Kiwi photographer takes winning action shot
21 Sep 2010
A young Kiwi photographer from Lake Wanaka has become the only New Zealander and sole female finalist in a prestigious international photography competition.
Camilla Stoddart earned a place amongst 50 finalists out of 22,000 entries in the Red Bull Illume action photography awards which were announced in Dublin earlier this month.
Her image of BASE jumper Josie Symons leaping off a cliff at the Rob Roy glacier near Lake Wanaka was one of five chosen for the ‘Wings’ category of the competition.
The Wings category is one of 10 that encompass adventure sports set against the backdrop of some the world’s most spectacular locations.
Lake Wanaka, in New Zealand’s South Island southern lakes region, is the gateway to the Mount Aspiring national park - an outdoor action playground.
Dublin awards
Camilla Stoddart, who lives in the Wanaka region, travelled to Dublin for the awards.
All 50 finalist images were shown on giant two-metre high lightboxes in Dublin’s historic Trinity College quadrant, and Stoddart says she was thrilled to see her image amongst the world’s best, after setting the competition as a goal since 2007.
"There’re not a lot of female photographers in action and adventure sports because it’s so physical. Being the only female finalist, people were quite interested to hear what I had to say," said Stoddart.
Her dramatic image shows BASE jumper Symons as a small speck dwarfed by the magnitude of the frozen waterfall and cliff she is leaping off.
"When humans and mountains meet, wonderful things can happen. I think this shot speaks out to show how humans use the wonderful land that we have been given ... taking in the serenity, and the sheer magnitude of this waterfall, a girl has chosen to embrace the cliff by jumping off it, and for a few moments becoming part of the landscape, weightless in the air," said Stoddart.
Illume Image Quest
The Red Bull Illume Image Quest is one of the most prestigious international competitions in action sports photography.
It gives photographers who showcase sports from skiing, to surfing, base jumping to climbing, a chance to show off their work and explain how they achieved their images.
Illustrating the sports is often extremely difficult and photographers have to put themselves deep in the elements of what they are shooting to get the right shot.
After the Dublin showing, the 50 winning images will tour the world as part of the Red Bull Illume exhibition.
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