There is no longer a separate Louise Elder Wildflower competition. Instead, there are now wildflower and wildlife bird awards granted based on members’ year-end results.
You can read about Louise Elder, Ph.D. in organic chemistry, at Concordia University’s Canadian Women Artists History Initiative.
David Seldon was a founding member of Trillium and its president twice. He loved nature and in particular birds, so the award was created in his honour for the best wildlife bird image. David was the recipient of many photography awards at the Trillium, CAPA and OCCC levels. He made and shared audiovisual shows of his travels to camera and service clubs and showed his nature photos to accompany the Niagara symphony and the Hamilton Philharmonic orchestra. He was always willing to share his knowledge with others; therefore, spending a day with David meant one was very likely to become enthused about nature and photography. You can read his obituary here.
The definitions of the Louise Elder and David Seldon awards are on p. 19 of our Handbook and reproduced below:
Louise Elder Award
The Louise Elder Award for Best Wildflower is granted to a member whose image of the flower of any identifiable wild Canadian plant, including grasses, sedges, shrubs, and trees, was entered into Nature. The image must include as the centre of interest any stage of the flower, either in bud, blooming or in seed. Images must be titled with the botanical or common name. The year-end judges determine the awardee.
David Seldon Bird Photographer Award
The David Seldon Bird Photographer Award is granted any year where a member’s bird image entered into the Nature category earns a Year-End Award. However, the Seldon Award is granted exclusively to wildlife images containing no human elements. Therefore, ONLY images of living and untamed birds living free are eligible. Images taken in traditional zoos, open-range zoos, game farms or other areas where birds are restrained or confined are therefore excluded. Nature parks are considered natural environments because the birds are not in controlled conditions. Wild birds are permitted to have scientific bands, tags or radio collars but no tethers or harness attachment. No feral or domesticated birds are permitted. If necessary, the judges will determine the top awarded image.
