The final ladder competition for 2017 had the set topic of “into the night” which screams out astrophotography. But it also meant that these were going to be landscapes, which is not one of my main shooting areas.

On a clear night I headed to Owhiro Bay on Wellington to do the shoot. I had planned on shooting an orb in the foreground but in the end that image was not as good as the one as a simple landscape. There will be a separate post about the night shoot and my painting with light attempts.

In the end I only selected one image from the shoot, and for the second entry went back to a shoot two years previous at the base of the Pencarrow light at the entrance to Wellington harbour.

Going into the round I was tied for first place with another club member, so we both knew the relative results of our image would decide who won the award for 2017 Advanced grade photographer.

As it turned out the judge must have liked my images as both received Honours, meaning that I have successfully won the competition for the second year in a row.