A great grey owl looked photographer Jacquie Matechuk in the eye as it hunted mice near Cremona 14 months ago, and since then admirers from around the world have looked back at those eyes and responded.
On April 28 in Dallas, Texas, sitting in a room with 30 other nations, the tiny team from Canada sat perched on the edge of their seats, waiting for the results of the World Photographic Cup.
Cochrane’s Matechuk won Canada’s first medal of the evening – a gold medal in the Wildlife category for “I’ll See You Through the Darkness.” Her remarkable image of the great grey owl moving silently through the air and looking right at her mid-flight also earned a Best of Nation Award as Canada’s top scoring image.
“Time behind the lens is our chance to escape the day-to- day grind and rediscover our creative selves, to fearlessly explore all this world has to offer. But tonight was about celebrating each other, recognizing the beauty and power of Canadian photographic art.
“Each of us, so grateful for this amazing opportunity to represent Canada on the world stage,” Matechuk said.
She remembers the moment she took the picture.
Every time the owl left his fencepost and swooped down to the snow, he came up with a mouse.
“I was probably a good 20 minutes watching him and then as he decided he was done and had his day’s fill, he took off.
“He turned his body, looking to the right, which is what you see in that photo. And then flew right towards me,” she said.
And then the owl veered off and was gone.
“So it was purely luck as far as that exact moment in time – obviously that's a split second. You don't plan for something like that, but it’s one of those things where you know he flew past and it's ‘oh wow, he looked right at me.’”
The second moment confirmed the first.
“I started to review the pictures and it's like, 'God, he did. He did. I got it,'” Matechuk recalled.
She said she had a kind of a quiet celebration, as she knew she had something special.
“Yeah, it was exciting.”
Canada, armed with a medal tally surpassing previous successes, was poised for a podium finish in Dallas, earning two gold medals, one silver, one bronze and three additional Top 10 finishes. Canada’s medals and Top 10 finishes paved the way for a 3rd place podium finish, Canada’s best showing to date.
“We are thrilled that the world witnessed the photographic excellence of Team Canada this year. With the flag waving, and fists pumping, our Canadians went on stage to receive the 3rd Place trophy as a team,” said Jillian Chateauneuf, Co-Captain of WPC Team Canada.
In the Illustration/Digital Art category, Kari Carter from St. Albert, Alberta placed 7th in the world for her creative image that symbolizes the intricate layers of expectations placed upon women. “I am so incredibly proud to have been part of this team, placing 7th in the WPC is something I never imagined for myself when starting this journey, but the biggest joy has been watching my teammates succeed,” said Carter.
The other Albertan medal winner was Kristian Bogner of Dead Man’s Flats, with a silver medal.
“It has been an exciting year, and I’m really proud to take home a medal in the new Sports Category. My image of Kai Lenny jumping off the Jaws wave in Maui is one of my extreme sports favourites. I trusted my gut to be out there at the right place at the right time to capture this image and this moment,” said Bogner.
A unique Olympic-style competition, the World Photographic Cup is about fostering a spirit of friendship between nations. Canada’s 30-image submission included three remarkable photographs in each of the 10 categories.
They can be viewed on the Team Canada website: wpcteamcanada.com/2024