The New Zealand Landscape Salon celebrates authentic New Zealand landscape photography

Open for Entries: 1 May 2024


Formerly known as The Laurie Thomas Landscape Salon, this long-running competition boasts a rich legacy spanning 27 years of success. However, in the spirit of growth and evolution, it's time for a refresh.  While the name Laurie Thomas Salon holds immediate recognition among PSNZ members, it may not resonate as strongly with other passionate New Zealand landscape photographers.  So the Salon's organisers, members from the Christchurch Photographic Society, have decided to re-launch the salon, instituting changes over the next two years.

The first step is a name change. The competition will now be known as the New Zealand Landscape Salon and the premium award will be the Laurie Thomas Trophy.  As tradition dictates, the winner shall be awarded, and will keep, this distinctive sculptural trophy.

The A5 printed catalogue which every participant has previously received has started to look a little dated. Consequently, we will now offer a high-quality printed book which will be available to purchase, separate from the entry fee. All entrants will continue to receive a pdf version of this catalogue. The decision to forgo the printed brochure will enable a significant reduction in the entry fee.

The judging teams, comprising assessors from either the North and South Island, alternate annually. This year's team will be from the North and will be led by Annette Johnston FPSNZ. Further details will be announced in due course.

So if your camera has accompanied you in your “Adventures in Aotearoa” please join us in a celebration of our wonderful landscape by participating in the New Zealand Landscape Salon. Entries will be open from the 1st May to 2nd June 2024.

 

The New Zealand Landscape Salon has adopted the PSNZ definition for Landscape Photography

Photographs which capture a sense of 'space' and 'place' and tell a story of the scene before the camera. A landscape may combine elements such as land, sea, bodies of water and sky and may include human elements for scale and context but not to the extent that the human element becomes the prominent element.

The integrity of the landscape at the time of capture must be maintained. The making of physical changes to the landscape such as the introduction of new elements either from photographic sources or digital painting e.g. adding in, removing or replacing: skies, foregrounds, birds, mists, sun, moon, sun rays or the deletion of significant objects is NOT permitted.

Minor deletions of transient items eg, a leaf or stone or dust spot or litter, etc are permitted if they do not impact on the integrity of the scene. Digital adjustments including dodging and burning, changes to tone and contrast, and limited cropping are allowed, as are High Dynamic Range, stitched panoramas, and focus stacking.

 

Competition Rules

Entries must have been photographed within New Zealand.

The entry must be 100% photographic in origin.  No element of the entry can be computer-generated including any element created by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Composite images are not permitted.

Images must be submitted digitally via the nzlandscapeawards.photo website.  Images are to be uploaded in jpeg format, sRGB colour space, maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels.  Images must be at least 3000 pixels in the longest dimension. Photos scanned from transparency are acceptable. Limited cropping is allowed, but the native resolution of the image must still be at least 3000 pixels on the longest edge.

Payment of the competition entry fee, using the PayPal platform, is required before entries can be uploaded,


What will the Judges be looking for?

The directive to the judging panel underscores a desire to honour photography that encapsulates an authentic sense of place. While we are open to a creative approach to this goal, we would like to encourage pure photography skills.

 

The Laurie Thomas Trophy will be presented to the winner of the 2024 New Zealand Landscape Salon.



For the history of the competition and to see previous years competition results view here

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