ART SCENE
Local Photographers' Images Compete Internationally
by Gillian Crowley
Matt Hardy, English landscape and wildlife photographer, says: "Beauty can be seen in all things; seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph." Three photographers from Saanich and the Saanich Peninsula area – Leah Gray, Mike Wooding and Daniel Rondeau – have developed that special eye. Their images (on this page) are part of Canada's entry in the prestigious Four Nations photography competition with submissions also from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Each country enters 80 photographs in four categories: Nature, My Country, Open and Monochrome. Remarkably, Canada has won first place for the last four years running. In a rigorous process, the Canadian Association of Photographic Arts (CAPA) selects the top images from each of its competitions followed by an independent judging panel that re-scores the images to select the very best for submission into the Four Nations competition. Wooding, Gray and Rondeau are all members of the Victoria Camera Club, which Mike describes as a "vibrant" club that offers workshops and the chance to chat with other photographers. For these three camera buffs, their long-time hobby has turned into a passion. Retired for 13 years, Mike Wooding considers himself a naturalist as well as a photographer and has run a nature photography website for the past eight years. His subjects are primarily birds and he loves the wide diversity in the region. During summer's heat, when birds are less active, he turns to photographing insects, particularly dragon flies and damsel flies. These attractive insects like to perch,