since 2003.
“A friend and I wanted to find dark skies free of other photographers all trying to get their shot, so we drove to Middlemarch and ended up having nearly a whole valley to ourselves.
“We stayed there for several hours, sometimes photographing, sometimes just sitting amongst the rocks watching the sky dance.”
Claire Grant, Communications Adviser, School of Biomedical Sciences
Practice makes perfect for Claire, who captured this image while experimenting with her camera.
Inspired by the magnificent tropical foliage all around her, Claire captured this shot while practicing her photography skills on a recent visit to Apia in Samoa.
“I was using flowers in a garden to upskill on using the manual settings on my camera in different lights.
“Practicing at different times of the day certainly bemused the household’s cats, but I was pleased with the lighting on this gorgeous pink rain tree flower on a late July afternoon."
Judy Ormandy, Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health, UOW
Perseverance and patience paid off for Judy, who captured this elusive shot of a jewel anemone spawning.
Judy captured this shot of a jewel anemone spawning after three years of trying.
“Jewel anemones spawn once a year and it lasts for about 30 minutes.
“The timing is dependent on the full moon and tides, but the exact timing varies even for jewel anemones in similar areas.”
Judy captured this image at Deep Water Cove in the Bay of Islands.
“The HMNZS Canterbury shipwreck was deliberately scuttled in Deep Water Cove in 2007 and is now encrusted with colourful marine life.”
Because Deep Water Cove is sheltered with more consistent conditions, the local divers can “usually predict, but not always correctly” when the spawning might occur, Judy says.
“Despite this, I only finally caught the spawning in 2024, my third year of aiming to see it, and even then, it happened on the last of our three days of diving.
“In this photo the female pink jewel anemones are releasing orange eggs – the obstetrician in me was very impressed.”
~ Kōrero by Sandra French, Adviser, Internal Communications.