Saskatchewan photographer gains international recognition for nature picture

One thing you won’t see in Saskatchewan waters is a whale.

But imagine being out on the Icy Strait in Alaska and seeing a whale surface.

Now try taking a photo of that moment that would be recognized on the international stage.

Well, that’s exactly what happened to Deborah MacEwen from Warman.

“This was the last excursion (in 2021) in Alaska before they were closing and it was early, early, early in the morning,” she said.

“As soon as we got onto the boat, I could tell the waters were so still and everything was so blue — the sky, the mountains, the water — and once we got out in the middle a little bit into the strait, there were whales all over.”

The photo was submitted to the World Photographic Cup, in which photographers enter photos in six categories (Commercial, Illustration/Digital Art, Nature, Portrait, Photojournalism, Wedding) for judging.

MacEwen’s photo placed sixth in the Nature category, with an Ottawa photographer taking first.

This image taken by Deborah MacEwen from Warman placed sixth at the World Photographic Cup on May 2. (Deborah MacEwen)

Most photos we take are with our cellphones and it only takes a matter of seconds, but it took much longer for MacEwen to get that perfect shot.

But she was faced with another challenge as there was only one direction for her to get a shot that would have the mountain backdrop.

“It took quite a bit of time, but eventually one (whale) did,” she said.

“This particular morning, it was probably an hour, hour and a half into the shooting before this one came up in front of the mountains.”

Out of the hundreds of shots she took that morning, she knew that one was going to be special right away.

“As soon as I did take that, I just knew that was going to be one that I personally would love. I don’t think I realized that it would get to this point is amazing to me,” she said.

Patience and positioning weren’t the only things MacEwen had to battle when she was out on the water.

“As you can imagine in different waters, it’s very, very, very difficult to get because the waters can be quite rough and so you’re in a boat and trying to hold still and take pictures,” she said.

She added she was lucky the conditions co-operated that day, but there was one thing she was concerned about.

“This particular moment was quite calm. So it made it a little bit easier at least because it didn’t focus and I remember taking it thinking, ‘Please let it be in focus!’ Because it doesn’t happen often because they go up and down so fast,” MacEwen said.

After cracking the top-10 this year, what’s next for the photographer?

She says she already has some ideas for entries into next year’s competition, including a couple taken out her backdoor.

With the pandemic, it was difficult to travel to different locations over the past two years, but she does plan on making her way across Canada in 2022.

There are also a couple of places beyond our borders she’d love to explore.

“I’ve got some dream trips in mind. I’d love to go to Iceland and the Galapagos Islands, so hopefully, that’s next on the agenda,” MacEwen said.

To view other submissions in the World Photographic Cup visit worldphotographiccup.org and to see more of MacEwen’s work go to deborahmacewen.com.