Last year's silver is this year's bronze. That's how Fiordland-based photographer Tina McGregor described the increasingly high bar faced by New Zealand's professional photographers who are members of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography.

The awards give photographers the opportunity to showcase their work and have it judged in an open forum. The highest ranking images in a category earn the photographer points that go towards honours distinctions, such as "Associate" and "Master of Photography". 

For Mrs McGregor, who was awarded a Gold with Distinction for the first time for her "Ducks in Flight" entry, the awards offered a "great creative challenge" that forced photographers like herself to push their work further. 

Fiordland-based photographer Tina McGregor's "Ducks in Flight", which was awarded Gold with Distinction in the Landscape (In-Camera) category. PHOTO: Tina McGregor Photography

The ducks image was taken on a "beautiful nor'westery day" at McGregor Concrete's yard in Winton. There were lots of trial shots taken at 1/2000th of a second before finally nailing the photograph, she said.

Mrs McGregor was also awarded Silver and Bronze medals for works across three categories.

Invercargill anaesthetist Dr Roger Wandless, who last year achieved Grand Master of Photography distinction at the awards, took home medals across three categories. Dr Wandless agreed that the competition seemed to be getting tougher every year, jokingly saying that it made the awards "exciting and depressing" at the same time.

His Gold medal-winning image in the Travel category (it also took home a Silver in the Landscape category) was a double exposure taken at the top of Rockefeller Center during a trip to New York City last year. He said it was a way to get a different take on a common image, turning the focus to what was happening behind the camera. 

Winton-based photographer Megan Graham took home a Silver award in the Portrait in Camera Artistry category for her portrait of George Bell, a fellow photographer and collectables aficionado. 

Winton-based photographer Megan Graham's Silver Award winning portrait of George Bell, a fellow photographer who also has a passion for collectables. PHOTO: Megan Graham Photography

The category allows no non-traditional digital manipulation.

Mrs Graham has been entering the awards since 2012 and this year was simultaneously awarded "Associate" and "Master" of Photography distinctions.

She also received a Silver Distinction and multiple Bronzes across two categories.