Thu, 6 July 2017 

Congratulations to Ilan Wittenberg on winning Gold at the 2017 Iris Awards! Held in Wellington this year, the Iris Awards is New Zealand’s only professional photography competition. The aim of these print awards is to recognise and honour the best in contemporary photography from New Zealand and overseas. The awards showcase cutting-edge imagery and top, creative photographic talent. They celebrate the excellence, providing a platform for recognition within the industry and the wider public. The event also raises the profile of photography throughout New Zealand, providing an annual showcase of cutting-edge imagery and creative photographic talent. It provides an excellent opportunity for photographers to gain widespread exposure for the fruits of their creative efforts.

The Iris Awards are open to all photographers in New Zealand and to members of approved overseas professional photography organisations by entering up to 10 prints across a range of categories. All prints are judged in an open forum over a three-day period, the best of which are awarded gold, silver and bronze awards. The judging sessions are open to the public in order to educate, inspire and inform. Each print is scored by five industry experts and Ilan was honoured to be invited to join the judging team for the first time this year. “Judging the Landscape, Student, and Portrait Creative categories was a very humbling experience” says Ilan, “You really have to take time, examine the print and respect the author with constructive feedback” . Wittenberg won a total of ten awards including a Silver with Distinction award for his book Faces of Jerusalem.

Click here to see Ilan’s latest award winning images including beautiful portraits from Morocco which he hopes to exhibit in Auckland.