Out Here
Winning Things.

PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS.

Dean entered five images into the Astrophotography Prize and came away with a Silver for a shot from Totara Flat, the small West Coast town he grew up in.

The photo was taken in October 2024, during the brightest aurora display Dean had seen up to that point. It was also one of those nights where nothing else went right. Focus, timers, the basics he normally does not think twice about all gave him grief from the moment he set up. He had gone back to Totara Flat specifically to shoot some of the old local landmarks under the aurora, and instead spent most of the night fighting his own gear.

The moon was bright enough that night to light the foreground on its own, so this is a single frame, no blending, no stacking. Knowing how much light was needed to pull that off only makes the colour in the sky more impressive. Dean shot hundreds of frames that night and walked away happy with only a handful of them, which stung a bit at the time. Coming home with a Silver from this one made up for it.

PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS.

The Iris Awards are the cream of the crop in New Zealand. Dean was not confident going in. He was hopeful the Iceland waterfall might do something, but a Silver Distinction plus three more awards on top of it was not on the cards in his head. Four entered, four placed.

The waterfall was shot on the first day Dean and Nicole spent travelling Iceland. Golden hour light that seemed to last all day, scenes coming at them one after another, and the excitement of the whole trip still ahead. The figure in the frame barely registered standing there, but Dean spotted it on the back of the camera and then spent another twenty or thirty frames working the composition around it. That one he is quite happy with.

The sheepman came from another Iceland waterfall stop. A genuinely creepy looking fella standing there in the bush. Dean was uncomfortable at first, then figured he would make a cool photo. He was right.

Mt Cook was Dean's first trip down the east coast to see the mountain. It was windy and moody, and the black and white treatment suited that far better than colour ever would have. It sits apart from everything else here, which is exactly the point.

The Castle Hill tree shot came from the same night as the big fog panorama. Dean and Nicole found a spot wedged between two converging rock formations, a natural frame that made the whole scene feel like peering out of a cave. The Milky Way lined up perfectly between the rocks, pointing straight toward a lone tree in the distance. Sheets of rock had clearly peeled away from the formations above and shattered on the ground right beside them, so it was slightly sketchy. The composition was too good to walk away from.

Having work sitting alongside the standard of photography that turns up at the Iris Awards is not something Dean takes lightly. He still does not quite feel like he fits in that company. Lucky is the word he keeps coming back to.

PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS.

Off the back of the NZAPA results, Dean entered five images into the Asia Pacific Photography Awards. Four out of five placed Highly Commended.

The one that means the most is the CampEasy van shot from Iceland. It was the first morning of the trip with Nicole, a beautiful sunrise, and all the adventure still ahead of them. It is pure joy in one frame and it means far more to Dean than the badge on it suggests.

The aurora panorama over Lake Mapourika from November 2025 was his first astro panorama to win an award. After leaning hard into astrophotography over the past year, this one hit home. The best part is, he looks at it now and knows he could do it better. That is probably a good sign.

The sunset shot at Motukiekie with the starfish in the foreground is one Dean has been chasing for years. He still reckons he has not nailed it yet, but he loved this version enough to enter it, and the judges agreed. The chase continues.

An aurora image taken through the mountains near Otira also placed, rounding out a strike rate that made the first NZAPA results look like a warm-up.

PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS.

The NZAPA was the first cab off the rank. Dean submitted ten images across landscape, wildlife, and commercial categories, and every single one placed.

The standout was a shot taken at the Cobden tiphead on a busy evening. The sunset was gorgeous, the bar was rough, and a fishing boat was coming in through the swell with a crowd watching from the rocks. It was one of those right-place-right-time moments where everything lined up. That image picked up a Silver Award and a Top 25 Finalist placing, the strongest result of the lot.

The aurora over Broad Stream near Arthur's Pass was another one with a story behind it. Taken on the 2nd of June 2025, it was the brightest aurora Dean has ever seen. It was only six degrees, which does not sound that bad until you factor in the wind screaming down the stream from the mountains. Still the coldest he has ever been. Still completely worth standing there for.

Then there was the first Kaiata Street Sprints, where Dean had full access to the track and pits. Two RX-7s parked up in front of a pair of Caterpillar dump trucks made for something completely different from the landscapes and wildlife. The drivers of those cars knew what they were doing, too.

Two shots of Herry McClerry the white heron also placed Highly Commended, taken with a telephoto lens and a bit of patience. A new DJI Air 3S opened up the West Coast from above, with drone shots of the coastline and a fishing boat leaving the Grey River both placing as well. The boat was pure fluke. Dean had a NOTAM approved for the Greymouth Bar area and a boat happened to come out while he was up there.

A native fern lit up in the bush rounded out the set. Ten entered, ten placed. Not a bad first crack.