Renowned Maketu photographer Andy Belcher has once again captured the essence of New Zealand’s marine beauty, clinching the top prize in the LegaSea NZ ‘Our FishCare Summer Photo Competition’.
His stunning composition, an underwater scorpion fish contrasted against the dark backdrop of the ocean at night, has taken out top spot among 250 entries from Kiwis nationwide.
Two of his underwater photos, captured while diving at the Poor Knights Islands, have also taken out second and third prizes in the ‘Underwater Photos’ category; and another photo of a South Island west coast beach shot at sunset won first place in the ‘Landscape Coastal Shots’ category.
“It was quite a surprise,” says Andy.
The 80-year-old has won 84 international photographic awards.
In 1997 he was invited to London’s Natural History Museum to accept his most prestigious award, when he won the Animal Behaviour section of the British Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition with a grouper photograph taken in Vanuatu. For that, 19,000 images were entered from photographers in 65 countries.
Andy Belcher, taken on his 80th birthday. Photo: Supplied.
Andy says it’s quite rare these days to find a photo competition with no entry fee.
“I’ve been following Legasea for a while now and really love the way they’re bringing more awareness to the health of our fisheries,” says Andy.
“Being an avid diver and underwater photographer, the effects of unsustainable fishing practices are far too visible – and it’s clear that if nothing is done, we might not be able to continue to enjoy our beautiful ocean playground for years to come.”
Every year LegaSea runs their photo competition to highlight NZ’s coastal environment and get people engaged and interacting with our coast in different ways.
Andy says he was keen to support the competition because he loves what Legasea are doing, and feel like he’s aligned with their mission as a brand.
“It was also a great chance to get behind photography of landscapes and coastlines, which is essentially what our artwork celebrates.”