Photo competition

We’re delighted to announce that the judges are local Arrowtown photographers Todd Weeks and Leigh Jeffrey.

2025 Entries have now closed.

Results from 2023 photography competition! Thank you to the many amateur photographers who entered – the judges, Todd Weeks and Joe Bailey were impressed by the talent on display.

Todd and Joe found there has been a distinctive shift towards photos taken on phones, showing that you don’t need to have an expensive DSLR camera to capture beautiful images. As always, the wide variety of subjects reflected the diversity of the competition area, which encompassed Arrowtown and its wider environs. The competition grows in popularity every year, and in 2023 we received a record number of entries from over 70 photographers. The entrants mainly live in the Arrowtown and Queenstown district, but a fair few were visitors from as far south as Invercargill and as far north as Auckland. Congratulations to the finalists, the category place-getters and the overall champion, Rico Stevens of Queenstown. For his entry in the Landscapes section, “A Couple of Ducks” , Rico receives $200 and will hold the Jade & Opal Factory Trophy for a year.

Category winners

Youth
Winner: AJ Stokes – “Growing Up at Arrowtown School”
Joint Runner Up: Bram Hamilton – “Flag over Museum” and Nina Hamilton – “Mac jumping Bush Creek”

Landscapes
Winner: Rico Steven – “Couple of Ducks” –and OVERALL WINNER
Runner Up : Thanh Nguyen – “Golden Autumn at Lake Hayes”

History
Winner: Carrie Edgerton – “Home Comforts”
Runner Up: Michelle Ryder – “Winter Wonderland Church”

Nightscapes
Winner: Rita Baker – “Milky Way Over Old Police station”
Runner Up: Ellie Forrest – “Starry Night”

Outdoor Recreation
Winner: Janine McIvor – “Breaking the Serenity”
Runner Up: Carrie Edgerton – “Contemplation”

Seasons
Winner: Hamish Murray – “Autumn Driveway”
Runner Up: Carrie Edgerton – “Mum leaf me alone”

The APBA wishes to thank our judges, the Jade & Opal Factory, Print Central and the Lakes District Museum & Gallery for their support. The printed photos of the finalists will be on display at the Lakes District Museum as part of the Bayleys Arrowtown Autumn Art Exhibition that runs in April each year.