Les gagnants et gagnantes

“I took my photo in the Temperate Rainforest Biome of the Pacific Maritime Ecozone.

I wanted to symbolize the elegance of the young fern as it unfurls. I’ve always felt connected to spirals. My grandmother immigrated from Germany when she was young, not knowing any English, but art helped her connect. She created a multitude of amazing art pieces, but one of her favourite things to paint was ferns, specifically when they were in Circinate Vernation. She inspired me to take my own journey with art, which drew me to take this photo when I saw the beautiful repetition and texture of this fern.

I also inherited her love for spirals, with their powerful metaphor of life itself: the constant ebbs and flows. Look around, there is a spiral symbol somewhere. Whether you have to search for it, or if it’s right in front of you, it’s there. Even in the palm of your hands. They represent the contraction and expansion of life in its many forms, ending in the beautiful balance of a spiral.

If I had the chance, I would use a higher quality lens, that way I would be able to capture more depth in my image.”

“I wanted to show the underrated beauty of a rooster’s face and texture when zoomed in. If you look closely, you can see a bunch of hidden secrets like eye goo, spots on its beak and dirt on its comb. My dad always plays rock songs and on that list is “Eye of the Tiger.” Everyone usually thinks of tigers as ferocious, strong beasts, when really, roosters are as important. They’re in lots of classic stories because of their call: cockle-doodle-doo and their majestic appearance! That’s why I’m calling this photo, “Eye of the Rooster!”

Furthermore, roosters have a number of other unique aspects, such as its comb (which regulates body temperature), its hackle and eccentric eye colors. I think the artistic aspect of this picture is all the textures that it has. When I first looked at it, I was drawn to its red eyes, since I’d never known their eyes could be red.

This photo was taken at Triple C Farms.

I think I could’ve improved this picture by focusing it a bit more. Otherwise, I absolutely love this photo, even if people say “Oh you took a picture of a rooster? That’s so weird!”

«J’ai pris cette photo pendant une promenade avec mon chien dans mon quartier, comme je le fais presque tous les jours. Chaque saison, ce jardin change, mais il reste toujours aussi magique. La vieille cabane en bois, un peu de travers, me fait penser à une maison de contes. Elle appartient à un terrain où se trouve une grande maison protégée par la loi sur le patrimoine. Cette maison a plus de 100 ans! Au printemps, les fleurs rouges explosent de partout et les jeunes bourgeons commencent à grimper sur la clôture. Ce lieu est un bel exemple d’habitat diversifié au cœur de Toronto : des arbres, des fleurs, des plantes grimpantes, des oiseaux et des insectes vivent ici, tout près des humains. J’aime cette photo parce qu’elle montre un mélange de passé et de renouveau. Même les endroits anciens peuvent être remplis de couleurs, de vie… et de surprises. Il est important de protéger ces lieux, car ils nous rappellent que la nature et l’histoire ont encore leur place, même dans une grande ville».

“After a fresh snowfall in Waterloo, I was walking down the street when two Canada geese resting in the snow caught my attention. I quickly took out my camera. One of the geese seemed to realize it was today’s model. It excitedly stood up and launched itself toward the red berries on the tree. Stretching its neck and jumping through the snow, it finally grabbed its prize. Proudly, it flapped its wings, showing off to its companion.

Late February is the time when these migratory birds return to their breeding grounds, marking the transition from winter to spring. This photo captures the contrast between movement and stillness, highlighting the energy of the goose and the incredible texture of its feathers. The composition is simple and clean. In post-processing, I intentionally applied elements of traditional Chinese painting by increasing the exposure of the sky. This made the sky look like a blank canvas, with the red-berry-covered branches painted onto it.

If I had used a wider aperture, the background would have been slightly blurred, making the goose stand out more. I will keep improving my photography in the future.”

« When I took this photo, my goal was to capture the peaceful connection between wild animals and their environment. I wanted to show how animals live, like the geese in this image floating on the lake, in harmony with nature. I believe I achieved this because the photo clearly shows the geese gliding among the lily pads, with soft ripples spreading across the water. The moment felt complete and reminded me how important it is to protect the natural world, especially with how much pollution we see today.

This photo makes me feel calm and connected to nature. All the elements work together in a balanced way. It feels like a quiet moment worth noticing. The repeated lily pads create visual harmony, and the hidden geese add an element of surprise and balance, making the scene more meaningful.

Scientifically, the photo shows how geese use lily pads as camouflage from predators. It highlights the delicate interactions in a freshwater ecosystem. The biome is Temperate Rainforest, and the ecozone is Pacific Maritime.

To improve the photo, I would lower my drone to get a clearer view and shift focus more directly onto the geese to better showcase their presence in the scene. »

“The goal of the photograph was to get as close to the snake as possible to make sure that I got an extreme close up to the photo that I would be able to use it. I got so close that you can see me taking the photo through the snake’s eye. The photo was taken in the middle of fall and was taken so low to the ground that the leaves shown in the photo were leaves below the base of the tree. The biome that the photo was taken in was an oak forest that had a lot of moss, mushrooms, and had a lot of fallen logs within the forest. The photo was taken at the base of a tree near the path. I would try to get more of the snake body in focus, as it only focuses on its head, which works for getting the eye in focus but it could have been the whole snake in focus. This is probably because of me using a macro lens that likes to focus more on a smaller part of the image compared to a landscape that likes to get everything in focus.”