North Saanich Resident and photographer Colin Franks won third place in the Wild Settings Category for the BC SPCA’s Wildlife-In-Focus Photography Contest.
Having lived on the Peninsula all his life, Franks discovered photography about seven years ago.
“It just grabbed me by the shirt collars and hasn’t let go and I cannot believe that it missed my radar prior to that,” he told the PNR.
His third place win was a shot of a rhinoceros auklet with a mouthful of fish, which he shot from a kayak in Saanichton Bay.
Participants in the contest could enter single or multiple images in either the Wild Settings category or the Backyard Habitats category. The entry fee was $5 and net contest proceeds go to the BC SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC), which cares for local injured and orphaned wildlife.
This is Franks’ second time participating in the contest. Last year, he took home first place for his photo of a female merganser with chicks on her back.
Franks said although he shoots anything he finds of interest to him, his latest focus has been on birds for the last couple of years.
“One thing I find fascinating about birds is how they are dinosaurs. They are avian dinosaurs,” he said.
He said when one looks closely at the back foot of the common mallard duck, they will see a talon that looks more at home on a T-Rex. He said there are also other signs they are survivors of dinosaurs going back hundreds of years.
Franks, who owns SignWave Designs, has calendars for sale with many images of his bird photography. People can purchase them on his Facebook page Colin Franks Photography or on his website at colinfranksphotography.com.
With over 700 photos submitted, this year’s contest participants helped raise $13,830 for wild animals at Wild ARC.
— with files from the BC SPCA
