Kamloops photographer rose to challenge for ‘growth’ contest

Kamloops has many wonderful photographers, but when iNFOnews.ca challenged them to submit one photo depicting 'growth', one stood out. 

Yasuko Todd submitted this winning image of a dandelion in seed with some seeds already carried away already, while others still wait. Todd said although dandelions are unpopular and considered a weed, they are one of her favourite flowers. She captured the image in front of her house when out on a walk.

“I saw so many dandelions with fluffy heads by the sidewalk,” Todd said. “The light of sunset was shining through the seeds. It was a perfect moment. The sunset light and the fluffy dandelion seeds were creating beautiful art on their own right there, and I was just pressing the shutter button from different angles. This image shows ‘growth’ perfectly. Seeds are lives. These dandelion seeds are taking off on the wind for their new journey of new growth.”

Originally from Japan, Todd has lived in Kamloops for 27 years. Her journey as a photographer started fewer than three years ago, when she bought her first DSLR camera and took a basic course at the university.

“I’m in my 50s but I told myself ‘it’s never too late to start’,” Todd said. “One of the reasons I like photography is that each photo I take shows a moment. The camera catches the moment and creates a piece of art. It is almost magic. I enjoy sharing my photos with others to show the beauty of nature, wildlife and all other things around us. Even a little dandelion plant can be beautiful art.”

Todd uses many different light sources to make her images shine. She takes advantage of weather and shadows and experiments with different camera settings and lenses. She finds her favourite lights at sunrise and sunset.

iNFOnews.ca asked the Kamloops Photographers Facebook group to take part in our informal contest and those same group members voted on submissions. We'd like to thank everyone who took part. To see the other contenders or to find the Facebook group, where we may do more contests, go here. 

You can find more of her photos on Facebook and Instagram.

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