Upper Hutt based pet photographer Emma Gough has been
awarded the title of Black and White Photographer of the
Year after achieving one of the top scores in the Asia
Pacific Photography Awards competition.
The Asia
Pacific Photography Awards, launched in 2021 and hosted by
the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography, is a
highly regarded international photographic competition with
the goal of celebrating and promoting the diversity of
photographic genres worldwide. The competition has 12
categories, including Black and White, attracting hundreds
of images from a wide range of international photographers.
From these entries, Emma, 27, won the Black and White
category with her photo ‘Finding the Light’ which
features her own dog Jake, a golden retriever x rough
collie. She also received 8th place in the coveted Portrait
category, and three other images achieved a Highly Commended
award.
Prior to winning the category, ‘Finding the
Light’ had already achieved international acclaim by
achieving a bronze, silver and highly commended award with
multiple competitions. Judge Steve Scalone talks of Emma’s
winning image, “to me it has absolutely everything that a
classical portrait, and not necessarily photographic, should
have. It has a beautiful pose and a stance that is
brilliantly strong. It almost feels like a selenium
print.”
Emma said, “this achievement still
hasn’t sunk in, it feels surreal. I absolutely adore
photographing dogs and for a photo of my own dog Jake to
achieve first place means so much. To be competing
alongside, and beating, such successful and titled
photographers just doesn’t make sense to me. I love the
craft of photography and am constantly looking to learn and
improve and this result really spurs me on to continue with
this.”
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Emma has only just entered her second year of
photographic competition. While being constantly attached to
a camera from the age of six, Emma hadn’t taken
photography seriously until after the COVID lockdown in late
2021. She found she was enjoying photographing her two dogs
and invested in her learning via multiple online courses and
communities. As a result, in 2023, Emma received 32 various
awards amongst different competitions, including a second
and a third place for her image ‘Facing the Immensity
Together’ which highlights the companionship dogs can
provide in times of need. This image has been her most
successful to date and has been picked up by more than 50
international news outlets.
You can see more of
Emma’s work and follow her photographic journey on her
Instagram:
@emmagoughphotography
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