A local photographer was awarded bronze in an international competition for a photo taken at Sooke Potholes. The Exposure One Awards celebrate the art of black-and-white photography. They recently announced the winners of their Nature Photography Contest for 2025, and among the talent was Sooke’s Pascale Navarro in the Earth’s Textures category for an image taken at Sooke Potholes. Captured on Christmas Eve in 2024, the long exposure shot was taken in monochrome mode, featuring the roots of an old-growth tree and a flowing creek. Navarro headed out to the park and set up a tripod on what was a dark and gloomy day, and began running around with a flashlight, dressed all in black, to accomplish an artsy photo. “It wasn’t working out that great and I wasn’t stoked on the photos, but I was kind of laughing because I figured if somebody walked by and saw me, they would be like, ‘What is this person doing, dancing around in the middle of the woods with a flashlight’,” Navarro recalled. Despite not getting the shot she originally intended to, Navarro said she doesn’t give up that easily. Walking farther into the forest, she came upon the creek and the old tree with its tangle of roots, and inspiration hit. Selected from submissions by photographers worldwide, the win was a welcome start to the day when she got the call on the morning of Jan. 7. Although only the first-place winners received a cash prize, placing third earned her global exposure. “It’s nice to get some recognition,” Navarro told – I was like, ‘Yay, that’s awesome. I needed that this morning – something positive’.” While second or first place would have been even better, Navarro says she doesn’t find she needs the motivation of winning when it comes to photography. “It’s a gift to be that passionate about something, and it’s part of me just as much as my heart or my hands. It’s part of who I am… Some people could say I’m obsessed, and I probably am — and you know what? I’m OK with that. It makes me very happy.” Navarro’s love of photography started when she was just five years old. Her father, who hailed from North Africa, was an amateur photographer. Navarro’s relationship with him was “complicated” in ways, but their shared love for photography was one thing they could connect over. When she was 15, her father handed her his Minolta film camera, taught her the fundamentals, and she took his portrait. That was her first black-and-white film photo. He died when Navarro was 19, and the following year she signed up for photography school, beginning her career by the time she was 22 years old. Her work brought her everywhere from Quebec City to Vietnam. Now, 25 years later, she teaches photography to people of all ages through her business, Foto Rando, while also experimenting with her own photography. In the previous year’s competition, she won the People’s Choice award in the Exposure One Awards for a black-and-white image she captured of an abandoned church in Duncan. “Anything that can be observed can be photographed,” she said. “I’m still as passionate as I was 25 years ago in that sense, because it’s just endless…I’m always pushing myself and learning, especially as an educator. “That’s a huge inspiration and motivation for me because I feel like I have to be on top of my game.”
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