The winner of the Nikon Surf Photo of the Year 2018 Award, in partnership with Surfing Australia, is Trent Mitchell, for an image that is part of his Tessellated Seas collection. Mitchell has worked on the ongoing series since 2013. It explores the human connection with nature.
Intrigued by the reasons why people are drawn magnetically to the sea, Mitchell says that he set out to discover how this connection may develop through time. “I worked systematically at a location that makes me feel connected and grounded to nature during the creative practice,” he says. “Simplifying the variables and working without judgement of the conditions was critical in building a cohesive body of work over a long period of time. To find variations in light, colour and energy I worked at very specific times of day and positioned myself in the same location to take every photograph over the course of the project, much like traditional landscape artists,” he added.
The 2018 Nikon Surf Photo of the Year Award recognises the best single surfing-themed image taken by an Australian in 2017. Although entrants need to be Australian residents, the submitted photos can be taken anywhere around the world and can be drawn from action, lifestyle/portrait, or scenic photography.
Another part of the competition, the Nikon Surf Video of the Year Award celebrates the best surf video of any length or format released in 2017 and filmed, produced or directed by an Australian citizen or resident. Tim Bonython was named winner this year for The Big Wave Project - A Band of Brothers. Bonython is an award-winning ocean cinematographer whose video follows the raw and uncensored journey into one of the world's most exciting challenges: riding the world's biggest wave.
The Big Wave Project (Official Trailer ) from Tim Bonython Productions.
A panel of 13 high-profile judges from within the surfing industry, including Nikon’s partner in the project – Surfing Australia - were tasked with selecting the winning surfing photo & video based on a range of strict criteria.
All surf photo and surf video finalists came be viewed on My Nikon Life.
