Penticton bird photographer has work published in American nature magazine

A Penticton nature photographer says she is thrilled after placing in the top 100 in a national amateur photographer’s contest, in addition to getting her work published in an American magazine.

Meghann Fletcher entered the West Coast Traveller’s 2020 Amateur Photographer of the year contest and beat out nearly 30,000 other entries.

“I felt very honoured to have come so far. There were six categories and only 16 wildlife and nature photos, one of which was my Twin Great Horned Owls, that were included in that top 100,” Fletcher says.

Prior to entering that contest, last February Fletcher filled out an online submission form with Birds & Blooms, an American-based magazine devoted to plants, birds and other creatures.

The magazine bills itself as the number one bird and garden magazine in North America with more than one million subscribers.

Fletcher wanted to share a story and photo about a Northern Flicker berry picking in freshly fallen snow.

“On Sept. 3 last year, I received an email from a Birds & Blooms editor who told me they were potentially interested in using the photo I had submitted,” Fletcher says.

She provided some details about the photo, which had been taken at one of Penticton’s Okanagan River oxbows.

“The birds are very active there, especially in winter. It’s a place that’s dear to my heart,” she says.

In November, the magazine published a photo essay entitled “15 of the Snowiest Birds Ever!”

Fletcher’s photo and write-up were included in the article, which contained 18 photos of winter birds.

“I was so excited. Getting published in Birds & Blooms was a huge goal for me that I am so happy to have published,” Fletcher says.

Fletcher’s was the only Canadian entry.

Her future goals include getting published in Canadian Geographic and she would like to have some of her nature photography included in a book about Okanagan wildlife.

Fletcher says bird photography has become her passion.

“You can’t ask birds to pose a certain way or smile and say ‘cheese.’ I have the chance to tell a story through my photos that captures a moment in time that will never happen exactly the same way again, and for me that is a thrill,” she says.

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