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Corunna’s Shaun Antle crossed a goal off his list this year.

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Antle earned an honourable mention in Canadian Geographic’s 2023 Canadian Photos of the Year competition for his image of a great blue heron diving into Canatara Park’s Lake Chipican.

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A financial adviser by day, Antle has been taking photos for years and runs a sideline business he named Oh Me Nerves Photography.

“I snagged that shot on the north side of Lake Chipican July 13 of last year,” he said.

“That particular guy, he was doing his thing, just looking for some dinner,” Antle said.

“I was just laying on my stomach following him along. I was going for the shot right where they dive into the water.”

Later, while downloading the images, he saw he had one with water covering the heron’s eyes, but the eyes were still visible.

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“Pretty cool,” he said.

The Sarnia area has a large population of birds and waterfowl, but photographing them takes patience, Antle said.

“It’s hours and hours of laying in ditches and sitting in a blind,” he said.

Antle said he has been taking photos for 25 years now but “about 10 years ago, I got a little bit more serious with it.”

After someone asked to buy one of his images, Antle said he began putting his work in front of the public more often, including entering competitions and juried shows.

He submitted more than 20 mages last year to Canadian Geographic and learned in December his image of the great blue heron was selected as a finalist, and then in January Canadian Geographic announced it received an honorable mention in a Wildlife in Action category.

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There were more than 8,000 entries, according to Canadian Geographic.

“It was one of those moments where it’s like, ‘are you kidding me?’ I still am pinching myself,” he said.

Having a photo featured by Canadian Geographic was one of his photography goals and the recognition “is humbling,” he said.

“Someday the dream is to work for National Geographic.”

But Antle said he feels some “imposter syndrome” because he didn’t go to school to study photography. “It has always been a hobby.”

Despite that, he has been doing more recently to show his work, including exhibiting at Gallery in the Grove, teaching and public speaking.

Antle grew up in the Sarnia area, but his family is from Newfoundland and that’s where he spent most of his summers as a youngster.

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He used a Newfoundland expression when it came time to name his photography business.

Antle said he always had some sort of camera growing up. “I loved taking pictures of friends and family, and places that we went.”

It wasn’t until 2009 that he bought his first good camera and lens and took photos while he and his wife were travelling back to Sarnia through the U.S. after living in Western Canada.

Antle said now he takes all kinds of photos, including commercial work. “I only thing I don’t do is weddings. I wouldn’t touch that with a 10-foot pole,” he said.

“My bread and butter, so to speak, is wildlife.”

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