North Van photographer wins contest with cool coyote photo

A North Vancouver resident’s coyote photo has earned her the top prize in the BC SPCA’s 16th annual amateur Wildlife-in-Focus photography contest.

Janine Brooke won first place in the Wild Settings category for photo of a coyote that she took in Steveston. More than 500 photos were submitted for the contest, where each participant competed in two categories: Backyard Habitats, highlighting wild animals visiting our own backyards, and Wild Settings, featuring photos of animals in their natural habitats.

“We are very lucky to have so much wildlife in Metro Vancouver,” Brooke said in a BCSPCA press release.

“I’m very excited to have my photography of the coyote chosen as the winner of the Wild Settings category. This coyote was hunting in the marshes – it is one of my favourite subjects to photograph. By sharing my photos, I hope to introduce the viewer to a world we so often overlook in our busy lives and spark an interest in the wildlife around us.”

Brooke says she took the photo in a dyke near Richmond’s Steveston neighbourhood. The photo was taken in the early hours of New Year’s Day, and she wanted to submit her work as she liked the composition of the photo.

“The majority of my photos are done mostly on the North Shore,” Brooke said, adding that she has been snapping photos since 2015. “[Photography] is a bit of a passion of mine.”

The contest is free to enter, and helps raise funds for the non-profit’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre for injured and orphaned wild animals, according to their press release. BC SPCA raised $8,426 this year.

“With more than 500 photos submitted, choosing the top picks was a challenge for the contest judges,” BC SPCA’s wild animal welfare manager Andrea Wallace said.

In the Wild Settings category, Ashley Giovannini from Kelowna won second for a grizzly bear and Sebastien Nadeau from Squamish for a photo of a pygmy owl.

Penticton resident Bruce Turnbull won first in the Backyard Habitats category for a photo of a northern flicker, while Lesley Carere from North Saanich took second for a rufous hummingbird and Vancouver resident Roaslind LeBlanc earned third for a mallard duck.

The donations were collected with the optional donate-to-vote option for a People’s Choice Award. Sam Gorick from Mill Bay won for his photo of a raccoon.

For this award, the 12 photos that received the most votes along with the top three winners in each category will be featured in a limited-edition Wildlife-in-Focus pack of greeting cards, according to the press release.

The winning photos, those who received honourable mentions and other participants’ photos can be viewed on the contest’s website.