Another month and another challenge to pick the top photo submitted to our monthly photo contest on our blog!

I sometimes feel bad because there are often a few that could run away with top spot. This month there were three that came very close. But there can only be one winner based on photo and supporting text.

And this month’s winner is…

Al Garner with his chrysalis of a Monarch butterfly.

Al Garner - Winner! - Ottawa photo contest

Al says:

“Each year in the late summer my wife, Cathy, likes to collect monarch caterpillars and the milkweed plants they feed on.  We then watch as they eat and grow, eventually turn into achrysalis and later finally emerge as butterflies. 

This summer we were at my aunt & uncle’s cottage when Cathy did her collecting.  She collected 3 caterpillars and we watched them feeding while sitting on the deck.  Then one “escaped” and we later discovered that it had moved to the outside wall of the cottage to make its chrysalis.  I loved how it had attached itself right on a seam. 

The long line of the seam leads your eye right to the amazing sight of the chrysalis hanging in space.  I used a telephoto lens and extension tubes to get a close up view.  The telephoto lens combined with a large aperture gave a thin slice of focus which helped to isolate the line of the seam and the chrysalis.”

Why did Al’s photo win? It’s a great photo with a good story and there was some significant thought and work that went into developing and capturing this photo. Congratulations Al!

Al wins a year’s subscription to Canadian Geographic Magazine. A big THANK-YOU!! to Canadian Geographic for their donation to the contest.

Canadian Geographic Magazine

Please keep your photos coming! It keeps me on my toes choosing the winner.

This month’s prize is a LowePro Nova 1 photo bag (suitable for an SLR camera and lens), courtesy of a couple of our readers – Andrew and Gwyn.

See all the winners. Keep clicking and submitting. Good luck!