Photograph of Vancouver Island clearcut wins national competition

 A beautifully haunting photo of an old-growth clearcut on Vancouver Island has won a national photography competition.

Ancient Forest Alliance photographer T.J. Watt took first place in Outdoor Photography Canada magazine’s “Human Impact” photo contest with an image taken in the Gordon River Valley near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

“As a photographer working for a cause you’re always looking for that elusive shot that truly captures both the emotional and the factual aspects of the issue in one image,” Watt said in a statement.

“It’s difficult to get both together but this picture is quickly proving to have done just that. Of the hundreds of thousands of photos I have taken, as sad as it is, this is the one I am most proud of.”

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the B.C. government to protect the province’s remaining old-growth forests, ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, and to ban raw log exports to foreign mills.

View other photos by T.J. Watt of Canada’s largest trees and stumps at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/

Read more: https://www.vancouversun.com/Photograph+Vancouver+Island+clearcut+wins+national+competition/4227150/story.html#ixzz1D2PN2ply