A Richmond photographer says she’s excited voters chose several of her pictures in a worldwide online photography contest.
Jody McDonald, owner of Whimsy and Wonder Photography, has been capturing family memories for the past five years in Richmond’s beautiful outdoor spots.
She submitted 50 of her photos to this year’s Shoot & Share Photo Contest, and 40 of them did very well. She placed in the top 100 for creative project photographers and was a family photographer finalist.
The contest prides itself on being accessible, and it’s free to enter up to 50 photos. The judges are the other photographers who've entered, and they pick their favourite out of batches of four photographs. The pictures that receive the most votes advance to subsequent rounds.
Hundreds of thousands of photos were submitted, and McDonald said it’s “pretty exciting, as well as shocking,” that her shots in Richmond were chosen.
She describes her styles as documentary mixed with fine art portraiture that incorporates a bit of nature. She spends quite a bit of time editing her photos after the shoot to give them a whimsical feel.
“I just love being able to tell a story and just capture special moments,” she said.
“I always think when I’m on a shoot how these families will have these photos forever.”
She loves doing photo shoots in Richmond's Paulik Park and Garry Point Park for their nature, and often takes families to Britannia Shipyards as well. Sometimes she takes subjects to a fantasy world with her dragon and unicorn edits, too.
“I’m not much of a purist when it comes to editing,” she said. “I put a lot of post work into my photos.”
