Paul Burwell Memorial Scholarship 2025 Honorable Mention
Congratulations to Cassandra Barrata
recipient of and Honorable Mention in
the 2025 Paul Burwell Memorial Scholarship
The Images Alberta Camera Club and the Burwell School of Photography are very pleased to have established a scholarship to encourage and support emerging photographic talent in Alberta. The IACC is a vibrant and active group of photographers and photo enthusiasts dedicated to creating images and sharing information. This intrepid group of photographers have generously sponsored a $500 scholarship to a deserving student of the Burwell School of Photography.
Selecting a winner was actually such a difficult choice that a precedence has been set. The selection committee has elected to award an HONORABLE MENTION to Cassandra Barrata. It was felt that Cassandra's portfolio was also excellent and deserving of recognition. Her wildlife and macro photography is most impressive. Cassandra will be awarded a free one year membership to the Images Alberta Camera Club and invited to present to the wildlife photography group.
BIOGRAPHY
I received my first camera on my 8th birthday. It was bright pink (my favorite colour) and used Fujifilm 35mm film. The first picture I took on my new camera was of our dog, and then a flower in our garden. This was the beginning of my lifelong passion for photographing all things animal and nature. I have boxes full of pictures that I have taken since that time, all comprising of various subjects but always centered around the themes I enjoy most: landscapes, weather, scenery, wildlife, pets/livestock, and many other types of flora and fauna.
I currently have a side business as a pet photographer, which I started as a family and wedding photography business 10 years ago. While working with people was an excellent learning experience, it wasn’t what drove me. I’ve always loved animals, and they’ve always been an important part of my life. The transition to pet photography was a natural progression, and I initially started with exotic pets (reptiles and invertebrates). I wanted to show others how amazing these oft misunderstood animals really are, and fill a niche in the industry. I also volunteer my time with Second Chance Animal Rescue Society as a photographer to take pictures of foster animals at events or for the adoption website, and also for Farm Animal Rescue and Rehoming Movement (F.A.R.R.M.) as a photographer to help them showcase their animals and create art/apparel for them to raise funds for their rescue.
My primary photographic interests today are landscape, wildlife, macro, and night photography. Our world is incredibly beautiful and diverse, and some of my happiest memories are camping in the mountains as a kid because the scenery, the atmosphere, and the wildlife was absolutely breathtaking, and really made you feel that life was worth living. Photos cannot do those experiences justice, but my goal is to come as close as possible to bringing those experiences to life one more time. Good pictures can help you relive but a single moment; great pictures can help you relive an entire memory.
My future goals and ambitions are to focus on landscape and wildlife photography by embarking on mini expeditions to various Alberta parks and forests. My dream would be to travel to photo-worthy destinations such as Alaska, Iceland, and Costa Rica. Nothing would make me happier than to have these experiences of a lifetime and incredible photos to show for it.
A selection of images from Cassandra's submission is below:











