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A Puffin’s Peaceful Rest

A puffin gently shields its face with its wings, resting in peaceful solitude. The delicate embrace of its feathers demonstrates a quiet strength. This serene scene invites reflection on the resilience of nature and the subtle power found in stillness and protection.

Awards

Black & White Photo Contest

2025

People’s Vote Award

Nature

Non Professional

Honorable Mention

Nature

Non Professional

A Puffin’s Peaceful Rest

A puffin gently shields its face with its wings, resting in peaceful solitude. The delicate embrace of its feathers demonstrates a quiet strength. This serene scene invites reflection on the resilience of nature and the subtle power found in stillness and protection.

About Artist

Maria Ciampini

My photographic practice is rooted in presence rather than pursuit. I work slowly with the camera, not to extract images, but to enter into a relationship with the land, light, and the often-overlooked forms of life that surround us. Attentiveness, patience, and care shape both my process and the images that emerge from it. I am drawn to quiet encounters: the still gaze of an animal, subtle movements within landscape, and the textures of growth, decay, and renewal. These moments resist spectacle. Rather than documenting place, my photographs emphasize restraint and contemplation, inviting sustained looking and emotional resonance. Meaning unfolds through what is held back as much as what is revealed. My work is informed by a lifelong practice of listening. I hold a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto, an M.Ed. in Adult Education from Brock University, and an Honours BA in Early Childhood Education. For decades, my professional life centered on close observation of human experience, where transformation arises through trust, deep attention, and respect for what is already present. This ethic now guides my photographic practice. As I once observed a child discovering their place in the world, I now observe the land revealing itself quietly and on its own terms. My camera functions as a mediator of that relationship. Each image is an invitation to pause, to look more closely, and to encounter the natural world not as backdrop, but as presence.

Maria Ciampini

Photographic Areas of Focus

Abstract, Fine Art, Landscapes, Nature, Wildlife

Location

Canada

Explore Other Winners

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Honorable Mention +1

EF

Elza Friedländer

Wildlife

Nominee

AR

Alexandria Ramirez

Nature

Honorable Mention
Lynda Browne-Bristov

Lynda Browne-Bristov

Nature

Honorable Mention
Maddison Woollard

Maddison Woollard

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