Airport visitors stay in picture

Taking in a photography exhibition on display at the Rotorua Airport are, from left, Tracy Stamatakos, Anna Rodgers and Kerry Grant.

A cutting edge photography exhibition by award-winning New Zealand photographers has landed at Rotorua International Airport.

The exhibition consists of 170 pieces of work by about 100 professional photographers from the 2013 Iris Professional Photography Awards.

The touring exhibition represents a snapshot of last year's gold, silver and bronze winners across 11 different categories, from travel and portrait, to landscape and photo-journalism.

Airport business development manager Anna Rodgers said the airport was a fantastic location for such an exhibition.

"There are always lots of people with time to kill and who really enjoy exploring the airport while they are waiting for flights or whanau and friends to come. It's also a great opportunity for people that aren't necessarily flying in or out of the airport to make the most of our new one-hour free visitor parking."

The Iris awards are run by the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers (NZIPP) and this year will be held in Rotorua from July 31 to August 2.

During the three days the public are invited to watch the judging taking place at the Energy Events Centre.

NZIPP Bay of Plenty/Waikato chairwoman Tracy Stamatakos said the opportunity to watch the judges in action was a fantastic chance for budding or experienced photographers to learn and take their photography to the next level.

"It's also a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the stunning imagery from this year's awards before they too go on tour."