Showcasing Martinborough – Inaugural Summer Pix Competition

Showcasing Martinborough – Inaugural Summer Pix Competition
Imagine 240 photos of Martinborough in summertime, capturing the essence of our unique district. This is what Trish Higginson was amazed to receive in the inaugural summer pix competition that she set up and ran during January and February. Trish had noticed the DomPost’s annual competition and thought it would be worth a try as part of her Martinborough Village Facebook page. “I thought I might get 20 entries,” says Trish, “but never expected this”!

Because this was a test run in many ways, Trish explains that the competition evolved as it went along. “The categories were set as the number of entries grew. What started as a simple ‘Martinborough in summertime’ competition become so much bigger”, she says. Trish explains that the prizes evolved with the competition, involving a lot of discussion with businesses, who supported the initiative of promoting and showing what we have to offer in Martinborough. Along the way Trish realised she needed help, so incorporated the assistance of Karina Hailwood, who has joined Trish as a creative director of Martinborough Village.

Entries came from overseas as well as over the hill, with people who had visited Martinborough during the summer submitting wonderful snaps. Trish said she thought she would get mostly “pictures of people sitting in cafes and drinking wine”, but in fact the photos were far more varied and showed many aspects of the district. There were animals, children, rural countryside, coastal views, boats at Ngawi, farm activities, sunsets and sunrises, and families having fun. Trish describes the result as “showcasing Martinborough in summertime” and is considering using some of the entries for postcards and perhaps a calendar.

From the outset a panel of judges was invited to participate as Trish wanted the competition to be a quality one. The panel consisted of four judges – John Casey, Pete Monk, Emma Melhopt & Brooke Hoskins – who deliberated over the entries. John described the process as being “like a game of mixed doubles played for three hours on centre court”, indicating that the decisions were not easy.
The judges commented that “the enthusiastic engagement of the community in this first-ever competition for the region was a warming challenge for the judging panel. The sheer number of entries brought with it the unenviable task of selecting an inevitable few winners from a broad base of worthy contenders”.??Trish and Karina are already planning next year’s competition using the same model with some fine-turning. “We see this as a fantastic way to promote the Martinborough region as a premium tourist destination and a cool place to live”, they say. In the meantime, Trish thanks all those who entered, the judges for their time and professionalism, and the local businesses who donated wonderful prizes. Thanks go especially to Peppers Parehua for donating the main prize and the venue for the prizegiving.
Congratulations to Natalie Gascoigne on winning 1st prize overall with her captivating image which is proudly presented as “the image of Martinborough in summertime 2015” and heads the MV Facebook page. To catch up with Martinborough Village take a look at www.martinborough-village.co.nz and to see all the entries and the prizewinners, visit https://www.pinterest.com/martinboroughv/martinborough-village-summer-pics-comp-2015/: Then polish up those cameras for next year’s summer pix competition.