Tauranga photographer Paul Byrne has been awarded the highest distinction awarded to an individual member of the New Zealand Photographic Society.

Paul, who is the president of the Tauranga Photographic Society, was awarded a Fellowship of the New Zealand Photographic Society at the weekend.

The accolade of being awarded a Fellowship distinct was granted to Paul for his documentary portrait portfolio of Cambodian People, says a statement from the photographic society.

Paul is only the third member of the Tauranga Photographic Society [TPS] to receive this distinction in its 62 year history.

The panel of work contains images of Cambodian people who Paul met during a recent visit to the Komopong Phluk district of Cambodia.

'These are just ordinary people going about their everyday activity. I tried to capture their culture through the eye of my lens,” says Paul.

'Cambodians have been through so much trauma during their recent history. It is difficult to appreciate how conflict has affected them and their way of life.”

Paul has been president of the Tauranga Photographic Society for three years. He is an

Accredited Photographic Judge and was one of the judges of the 2017 Trustpower Photographic Competition.

Tauranga photographers receive national awards

The Photographic Society of New Zealand recently held its 66th annual National Exhibition of Photography. An award ceremony was held at the Society's Annual Convention in Dunedin at the weekend.

Tauranga Photographers, Annette Johnston [LPSNZ] and Bill Hodges [APSNZ] took away Gold

Medals for the Open Digital and PhotoJournalism categories respectively.

Annette is believed to have set something of a record, as this year marks the third year in succession that she has been awarded a Gold Medal for Overall Championship Digital Image.

The Canon/PSNZ National Exhibition received 1621 entries of which 504 were selected.

Simplicity by Annette Johnson.

His Fans Look On by Bill Hodges.