2009 Cottage Life Photo Contest

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Grand prize winner

Loonrise

Kevin Tureski was out in the canoe at 6:30 a.m., looking for something to photograph, when
the loon popped up. “All of a sudden, it spread its wings,” he says. “Luckily, I have a pretty fast camera.” The self-described “serious amateur photographer,” who cottages on Littlefools Lake, near Bancroft, had already set up his camera, equipped with a 200mm zoom lens, to shoot directly into the sun.

Judges’ comments
Kevin’s photo earns top honours because it’s both a tough shot to get and it’s well executed. Within a beautiful silhouette, we can see the details of the eye, the drops of water, and the white spots. Clearly, Kevin was responding to the light: the backlighting, and the way the sun hits the mist and highlights the left wing. You get a real sense of this loon: I’m here. I own this lake. You feel privileged looking at it.

The Best of the Best voting contest has closed. To see the winners, please check back February 22, 2010.

Winners in other categories

Life at the Cottage

Nature

Landscapes

Kids Only 

All the winners are published in the Winter 2009 issue of Cottage Life, on newsstands November 2, 2009.