Okanagan amateur photographers winners in B.C. SPCA contest

Two Okanagan photographers have scored wins in the B.C. SPCA's 12th annual Wildlife-in-Focus photography contest.

Eileen Harris of Kelowna takes home the People’s Choice Award for her photo of a bee on a flower, while Thomas Haslinger's shot of a chipmunk earned him first place in the Backyard Habitats category, according to a B.C. SPCA media release.

There was also a Wild Settings category with Joshua Wolfe of New Westminster taking first place with a photo of black bears

The contest also doubles as a fundraiser for the SPCA in the province.

“With more than 956 photos submitted, it was a challenge for the contest judges to highlight only a few of the many amazing photos celebrating B.C.’s diverse wildlife,” Erin Ryan with the B.C. SPCA said in the release. “We want to thank all the participants for sharing their amazing photos and helping to raise more than $32,920 to help the BC SPCA care for injured and orphaned wildlife.”

The winners are:

Backyard Habitats

1st place: Thomas Haslinger (Coldstream) – Chipmunk
2nd place: D. Ross Fisher (Campbell River) – Robins
3rd place: Sandy Stirling (Nanoose Bay) – Tree frog

Wild Settings

1st place: Joshua Wolfe (New Westminster) – Black bears
2nd place: Greg Peterson (Burnaby) – Short-eared owl
3rd place: Deborah Freeman (Nanoose Bay) – mink

People’s Choice Award
Eileen Harris (Kelowna) – Bee on Flower

First-place winners will be featured in the upcoming issue of the B.C. SPCA’s Animal Sense magazine. The judge’s top three choices in each category and the top 12 People’s Choice photos will appear on a pack of greeting cards available soon through the BC SPCA’s online store.

Visit the SPCA's website to view more photos captured by B.C. amateur photographers across the province.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Carli Berry or call 250-864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.