KEY POINTS:
A photography enthusiast who borrowed his girlfriend's camera to take a shot of himself diving off a wharf has won the Olympus Auckland Photo Day competition.
Run as part of the Auckland Festival of Photography, the competition took place on June 7 and was open to anyone with access to a camera.
Participants were asked to capture a moment of the day which they felt epitomised "their Auckland".
More than 800 entries were submitted but the judging panel agreed that Manuel Toribio's picture, The Flight, stood out.
"This is a winning image, it expresses aspiration, it's uplifting and represents all that's positive about living in this region.
"All the rewards of risk are apparent here, gathered in a great moment" they said.
Toribio set the timer on his girlfriend's camera before diving off Stanley Bay Wharf on Auckland's North Shore.
His photo captured not only the dive, but the wharf in the foreground and the backdrop of the central business district across the Waitemata.
Toribio, a 25-year-old Argentine national, is working as a barista and waiter in Devonport while waiting for his residency to come through.
"The festival programmes were dropped in at the restaurant where I work and I thought I'd love to give it a go, so I borrowed my girlfriend's camera," he said.
"I was third time lucky with this shot. I spend my spare time enjoying my days in Auckland, I just love it here. I can't believe I've won the top prize."
Toribio won an Olympus digital SLR camera and a Nito Coffee machine from Gravity Coffee.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
