Emily Bamforth doesn't consider herself a professional photographer.

For the Eastend Paleontologist working at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in the small town of just over 500, photography is not only a side hobby, but one that she typically does with nothing more complicated than her iPhone.

Yet despite that, Bamforth has now had two photos honoured by Canadian Geographic, with the latest being chosen as their photo-of-the-week.

At the end of each week, the publication chooses an outstanding image that has been uploaded by users to their Photo Club.

Bamforth's photo, titled "January Frost" (see above) was announced as the winner on January 25 via Canadian Geographic's Twitter page and is spending the week serving as their various social media pages' header photo.

Bamforth said she was surprised by the win, however.

"I personally didn't think it was particularly stunning or anything like that, and so when I actually saw it on my Twitter feed, I scrolled past this picture and I was like, well, wait a second...that's my picture! And it had been selected for the full week. So I was thrilled, but I was also really surprised."

As mentioned above, this is Bamforth's second time having a photo selected. The first being in 2019 when a photo of hers taken in the Cypress Hills was chosen to be a part of Canadian Geographic's 2019 Canada Parks wall calendar.

The surprise, for her, is from the fact that other than a work camera that she uses in the field, her personal photos are typically taken with nothing more than her smartphone, in this case, an Apple iPhone. Equipment, to her, is less important than shot composition.

"For me, it's certainly not about equipment. It's just kind of getting a sense of what might make a decent picture. I also spend a ton of time outside like I'm a huge hiker, and so, particularly living in this part of the world It's so beautiful, you don't have to go very far to see really stunning landscapes and kind of just like breathtaking scenery."

Paleontology is the sort of profession that necessitates a love for the outdoors, and the avid hiker said that she enjoys shining a spotlight on a part of the Canadian landscape that some mislabel as simply "flat".

"I feel like this part of Canada, in particular, is sort of underrepresented in terms of appreciation for the landscape. Saskatchewan kind of has this reputation for being flat and boring, and you know, unless you come from here, you don't really know that that's not the case, so I feel like there are lots of opportunities to grow there."

Bamforth added that she's happy to have the encouragement to keep doing it, even if it will only remain as a side gig. And she'll continue to upload to the Canadian Geographic User Photo group.