iN PHOTOS: Okanagan wildlife photographers win province-wide contest

Two winners of the 16th annual BC SPCA 2024 Wildlife-In-Focus Photography contest are from the Okanagan, with their photos selected out of more than 500 entries. Three photos were selected for the Backyard Habitats category featuring wild animals in back yards, three were selected for the Wild Settings category featuring animals in natural habitats, and one was selected for the People’s Choice Award. The winners were announced, Sept. 25, in a media release from the animal protection group. Penticton resident Bruce Turnbull’s photo of a northern flicker took first place in the Backyard Habitats category, while Kelowna’s Ashely Giovannini’s photo of a grizzly bear won second in the Wild Settings category. “I am thrilled to have my photograph of a northern flicker feeding their young selected as the winner of the Backyard Habitats category,” Turnbull said in the release. “Wildlife photography is a passion of mine, as is studying the wildlife I photograph and learning about the challenges they face.” Giovannini told iNFOnews.ca her photo of two young grizzly bears was taken on the coast and marks one of her favourite wildlife encounters. “These young bears were lounging in the sun when I noticed them, then wondered where the mom was but thankfully I was close to my vehicle,” she said. “The bears were so chill they were falling asleep with one hiding behind a tree and the other comfortable out in the open.” Giovannini is an outdoor enthusiast and has been honing her wildlife photography skills since 2020. According to the release, $8,426 was donated through the contest to help BC SPCA’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre https://spca.bc.ca/locations/wild-arc/ care for injured and orphaned wild animals.  “Supporting organizations that protect and help our wildlife is very important to me and I am glad my photo helped to raise much needed funds for the organization,” Turnbull said. READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Sunflower festival in Armstrong 'a photographer's dream' https://infotel.ca/newsitem/in-photos-sunflower-festival-in-armstrong-a-photographers-dream/it106610 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, while the top three winners in each category will be on a limited-edition tote available for purchase here later this year https://shop.spca.bc.ca/ . Go here to view all of the submitted photos including the winners. https://www.gogophotocontest.com/bc-spca-wildlife-in-focus To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie mailto:sainslie@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  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. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .