The Photographic History of NZ During Lockdown

In this age of heavily edited photos on social media, finding unaltered images is hard to come by these days. With a year that’s given us all a chance to reflect on our values and what is important to us, it’s refreshingly reassuring to see something authentic come out of the last 12 months.

The New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year 2020 competition shows us a nation coming together through strife and looking for positivity in the little things. With a rule that only allows for minimal manipulation of the images, the top 40 entries (out of thousands of hopefuls) show a real and raw New Zealand, one that illustrates the true strength of New Zealand as a nation.

To celebrate the beauty of this work, the top 40 images will be on display at the New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui Te Ananui A Tangaroa until March 2021, in the exhibition ‘A Year in Aotearoa’.