BC Nature/H.C.T.F. 2025 Photo Contest + BC Nature Summer 2025 Magazine

It was a great honour to have my image of a Common Loon (Gavia immer) and its loonlet chosen as a runner-up in the BC Nature/H.C.T.F. 2025 Photo Contest, BC Biodiversity category. This image was the product of many trips out on a tin can of a boat. Truthfully, I could have watched this pair all day, and very nearly did. There is always something so beautiful about the dynamics between parent and child, and their unwavering loyalty to each other. The shot presented some logistical challenges: how do I respectfully approach wildlife from something as loud as a motorboat? And how do I get a shot that looks like I was practically in the water with the loons without actually losing my camera to the lake? Luckily, with the help of the excellent boating skills of my fiancé, I was able to score the shot without disrupting the loon family.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find my image of a Barred Owl (Strix varia) mother and her owlet in the Summer 2025 issue of BC Nature Magazine. This image also demonstrates the closeness of a mother and her baby, with this mother holding her owlet’s feather gently in her beak after a grooming session. This particular owl pair has always been a favourite of mine, so it was no surprise to either of us when they landed on a mossy branch in a ravine so close to me. The trick then was not to alarm her owlet, who was both curious about humans but still wary.