2026 NZIPP Australian Professional Animal Photographer of the Year

Last year I had such a great time at the Iris Awards in Christchurch, it was a no-brainer to head back there this year!

I always look for ways to combine business trips with personal adventures, so I took advantage of the fact that the Iris Awards are held in August and once again combined the trip with a five-day snowboarding adventure with my bestie beforehand. I was still in one piece at the end of that (it was actually a fantastic little getaway), so headed up from Queenstown to Christchurch for the three-day event and then the two-day Photo Show conference that followed.

Once again I stayed with Craig, who was so good to put me up even though he and husband Chris were staying in an Airbnb while they waited for the cottage to be built on their new block of land. I essentially got to move in with them as they moved in for the very first time, how exciting!

The powers that be at NZIPP were happy to have me live judging again this year, and this time the categories I was assigned to didn't conflict with the Animal category, hooray! So I was able to watch the judging for the print division (with six of my entries) and then jump on the panel to judge the digital division of the Animal category at the end.

Before I get to the Animal category, I'll share that judging the Creative Landscape and Travel categories was an amazing experience! I felt super inspired by the Creative Landscape category especially. Shooting landscapes was actually my first photographic love back when I was studying photography, and the creative interpretations of this genre were mind-blowing and gave me a lot to think about. While it can be a bit daunting judging categories that aren't your speciality, it really does widen your creative horizons (quite literally for this particular category) and give you fresh inspiration from outside your own genre.

So back to the Animal category judging.

Watching your images being judged and discussed really is a rollercoaster: the lows, when the score doesn't meet your expectations, and the highs, when a judge champions your images in a challenge and pushes for a higher score. Definitely a nerve-wracking, but character-building experience! At one point, something one particular judge said about one of my images totally made my day, so much so that I hardly cared that the image didn't make it up to the Gold award he was campaigning for. Those unexpected moments are priceless.

At the end of the judging, I ended up with two Silver Distinctions, two Silvers and two Bronzes. No Golds this year, but I was optimistic I might sneak in as an Australian finalist, which would have been enough! These were my three highest scoring entries.

After the print auction event at the end of the last day of judging, I was announced as an Australian finalist in the Animal category, which I was over the moon about. Also a finalist was the amazing Belinda Richards with her trademark clever (and very strong) work, and Queensland photographer Greg Hanlon with some really unique images of insects.

The Photo Show followed, and I really enjoyed the speakers this year, particularly the power couple Matt Palmer and Mieke Boynton, who are based in the foothills of the Australian Alps in Victoria. Their talks were really inspiring and I especially loved their landscape work. Now I really want to visit that incredible part of Australia!

The Gala Dinner rolled around on the Sunday night, and my talented and brave business partner Craig was actually hosting the event this year (he did an amazing job, but I knew he would). Going off the incredible work mine was competing with, I definitely wasn't expecting to win this year, so imagine my complete shock when my name was read out as NZIPP 2026 Australian Professional Animal Photographer of the Year!

I wished I'd at least thought about what to say on the off-chance of winning, because I was absolutely in disbelief and not prepared in the slightest when I went up on stage to accept the trophy.

The announcement of my win was very quickly followed by Craig being announced as the NZIPP 2026 New Zealand Professional Animal Photographer of the Year, which was no surprise to me at all. I was so proud of him, it was very well deserved, and his images this year were incredible, as always. It was pretty special that Team Unleashed took out the honours across the Tasman this year!

With the Animal category first in the announcements, I could then relax, enjoy the sense of achievement (still tinged with a little disbelief) and cheer for the winners of all the other categories, celebrating their successes. The level of work this year was just insanely good and hugely inspiring to me.

Now that it's all over and I'm back home and unwound from the excitement, I can share my winning images and express my thanks.

Thank you to Craig, my co-founder at Unleashed Education and the person who talked me into entering this competition for the first time last year (and who may be responsible for getting me slightly addicted to photo competitions). To my husband Martyn, who supports me in everything I do, and to my Unleashed students, who keep me striving harder in my own work every time I teach. Also thanks to the sponsor of the Iris Awards, Canon, and the sponsor of the Animal category this year, Rahera Creative. And of course, to everyone involved in the NZIPP and Iris Awards, who dedicate so much of their own time to making the awards happen every year, and all the entrants, for providing endless inspiration to keep my spark for photography burning brightly.