The picture was taken by Nikki McNaughten, a teacher at the area school with her husband Kirtis, who also doubles as the coach of the local surf team.
“Marlin is down the beach every day with Dad and has been on a surfboard since he was about 1,” McNaughten said. “He’ll be a real ripper one day.”
The picture was taken on Christmas Eve, a week before Marlin’s third birthday on McNaughten’s DSLR from high school photography days, which she uses to snap shots of the surf team for her husband.
“We feel so lucky that we get to enjoy the beach very day,” McNaughten said. “And I’m about a week away from having our second child, so it’s perfect timing.”
Herald chief photographer Dean Purcell described the photograph as a classic summer shot, having fun at the beach.
“What I really like about this is the use of a longer lens to focus the attention on the subjects. The exposure’s spot on and the moment is perfect,” Purcell said. “Marlin is almost standing, his little hand just grabbing dad’s thumb for support.
“But it’s the anticipation that he will fully stand up that’s the key. The split second before achieving is more emotionally charged leaving us willing Marlin on.”
McNaughten gets a Canon R10 kit for her fabulous picture.
Johanna Taylor from Kawakawa took the second-placed picture of her husband Bevan cooling down in a cattle trough surrounded by some of their prized Charolais cattle.
“Bevan sometimes takes a bath in the trough when it’s really hot,” Taylor said, “but we set this one up, although it was quite hot in December when I took the photo.”
Originally from Berlin where she worked as a travel agent, Taylor has lived on the Kaiwaka farm for the past 10 years.
“It’s amazing and I love being outside and the farm life,” she said. “I take pictures as a hobby of the farm animals and dogs, and I had a camera when I was young. But this is the first time I won a competition.
“When I saw the ad for the competition, I thought that’s what we do (cool down in the cattle trough) and it could make quite a funny picture.”
“The composition with Bevan keeping his dignity intact and the cows surrounding the trough waiting for their turn to get a drink – it’s just a great shot,” Purcell said. “And the way the cows look a bit grumpy – it just made me laugh as soon as I saw it.”
A Canon R50 kit is on its way for Taylor’s winning shot.
The last of our winning entries was sent in by Tui Watling, of Auckland, of her mokopuna asleep in the back of a car taken by her daughter Aroha.
Jordan Meinata, the kids’ dad described the scene.
“We spent the day at the beach at Mangawhai estuary and we were heading back to the accommodation when the car seemed really quiet,” Meinata said. “The kids had all passed out so we went for a little cruise and let them sleep for a bit.
“We don’t get many quiet moments with the three girls, Khalyn, 10, Korra, 7, and Kyah, 2 - they’re normally chatting or pestering each other.
“The weather was perfect that day ... we took a picnic, chilly bin and shade tent to the beach and we chased the little one around while the older girls ran about. We didn’t leave the beach until about 6pm, so the kids were tired out.”
Purcell said this shot sums up what it’s like with kids after a great day at the beach.
“Anyone who’s been a kid or has had kids will relate to this,” he said. “The perfect jumble of sleeping bodies, the centred window behind and the road disappearing in the distance: it couldn’t be better.”
The Meinata family will receive a Canon R100 kit to help them record some more great memories in the future.
With so many good pictures it was a hard job deciding the eventual winners and the judges wanted to give a special mention to some other outstanding images. Three other shots received a “highly commended” tag. No prize, but just to let you know we loved your shots: Danielle Lett’s shot of Ryan covered in black sand, Teodora Georgescu’s photograph of dogs Kara, Maggie, Joop, Roland and Elsa posing above Lake Wānaka, and Sieana Paterson’s quirky photograph of a crab sunbathing under a cocktail umbrella. All showed great execution and were just a few of some truly remarkable pictures.
We thank Canon for once again being generous sponsors and thank you our readers for many laughs and some fantastic memories.
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