Making an award winning shot
Donna Feledichuk
Two at Twilight
Nature’s Best Backyards – 2024 Pro Winner
Some moments in wildlife photography unfold like a gift, quiet, unannounced, and gone in an instant. But more often, they’re earned. Not with luck, but with time, patience, and an unwavering belief that if you keep showing up, nature will meet you halfway.
Two at Twilight was one of those moments. And it was weeks in the making.
The Encounter
I had found the den near the edge of the forest, where an old log pile sat against a curtain of tall aspens. The light in the evenings there could be breathtaking, when it showed up just right. As the sun dipped low, it would filter through the trees, creating a dreamy cascade of golden bokeh behind the den.
So I returned. Evening after evening. Waiting with my camera in hand, watching the fox kits wrestle, tumble, and chase each other in and out of view. I captured plenty of images, but none with the kind of quiet connection or composition I was hoping for. I could see the image in my mind long before it ever existed in the viewfinder: the kits side by side, still for a moment, rimmed in light with the forest melting into that soft, golden swirl.
The Shot
A raven passed overhead, just as two of the kits scrambled up onto the log pile. Mid-play, they paused. Both looked skyward, perfectly in sync. For that one second, the energy shifted. The chaos gave way to calm. The light wrapped around their small frames, and everything aligned.
I didn’t have long, but I was ready. My camera was up, settings already dialed, and I pressed the shutter, and in the next second, the kits had moved out of frame.
But I had captured, and that was the moment Two at Twilight was made.
This image has now been named the Pro Winner of Nature’s Best Backyards 2024 just announced today. A tremendous honour, but more than the award, it’s the story behind the frame that stays with me. Because it reminds me what wildlife photography really is: the art of showing up. Again and again. Waiting, hoping, and staying present for the moment when everything aligns.
Because sometimes, the wild offers you something more than a photograph, it offers you a moment. And if you’re ready, you might get to capture it.
