There are two categories for the photo competition: 

• Category 1: A photograph featuring “tree crops”. That is, the trees, shrubs and other plants, produce and products of interest to tree croppers.
• Category 2: A photo that features “tree croppers”. That is, the people involved in the NZTCA, or members and the public attending tree crop events.

Winners

Overall national winner: Peter Syms, Nelson
Winner category 1 Tree Crops: Peter Syms, Nelson

Overall winning photo by Peter Syms, Nelson: Billington plums beside the hen house after morning drizzly rain. The sun has dried out the leaves but not the cold, unripe fruit. Taken in the afternoon in December.

Peter Syms with Dick Roberts trophy.

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Winner category 2 Tree Croppers: David Wayne, Nelson

Category 2 winning photo by David Wayne, Nelson

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Other Finalists
Click on images to view a larger version.

Mzia Khmaladze, Wellington Horowhenua

Honeyberry (Haskap) trial at a member’s property, Mzia Khmaladze, Wellington Horowhenua

 Harvesting water with swales, Peggy Yates, Northland

Baerbel Leeker, Northland

Wonderful Pomegranate – Punica granatum, Richard Winder, Wairarapa

Croppers under a Big Wairarapa Sky, Neil Douglas, Wairarapa

Nicolas Empson, Waikato

Nicolas Empson, Waikato

In our first photo competition we discovered our members’ photography talents — now we want to see more of it! We invite all branches to our second annual NZTCA photo competition, in memory of professional photographer and dedicated tree cropper Dick Robert.

Category 1: a photo featuring TREE CROPS – trees, shrubs and other plants, produce and products of interest to tree croppers.
Category 2: a photo featuring TREE CROPPERS – the people involved in the NZTCA, or members and the public attending tree crop events.

Our competition runs in two rounds.
Round one: each branch organises their own internal competition or selection process, then submits two photos to the national secretary. The two submitted photos can belong to one or both categories.
Round two happens at national level. A judge will be appointed by the Auckland branch, which is hosting the 2020 national tree crops conference. This judge will appraise the about 28 photos that were submitted by the branches.

There will be prize certificates for best in category 1 and best in category 2.
One photo will be declared the national overall winner. The person who submitted the winning photo will hold the NZTCA Photo Competition Trophy for one year, then pass it on to the next winner.

RULES
ENTRIES TO ROUND ONE

1. Eligibility
All members of NZTCA are eligible to enter the competition; all entrants must have taken the submitted photos themselves. The judge of round two and their immediate family are ineligible to compete.

2. Privacy
Please beware that photos must not breach peoples’ right to an expectation of privacy, and that photos of children are permitted exclusively with the written permission of a parent or legal guardian.

3. Photo format, size, editing
You can enter a photo that was taken anywhere, at any time. Cropping and adjustments for brightness and contrast are the only modifications that are permitted. The photos must be in .jpeg or .jpg format, between 1 Mb and 5 Mb in size, and of good quality when viewed at the size of a computer screen. A scan of a print or transparency is acceptable.

4. Photographer’s submissions, consent
Entries must be submitted to the branch to which the photographer currently belongs.
By submitting an entry, the entrant consents to their photo(s) being used by NZTCA in print and online, including in the TreeCropper, on the NZTCA webpage and in their social media, and for NZTCA promotional purposes.

ENTRIES TO ROUND TWO
Branch submissions
The Branch Committee is responsible for selecting which photos are sent by them to the national secretary.
A maximum of two photos per branch will be accepted in round two. Those two photos can be either both of the same category, or one per category.
Each photo file must be labelled using the format “YYYY MM DD, Category, Name, Branch” (e.g. 2020 01 23 One Jonny Appleseed Auckland).
Files must be submitted electronically to secretary@treecrops.org.nz by the deadline of 5:00 pm on 15 February 2020.

JUDGING
The Auckland branch will appoint an independent judge for round two. The national secretary will remove the photographers’ names and branch details before forwarding the images to the judge.
Photos will be judged on technical excellence, composition and subject matter.

In each category, TREE CROPS and TREE CROPPERS, one “best in category” winner will be chosen from all valid entries. One overall national winner will then be chosen from the “best in category” winners.

The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.
The NZTCA reserves the right to reject any entry at any time, without notice.

PRIZES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
The winners of “best in category” will receive a prize certificate.
The overall national winner will receive the New Zealand Tree Crops Association Photo Competition Trophy, to be held for one year. Certificates may be awarded for other achievements, with the agreement of the judge and conference committee.
The winner will be announced at the NZTCA Conference, online and in the TreeCropper magazine.

The Dick Robert Trust in Nelson has kindly donated funds to facilitate this event.