5 minute read
FMC Photo Contest
by NZ HGPA
the Southern Club ran its 3rd annual photo competition in may, with dozens of excellent entries, showcasing all the reasons we love free flight so much.
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The winners were voted on by the club members on Facebook, and are shared here for you to enjoy. If you want to see all the shots, search #southernclubphotocomp2022 on Facebook!
Congratulations to Tim Shoultz as overall winner, and Michael Muldoon as overall runner-up, each winning instructional tandems from Infinity Paragliding. Jeff Packard came a close third, receiving a tandem voucher from G-Force NZ.
All the winning shots below get entered by the club into the Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ (FMC) photo competition, with thousands of dollars of prizes! (Last year, Tim Shoultz was a runner up in one category, winning a $500 down hoodie!) Southern Club used the FMC categories for our comp.
Because the NZHGPA pays an affiliation fee to FMC, all free-flight clubs are eligible to enter the FMC competition; entries close 15 September. fmc.org.nz/ photo-competition
Thank you very much to the generous prize sponsors, and to Dan Clearwater for running the competition.
2022 southern Club Photo Competition Champion
Overall winner and long exposure Category Winner tim Shoultz - Aurora Vol biv.
One of my first vol-biv missions starting from the summit of Coronet Peak > Harris Range > Mt. Aurum on the Richardson Range and chose the ridgeline leading to Mt. Earnslaw for my home for the night (~35ks). I woke up around 10:30pm to a glow in the sky and got my camera out to verify strong Aurora Australis. What a gift of a night. Will remember that one for a long time.
Above Bushline with human element
Category winner and overall runner up michael muldoon Skytrek tandems
Winter tandem work in Queenstown can be demanding at times. We have to get our passengers off the ski lifts and some of them have never seen snow before. Then according to the forecast some flights are a traverse line behind the Coronet Peak where the rewarding view of Skippers as photographed is complimented by views north to TC and of course the flight back over the resort to Flight Park. Pilot: Jack at Coronet Peak Tandems.
Above the bushline, no human element
Winner Jack Cano Corner peak cloudbase
Beautiful conditions prevailed on January 31, 2022 and a group of us had great flights from the Lindis Pass. Tracking SW from the Ahuriri towards Corner peak, was one of the many pumping cloud streets present that day. I had seen these streets form earlier in the season from the Hawea range and was delighted to finally be cruising one, in the direction of home! I soon after touched cloudbase at 10,000 ft above Dingle peak. Summertime, ey...
runner up Anthony Saupin breast Hill sunset
Hike and fly from the summit of Pakituhi on a beautiful winter day. The plan was not to fly so late but many unsuccessful and frustrating attempts to launch in a tricky wind eventually gifted me with a very nice sunset flight
Below bushline, with human element
Winner Jordan mcInally/undersoul photography Soaring poutu Sand dunes
Soaring Pouto beach, North Island
runner up Stephen Skelton praise te Waewae bay
Praise! Jack Parr reaches out to touch a miniature Billy Waller during a high wind speed soaring day at Te Waewae Bay, Southland.
runner up and 3rd overall Jeff packard Corner peak sunset (previous centre pages)
It took a while for my buddy The and I to line up the weather and work for a mission to Corner Peak. While we were aiming for an afternoon launch that July day, the icy and snowy hike up the mountain slowed our pace and ended up with us reaching takeoff shortly before the sun dropped down behind the mountains. While every hike I’ve been on in New Zealand was beautiful, I had no idea this one would be so stunning!
Below bushline, no human element
Winner Jan Necas On retrieve
This is the snap I took while retrieving my bike. I burned a lot of calories that day... An autumn flight from French Ridge in surprisingly buoyant conditions could bring me back to Wanaka, but with car at Raspberry flat and bike hidden somewhere in the bushes on the way to French ridge I landed at Raspberry Creek, dumped my glider in my car and run back for the retrieve.
runner up Anthony Saupin parachute rocks, St Arnaud
Hike and fly at Parachute Rock for a beautiful flight over lake Rotoiti with some locals during my own ‘St Arnaud XC camp’, one of the 4 consecutive flyable days in this nice area
native Flora and Fauna
Winner Henry bayne bottlenose dolphin
If only you could fly around Doubtful Sound; landings are a bit limited!
runner up Simone Striezi Kea
Once I was able to share the air with three Kea, who were telling me unmistakably that I was in their territory. But this time I was ascending Talbot Ladder, near Milford, and I could hear them long before I was able to see them. Finally a Kea landed nearby and the wind ruffled his feathers as he ambled closer: a great chance to capture the Nestor notabilis. The Latin term notabilis means “noteworthy” and in my eyes they truly are.
Historic
HIS Winner rob Nicholls Winterfestival 1977
