Why yes, there is an amateur photographer in Campbell River who has over 21,000 followers on Facebook and over 11,000 followers on Instagram for her photos of the local crows. Thanks for asking.
Her name is Colleen Wilson.
But sheB次元官网网址檚 better known as The Crowtographer.
Her love of her inquisitive, playful feathered friends started early in life, but her photography of them certainly didnB次元官网网址檛.
B次元官网网址淢y familyB次元官网网址檚 from up in Northern Manitoba, and thereB次元官网网址檚 lots of ravens and crows up there,B次元官网网址� she says, watching the black shadowy figures dart around the tree branches at Robert Ostler Park downtown. B次元官网网址淭hey were always fascinating to me because of their playfulness and their distinct personalities.
B次元官网网址淔ast forward all these years later, I was working in Burnaby and I decided I needed to get into some kind of hobby,B次元官网网址� she continues, B次元官网网址渟o I chose photography, bought a DSLR camera and thought, B次元官网网址榥ow how am I going to learn to use this thing?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Well, she thought, crows are everywhere. Why not practice on those?
Then she met Dave.
Dave is a crow, by the way.
B次元官网网址淒ave and I met every weekend for shoots,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檇 bring his offspring to meet me when he had them. It got to the point where theyB次元官网网址檇 meet me at the train station and fly me home after work.B次元官网网址�
She started posting her photos on social media and making friends with other crow enthusiasts, and soon started to amass quite a following.
B次元官网网址淭hey get such a bad rap,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚 like to try to shine a little light on them, because they are absolutely fascinating creatures.B次元官网网址�
She ended up in Campbell River, as she says, B次元官网网址渂y winning lifeB次元官网网址檚 lottery. It was pure luck.B次元官网网址�
When the contract expired for the company she worked for in the Lower Mainland, her partner B次元官网网址� who had been wanting to move to the Island for years, Wilson says B次元官网网址� took it as the shove that was needed.
They landed in Nanaimo, and she spent a year looking for work down there without getting much traction. Suddenly she came across an ad for a job at the North Island Employment Foundations Society.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an amazing organization,B次元官网网址� she says, B次元官网网址渁nd the team in there is just exceptional.B次元官网网址�
These days she gets out with her camera every weekend B次元官网网址� usually down at Frank James Park in Willow Point B次元官网网址� and will head out once in a while after work on weeknights, as well.
But despite her moniker, she doesnB次元官网网址檛 only shoot crows.
B次元官网网址淚 love when we get the orcas coming through town, and I love going up to the Quinsam (River) when the bears are out,B次元官网网址� she says.
SheB次元官网网址檚 still working out a system for selling her work up here, but for now, sheB次元官网网址檚 taken an interesting approach when people approach her wanting to buy her work.
B次元官网网址淲hat IB次元官网网址檝e been for the last year is offer high-res digital copies of my work in return for proof of donation to an organization addressing social justice, food security or COVID-19 impacts,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 happy to provide people with a digital copy of my work if they show me they did something good for another human. Or animal, actually. IB次元官网网址檓 not picky.B次元官网网址�
You can see her work by searching B次元官网网址淭he CrowtographerB次元官网网址� on , or and message her there to get a digital copy of a piece you love in exchange for a donation to charity.
Or you can email her at thecrowtographer@gmail.com
More than anything else, however, she just wants people to take a few more moments here and there to interact with the natural world.
B次元官网网址淪o many people are struggling with isolation and lack of connection,B次元官网网址� she says, B次元官网网址渂ut we can actually find it in other species when we canB次元官网网址檛 find it in each other. We just need to expand our parameters a little bit. YouB次元官网网址檇 be surprised what you can find if you look into the eyes of a crow.B次元官网网址�
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