The mountains are full of stories. From the quiet majesty of a dawn-lit peak to the intense focus projecting on a crag, our climbing lives are rich with moments that deserve to be captured and shared.
That’s why the annual NZAC Wellington Section Photography Competition is back!
It's your chance to dig through your archives, select your finest shots from your recent adventures, and showcase them to your fellow club members. Not only is this a great opportunity to celebrate your own work, but you'll be in the running for some fantastic prizes, generously supported by our sponsors.
Whether your passion is the sheer scale of the landscape or the subtle details of the climbing experience, there’s a place for your work:
Alpine Activity: Capturing the energy of people in the alpine.
Alpine Landscape: Strong composition and light in a mountain setting.
Alpine Nature: Artistic rendition of flora, fauna, ice, and geology.
Rock Climbing: Authentically expressing the movement and setting of the climb.
Mountain & Climbing Culture: The life, travel, and people behind the adventure.
Opens: October 20, 2025
Closes: 11:59 PM, Sunday, November 9, 2025
Award Evening: Thursday, December 4, 2025, at the Section Night
Check the official rules below for image specifications and entry criteria. You can submit up to three images per category, but hurry—you only have three weeks!
Alpine Activity
Photographs where the main subject is people engaging in activity in the alpine environment (e.g. climbing, skiing, tramping, camping). Emphasis should be on balanced composition and ‘capturing the moment’.
Alpine Landscape
Photographs that display mountain landscapes. Images should be strongly composed with great light. Judges will be weighing technical excellence, colour, tone and detail along with the image’s subject and composition.
Alpine Nature
Photographs of natural subjects in the mountain environment, where the emphasis is on artistic rendition. Subjects may include geological features, plants (or parts of plants), animals, water, snow and ice formations etc.
Rock Climbing
Photographs of rock climbing that authentically express the rock climbing experience, have a balanced composition and pay heed to the aesthetic attributes of the scene.
Mountain & Climbing Culture
Photographs that portray the climbing life and places and people encountered by climbers. Entries might include travel photography (as long as it’s strongly related to climbing) or documentary-style images, covering any aspect of climbing.
All entries need to be submitted via the online form provided.
The competition is open to NZAC members only
Individual competitors must enter images depicting subjects appropriate to any of the five theme categories (as noted above).
Each competitor may enter no more than three images in each category.
Images that have been entered in previous NZAC Wellington photography competitions, may not be entered a second time.
Images must be taken no earlier than October 2024
Winners may be asked to supply a higher resolution version of their image after the conclusion of the competition.
By entering, competitors must agree to their images being displayed on the NZAC Wellington Section website and Social Media channels for the purposes of promotion of the photography competition.
Ownership of images remains with the photographer. However, NZAC cannot guarantee the copyright of images that appear on the website.
NZAC Wellington Section may submit entries to the FMC (Federated Mountain Clubs) affiliated club competition in 2026.
In all instances of use full accreditation to the source will be given.
All images must have been taken by the competitor and be their property.
Images must not be processed beyond colour grading and minor touch ups.
Images need not necessarily have been taken in New Zealand.
Image files must be named with a) your name, b) the initials of the category they are entered into, c) a caption, d) the location and e) the date before they are submitted. The relevant initials for each category are:
Alpine Activity-AA, Alpine Landscape-AL, Alpine Nature-AN, Rock Climbing-RC, Mountain and Climbing Culture-MCC
For example, an entry into the Alpine Activity category by Jane Doe should be named JaneDoe_AA_My beautiful picture_MtAspiring_August2024.jpg.
Entries are permitted in digital format only, uploaded via the provided form.
A free Google account is required to complete the entry form.
Questions highlighted as required on the form must be completed
Files must be JPEG format, less than 10MB (but at least 1000 pixels on the long side).
Images not meeting these specifications are not eligible for entry.
Entries are judged by the competition judge and individual winners and place-getters are chosen for each category.
Judging will be carried out on the basis of the criteria listed above. The judge and the organisers of the competition may reject images that are not of an alpine, mountain or climbing nature and may transfer entries from one category to another.
The judge will also select the overall champion image, irrespective of category.
The judge may choose not to award category winners/ honours/acceptances for any of the above if they feel a suitably high standard has not been achieved.
The Judge’s decisions are final and no correspondence shall be entered into.