An avid fisherman hooked the grand prize – a Nikon D90 camera – in the Grand River Conservation Authority’s photo contest.
Nearly 700 photos were submitted from April 30, 2011 to March 31. The judges faced challenges during the selection process. The entries show the diversity of landscapes, interesting plants and animals and the many different ways in which people enjoy local natural areas.
The grand prize winner is fly fisherman Andrew Dietrich, of Waterloo. He took it on a cold fall morning with mist rising from the water just below the Caledonia dam. It incorporates the silhouette of his fishing buddy with the rising sun reflected on the Caledonia Mill.
“I’m always fishing throughout the watershed. I love it,” said Dietrich. “I live in Waterloo five minutes from the Grand. Once bass season opens, I get out whenever I can. I was fishing in Elora just yesterday.” He often volunteers with Friends of the Grand River
There were three category prize winners who received $300 gift certificates. Their photos were taken in Waterloo, Wellington County and New Hamburg.
Chris Wilkinson of Rockwood won the people category prize. His picture features his two children on a sled being pulled by the family’s dogs and was taken on the Elora Cataract Trailway. He was the first person to submit photos after the contest opened in 2011.
Wilkinson works with the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and also teaches environmental studies at the University of Waterloo.
A goose that Cambridge resident Scott Bradford captured from above landed him the category prize for flora and fauna. The picture was taken between Cambridge and Glen Morris.
The category prize for landscape and waterscapes went to Dan Baskin of Kitchener who took a photo while kayaking on the Nith River.
The judges from the GRCA (Dave Schultz, Liz Yerex and Al Standring) gave an honourable mention in each of the three categories. The prize was four GRCA books: The Grand River, an Aerial Journey, Paddling the Grand River, Fishing Ontario’s Grand River Country and Grand River Country Trails.
The winners were Casey Held of Cambridge, Michael Collins of Kitchener, and Eustacio Dionisio of Brantford.
The seven photographs are published in the May-June issue of Grand Actions. They can also be viewed with selected other contest entries at www.flickr.com/photos/grandriverconservation/collections.
