The North South University Photography Club (NSUPC) has organized the International Inter-University Photography Exhibition since 2003, attracting more and more student photography enthusiasts with every consecutive year. The purpose is to provide international exposure to amateur photographers at universities across the world and a platform for them to interact with other photographers, both amateur and professional.

From the 3000 photographs received by the IIUPE this year, only 450 were selected for the exhibition by a panel of eminent photographers from Bangladesh. These entries were divided into two categories, Colour and Black and White (B&W) media, which were further divided into 8 sub-categories – Landscape, Life, Architecture, Action, Still Life, Nature, Portrait and Photo Story. The exhibition took place from 4 to 10 July at the Bangladesh Art Gallery of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and the Drik Gallery in Dhaka, with 170 photographers from about 70 universities in over 20 different countries participating.

Bertus Ras, studying BSc Construction Management, had seven photographs on display at the exhibition. Two were selected for the ‘Colour Portrait’ category, one for ‘Colour Nature’, one for ‘Colour Life’ and one for ‘B&W Architecture’.

In the ‘Colour Still Life’ category he received the third prize for his photograph of a tomato as it falls into a glass of water which he calls ‘The Splash’. And he received the first prize in the ‘Colour Action’ category for his photograph, taken at the Johannesburg International Motorshow, showing a motorcyclist mid-air while performing a stunt.

Franco Megannon, a third year LLB student and Perdeby photographer, got one entry in the ‘Colour Action’ category depicting four acrobat aeroplanes, called the Silver Falcons, in a diamond formation which he shot at the 2009 Swartkop Air Show.

Currently completing her Honours degree in BIS Multimedia, Marinet Vorster also had one of her photographs selected for the ‘Colour Nature’ category. It shows a close-up of a bright yellow flower, one of her favourite types of photographs to take because of the colour contrast and nature’s indescribable beauty “she just has to capture it for herself,” she said.