HIGHLY COMMENDED CATEGORY YOUTH
Cameron Dather | Followers

Name: Cameron Dather
Picture title: Followers
Category: Youth
Nationality: United states of America
Occupation: I am not a full-time photographer. I am a highschool student and photography is an interest of mine.

Technical information
Camera: iPhone XR
Lens: 26-28mm f1.8-2.4 lens
EXIF: 1/3521 sec. at f1.8 (0 e/v) • ISO 25
Accesories: No accessories. (Unanticipated and small window of time)

Cameron Dather says:

In 2021, my family and I traveled to Oak Island, North Carolina. This was not planned as a photography trip, but more of a simple family vacation to the beach. A storm was predicted to hit us later that night, so we took a walk down the coastline while the weather was still fine. We were able to enjoy watching pelicans fly over the ocean, trailing each other in perfect order. Every dip and turn that the leader took was replicated by his followers. I wasn’t planning on taking any photos, but with the stormy atmosphere, perfect cloudy sky, crashing ocean waves, and the pelicans flying in sync, the opportunity to capture the moment was unavoidable. I quickly grabbed the only camera I had with me, my iPhone, and took the photo before it was gone.

Eastern Brown Pelicans are fairly common throughout the east coast of The United States, but this was not always the case. Their entire population was nearly wiped out multiple times in the past century. Once due to fishermen, and the other due to pesticides. Around fifty years ago, there were less than a hundred Brown Pelicans remaining. Laws were later created that saved the pelicans’ lives, and their population has since grown to over 70,000. Knowing that they were nearly extinct makes the photo even more significant to me. It has helped me realize that I shouldn’t take for granted the things that make our world so curious.