Theo van der Merwe from Boksburg Camera Club is our November winner!
Theo, congratulations on your winning image – Soaring with painters palette of colours
Theo says:
After spending three days, morning and afternoon, at my favourite water hole, Cubitje Quap in the Kgalagadi, I got lucky.
The picture was taken mid-afternoon. I positioned myself using the open grassland and the sandy area as a background to isolate the subject. I waited patiently for the bird to finish bathing and to fly into the planned area. Luckily, the sun was not too harsh, but an exposure compensation of – 0.33 was still needed to eliminate overexposing of the whites and still allow detail in the blacks.
While waiting for the bird to take flight, it is always a good idea to take pictures of the static birds, and to fine-tune your exposure to allow the dynamic range of your camera to cover both the darker and lighter areas.
Camera model: Nikon Z9
Lens model: Nikon 300mm F2.8 with 1.4 converter
ISO: 2200
Aperture: F 13
Shutter Speed: 1/4000
Compensation : – 0.33
Time : 15:49
Date 18-10 2025
Our 1st Runner-up is Rodney Cory – Springs Photographic Club with “All alone at the waterhole”
Our 2nd Runner-up is Sharlene Cathro from Prince’s Grant Camera Club with “Lappet landing”
Thank you to the judges:
Nicci van As – Independent
Rina Hattingh – AFO Fotografieklub
Click here for the Nov 2025 scoresheet for Website winners
NOV 2025 WEBSITE WINNER FINALISTS (You can click on the images to enlarge them and use the arrows on the image to go back and forth.)
HOW DOES THIS COMPETITION WORK?
This is a PSSA monthly competition where authors enter their own image onto Photovault. Appointed judges select the winning image. The monthly winner gets displayed on the home page of our website for the duration of the month.
Entries for the website competition are entered by the authors themselves via Photovault at www.photovaultonline.com.
Click here to download instructions on how to upload your entry onto Photovault.
All images must be original and must not incorporate elements produced by anyone else. By virtue of submitting an entry, the entrants certify the work as their own. The PSSA Director of Competitions has the right to ask for the RAW files.
Frequently we do require high resolutions of these images as PSSA uses them for Print Exhibitions to promote PSSA as well as showcasing the work being done around the country.
At the end of the PSSA calendar year (30 June of each year) the Website Competition Winning Image of the Year is selected.
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