Insley said she took the photo on her phone while on holiday and it immediately made her feel happy.
“I saw it and just loved it.
“I knew I wanted to enter it in the competition.”
IHC’s photography competition is for New Zealanders who have an intellectual disability, or an intellectual disability and autism.
It celebrates creativity through the lens, whether a camera, mobile phone, or tablet.
This year’s theme was Nature: the living world.
Laughton placed second, winning $3000 for his image of a hungry doberman, called Cook My BBQ Steak Medium Please.
Third place went to Amelia Attwood, also of Whangārei, who won $2000 for her moving photograph In Memory of My Mum.
“I took this photo at the rose gardens where I visit my mum,” she said.
The winner, Beren Hughes, of New Plymouth, received the $5000 first prize for his photograph Pīwakawaka Fanning Out.
The competition’s youth award was won by Kai St John-Harris Spencer of Auckland, for She Rises Once Again, an evocative silhouette image taken at Bethells Beach.
IHC chief executive Andrew Crisp congratulated the winners and everyone who entered.
Jade Laughton placed second for his photo Cook My BBQ Steak Medium Please.
Crisp said the quality of photography this year was “fantastic”.
“The quality of photography and creativity that our community produces should be celebrated, and that’s why IHC loves this competition.
“Creativity is a real strength for many people with intellectual disability and Capture the Moment is an opportunity to highlight and reward those talents.”
Amelia Attwood’s moving photograph In Memory of My Mum.
IHC’s Capture the Moment exhibition will feature at Foto Fest at Hastings Art Centre from September 28 to October 22.
The photos can also be viewed on IHC’s website ihc.org.nz
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.