The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, November 26, 2015 | 38 Artscene International grand prize for local shutterbug by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff "Connected to your Community" Perched on the edge of a cliff, trying to overcome her fear of heights, Oakville's Megan Lorenz noticed an Atlantic puffin walk over to her with something in its mouth. Lorenz took a photo -- that snapshot would win the 2015 grand prize of the Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards photo competition. "I watched this Atlantic Puffin pull a wild iris from the ground and walk along the cliff toward me. He stopped for a moment giving me just enough time to capture him with blue sky in the background before he dropped the flower over the side where his mate was waiting at the burrow entrance," said Lorenz, who noted she was excited and honoured to receive the award. "It is an honour to be chosen alongside so many exceptionally talented photographers and wildlife advocates." Selected from 20,000 images from photographers in 54 countries, the finalists in each category will be published in the 2015 20th Anniversary Awards Special Edition. "Considering the calibre of photography submitted each year, this is a huge honour. I'm incredibly lucky to work in a field that is my passion and I finally understand the saying by Harvey MacKay: `Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life'," said Lorenz. "My days in the outdoors and watching wildlife is reward enough, but the recognition means so much to me." In addition, Lorenz's photo is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of At left, this photo, titled Atlantic Puffin & Wild Iris, was taken by Oakville photographer Megan Lorenz (below) in Elliston, N.L. The local shutterbug recently received the 2015 grand prize of the Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards photo competition for the photo, which also appears at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., as part of a 20-year anniversary exhibit. | photo at left by Megan Lorenz, courtesy Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History; photo below submitted. Natural History in Washington, D.C., as part of a 20-year anniversary retrospective of "nature's finest moments" in the Best of the Best photography exhibition. Lorenz says the award is even more special as this time last year, she was in hospital on lifesupport for the third time -- she was diagnosed with asthma at age 15, in 1990, and went into respiratory arrest for the first time in 2004. "During my recovery, it sometimes felt that my life would never get back to normal and I was frustrated with myself and my inability to get back out doing what I love," she said. "It's amazing how much can change in a short time. Within a few months, I had recovered enough to get back to my favorite places, enjoying the peace I feel when I'm surrounded by nature and started travelling again. This year has been filled with many wonderful moments and this award is something that I never imagined I would achieve. Life is very good right now." A self-taught photographer, Lorenz says her passion is wildlife and nature. She explains having extensive knowledge of a species' behaviour, traits and habitat is "paramount" in successfully photographing wildlife. In 2012, Lorenz received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her contributions to Canadian wildlife photography. She notes she shares her latest award with her friend and mentor Gary Burdette. "He was an integral part of my photography and was always there to offer advice, encouragement and share his knowledge," said Lorenz. " Every time I pick up my camera, he is in my thoughts." To see more of Lorenz's works, visit www. mlorenzphotography.com. See The BeST of The holiday oliday y SeaSon Sea SeaS "Join us for A Christmas Story and Home Alone Free with donation of food or toys after the Santa Claus Parade November 21st!" Sign up for Cin-e-Mail and get a free popcorn! Get our showtimes and promos: cinemail.film.ca 171 Speers Road (at Kerr) Oakville 905-338-6397 www.film.ca facebook.com/filmca @FilmCaCinemas The Peanuts Movie (G) November 6th Spectre (PG) November 6th Mockingjay Part 2 (PG) The Good Dinosaur (G) November 20th November 27th