This curious wheke captured by Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health Judy Ormandy at the Taputeranga Marine Reserve won first place at the 2025 Bulletin Photo Competition.
Curiosity got the cat, but it also got one wheke top spot in the 2025 Bulletin Photo Competition.
The winning shot was captured by Judy Ormandy, who is a Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health at Otago’s Pōneke campus by day and an avid scuba diver in her free time.
The Taputeranga Marine Reserve at Te Whanganui-a-Tara - Wellington Harbour is where she came across the wheke.
“I was diving near the wreck of the Yung Pen when this curious wheke emerged from his home in a crevasse and interacted gently with us, extending his arms and wrapping around my camera’s dome lens.”
Taputeranga Marine Reserve, located on Wellington’s south coast, boasts a high diversity of marine life, and is a popular spot for snorkelling, diving, tide pooling, and walking.
It is the perfect place to explore the 2025 competition theme "Being and Belonging", Judy says.
“Taputeranga Marine Reserve is a taonga, allowing both marine life and humans to ‘be’ and ‘belong’, respecting each other.”
Competition judge and Otago’s Team Leader Design Jason Low said the image stood out for him because it was an “amazing use of colour captured in a challenging environment”.
A Buller’s albatross contrasted against a moody Dusky Sound background won Marine Science master’s student Jemma Bezuidenhout second place at the 2025 Bulletin Photo Competition.
Marine Science master’s student Jemma Bezuidenhout won second place for her shot of a Buller’s albatross.
Jemma says the image, which was taken in Dusky Sound on a full-frame mirrorless camera, was thanks to an albatross that wasn’t camera shy at all.
“I was quite fortunate that the albatross came right up to the back of the boat and was very interested in the click of the camera, allowing me to get this awesome shot with the mountains in the background, and its striking yellow beak contrasting the blue hue after some rain.”
The image depicts a species that is so recognisable on our waters in a place that is still so natural and untouched, Jemma says.
“This is where this species, and so many more, belong – away from predators, fishing gear, and other anthropogenic dangers.”
Competition judge and Head of Programmes and Principal Lecturer, Dunedin School of Art Alysha Bailey says Jemma’s technical skills shone in this photo.
“The composition draws you in and gives the bird personality. The bright yellow of the bird’s beak is a wonderful colour addition against those recognisable moody tones of Dusky Sound.”
Third place went to Laboratory Health & Safety Coordinator Noel Jhinku, who captured the boat Monarch gliding through the Ōtākou channel on a calm morning in Ōtepoti.
A familiar sight to those who call Ōtepoti home, this photo of the Monarch gliding through the Ōtākou channel won Laboratory Health & Safety Coordinator Noel Jhinku third place at the 2025 Bulletin Photo Competition.
Noel says his photograph is a way of honouring the connections between the land and one’s identity, capturing a daily moment that is a familiar sight to many.
“Goat Island-Rakiriri, Quarantine Island-Kamau Taurua, and the Otago Peninsula frame Otago Harbour, well known to those who call Dunedin home. These places are more than landmarks; they are part of our identity.”
For Noel, “inspiration is always drawn from simply finding beauty in everyday moments”.
“Whether using a phone or a dedicated camera, it's about capturing a moment in time, telling stories, and showing the world the way I see it.”
The composition and lighting of the shot stood out for both judges, with Jason describing it as a “beautiful image with a soft, yet strong, composition”. Alysha praised the use of the rule of thirds in “creating space to breathe and drawing the eye to the boat” and the “muted colour palette, which brings a lovely stillness”.
The annual Bulletin Photo Competition was launched with a few twists this year, featuring new rules, new judges, new theme, and prizes.
The 2025 theme, “Being and Belonging”, invited photographers to explore the connections between identity (being) and community or place (belonging).
Entries were shortlisted by the judges and then scored against five criteria: composition, lighting, technical execution, adherence to theme, and visual impact. A close-fought contest – only one point separated the top two winners – with third place not far behind.
The winning entries will now receive a prize pack, including a high-quality A2-sized print of their entry courtesy of Uniprint, the milestone 250th issue of Landfall Tauraka – Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest-running arts and literary journal, courtesy of Otago University Press; a copy of Writer – a publication celebrating five years of the University of Otago’s creative writing competition, and an Otago-branded hoodie and bucket hat.
~ Kōrero by Sandra French, Adviser, Internal Communications