/ 2021 / Special / Special Effects

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Rachel Nixon, Canada
• Date of Photograph
  March 22, 2021
• Website
  https://www.rachelnixon.com/
• Instagram
  https://www.instagram.com/rachelnixon/

There's always something mysterious and magical for me about heading deep into a forest - I can feel the trees living and breathing around me.

I decided to express this by using a Lensbaby creative filter in front of the lens to capture a dynamic rainbow effect in the afternoon sunshine.

This image was made in Pacific Spirit Park in Vancouver, Canada.

Rachel Nixon is a British-Canadian fine art photographer and former journalist based in Vancouver.

Having lived and worked across continents and cultures, her practice explores themes such as memory, heritage, and womanhood. In 2024, she had a solo exhibition at the Head On Photo Festival in Australia, and in 2025 was a finalist for the Sony Alpha Female Award. Rachel continued to show her work in 2026 in a two-person exhibition focused on the family archive, in her hometown of Vancouver.

She volunteers as Editor of the RPS’ WE ARE Magazine, which showcases the work of female photographers.

Awards *Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions*

2026
Gallery 881, Vancouver, Canada: Between Memory and Light. Two-person exhibition.

2024
Head On Photo Festival, Sydney, Australia: The Garden of Maggie Victoria. Solo exhibition.

*Selected Recent Group Exhibitions*

2026
PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT, USA: Cut. Paste. Transform.

Artdoc Photography Magazine: Inner Landscapes.

2025
Griffin Museum of Photography: Gathering Place: Layered Histories.

Sony World Photography Awards, Somerset House, London, UK: Alpha Female shortlist and Open shortlist displays.

2024
Royal Photographic Society, Bristol, UK: To Shine A Light / Who Dared To Dream, featuring six contemporary female artists.

*Select Recent Awards*

Dodho Magazine, 2024, 2025 and 2026: Among 100 top awarded fine art photographers.

2025
Prix de la Photographie (Px3): Two Honourable Mentions: Fine Art/Abstract and Fine Art/Still Life.

Sony Alpha Female Award: Shortlisted photographer.

Sony World Photography Awards Open Competition: Shortlisted photographer, Creative.

2024
AAP Magazine: Third place winner in the Women edition.