Inspired by our current exhibition Wildlife Photographer of the Year we ran our own photography competition celebrating the beauty of Aotearoa. We talked to our winner Ronnie Li about his stunning landscape, how he selected it and his photographic style.

Can you give us a brief introduction about yourself?

Hi, my name is Ronnie Li, I am a Chinese New Zealander and have lived in New Zealand for more than ten years. I am a fire alarm tester and work for Wormald (Johnson Controls).

How did you first get involved in photography?

I developed a love for photography quite recently, during a hiking trip to the Tongariro National Park where I took part in the alpine crossing nearly two years ago.

I passed the three green lakes and really admired the beauty of the landscape. I took a lot of landscape photos along the track - it was this trip that made me love photography.

Where did you capture your winning photograph?

This photograph was taken in Egmont National Park on the Pouakai Circuit Reflective Tarn.

Why did you choose this image for the competition?

This is my favourite photograph, it was a sunny morning, the sky colour and the clouds were just right, and I always wanted to capture a whole mountain covered in snow, and for me this is the one.

What type of camera or technique did you use to capture the image?

My camera is a Canon 1DX Mark II and I used Photoshop for post-processing.

Do you have a particular style of photography you like to take?

I enjoy taking landscape photography and take photographs all over New Zealand.

You can see more of my images on my website here: www.500px.com/lrw1013

If you could sum up this winning image in three words what would they be?

I love NZ.