#IAMMAKANA
Wednesday, 23rd March 2022
Aspirant to seasoned photographers recently took up the annual #IAMMAKANA Photography challenge to reveal what makes the Makana region stand out from the rest. The top three were recently announced and their photographs together with a curated selection will be exhibited for the first time at The Monument in Makhanda. Independent judges of the 2022 #IAMMAKANA Photography Competition selected top three winners from a great selection of submissions. The winners were as follows:
First Winner: There will never be the right time, just go for it! Photograph by Dinah Mukhari bit.ly/3ier25r
Photo Caption from Photographer: “Makhanda is a unique City, its cultural history is undeniable. The High Street in particular has a lot of historic buildings that have been photographed by the greatest photographers before me. What I had in mind when I took this photo was that it had to be different and would you believe if I told you that the statue you see next to the City Hall in my picture is actually not that close, in fact there is a whole tar road separating the two? Furthermore, what I love about the City Hall is that it has a clock on all four sides of the building which for me is always a reminder that we have limited time in this world. If you look closely at my picture you will notice that the time does not match on the two sides that I captured hence my picture title: There will never be the right time. While I was busy capturing this photograph, a few birds flew by and I was lucky enough to capture the last one as it was flying away and I thought to myself that finally I created a unique picture of Makhanda that tells a story. There will never be the right time, just go for it!” - Dinah Mukhari
Second Winner: Donkey art work at The Cock House. Photograph by Nolu Gocongo bit.ly/3ijGUne
Photo Caption from Photographer: “The Makana creativity is also expressed through different pure artworks in several walls of Makana buildings like the Donkey Artwork on The Cock House wall in George Street. Makhanda is a city where you will find donkeys everywhere, in other cities it is rare to find a donkey nor a donkey cart on a public road. Makana is a unique city as donkey carts are more like a motor vehicle, the picture is showing how busy Beaufort Street is and it is the main street in Makhanda, but you will see donkey cart on that street in between the motor vehicles.” - Nolu Gocongo
Third Winner: Rhodes 'O' Week Students Enjoying the Moonrise from Fort Selwyn. Photograph by Roddy Fox bit.ly/3KY1eH8
Photo Caption from Photographer: "I didn’t mean to take a photo of the students - my plan was to go up to Fort Selwyn (with a ladder) and take a shot from on top of one of the standing stones as the full moon came up. Instead, I found a student party going on with car doors open, music playing and young people enjoying themselves on the ramparts of the fort. Believe it or not, none of them saw me!” - Roddy Fox
The Fan’s Choice Award Winner: The go to stone along a Makhanda hiking trail by Nolu Gocongo. Facebook fans gave this photograph 94 likes and 5 shares. You can check it out here: https://bit.ly/3u9Sk29
Photo Caption from Photographer: “As a member of Makhanda Wild Hiker’s crew, we explore the Oldenburgia Trail which has the Pride Rock as one of our pitstops where we take magnificent pictures that attracts new hikers. The Pride Rock is the symbol of the Oldenburgia Trail.” - Nolu Gocongo The Fan’s Choice award was dependent on Facebook votes (likes and shares) from the public.
We wish you congratulate all the winners! Click here to check what each winner will be winning: bit.ly/3GSku6r
This annual contest could not be possible without the partnership of the National Arts Festival, the support of National Arts Council of South Africa, our getaway prize sponsors, Mansfield Private Reserve and River Spa and of course, our awesome judges who had the tough job of having to pick out the winners from such a talented pool of photographers. These winning photographs alongside last year's #IAMMAKANA Winners and a curated selection of other local photographs will be exhibited for the first time at The Monument, available for viewing from 24 March 2022. Thank you to all the photographers that participated in this local travel photography contest! We appreciate your love and passion to share the beauty of the Makana region with us. The public can view the photographic submissions here: bit.ly/3sXPgH0 or from the #IAMMakana Photographic Exhibition at The Monument, starting from 24 March 2022.
The Makana region, also known as the Frontier Country, is one of Eastern Cape’s premier tourism routes and the ideal destination for outdoor adventure, rich history, arts and culture and the Big Five. The region is made up of the City of Makhanda together with the nearby towns of Alicedale and Riebeek East and the quaint villages of Fort Brown, Salem, Seven Fountains and Sidbury, under the umbrella of Makana Municipality in the Eastern Cape. The Makana region forms part of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality.
