How a Montreal Teen Made it to Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Like cobbling or blacksmithing, wildlife photography seems to be one of those trades passed from one generation to the next. Not so for Lory-Antoine Cantin, the 15-year-old Montrealer whose intimate portrait of a fox with rodents trapped in its mouth earned him a coveted spot in Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024. 

Neither of Lory’s parents are photographers. And when he first started shooting wildlife, his parents took some convincing to take his new passion seriously. This was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when everyone was still in lockdown and Lory was a mere ten years old. 

He started photographing birds, going outside almost every chance he could. He met other photographers and birders, who helped hone his skills and told his parents Lory had true promise. 

Yet what finally convinced his mother, Lory said, was taking her to see a great grey owl—“the world’s largest species of owl by length,” with menacing yellow eyes and a massive wingspan. As soon as she saw the imposing bird, she understood the appeal wildlife held for her young son.  

Since then, neither of his parents required any more convincing. In fact, they’ve accompanied Lory on many of his expeditions, including to a provincial park in Quebec, where he captured that winning photograph of a hungry fox. 

It’s a remarkable photograph—and one he never intended to get. Lory had risen that day at 4:00 a.m. intent of finding a bear, which he did. But on the way back to camp, he was surprised by a fox walking on the side of the road around 9:00 a.m.—when the light was far from ideal. But then the fox wandered into a patch of shade, and Lory snapped the winning shot. 

The whole episode lasted less than ten minutes. 

“Most of my shots are really random,” Lory admitted. “Some of the most magical encounters are the ones you expect the least.”

From his home in Montreal's south shore, Lory spoke to me about his craft and his philosophy ahead of Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s opening at ROM.

Your photo of the fox with the rodents in its mouth gives me the sense that I’m looking at something truly real—nature untouched by humanity. But I also know that the fox saw you. So, I’m curious what you consider to be an authentic representation of animals in the wild, and whether the presence of the photographer in any way undermines that authenticity.

Being so close to the city, I constantly [photograph] wildlife that is used to humans. If I want to shoot ducks, someone is feeding them—as much as it can be bad for them.  

You don’t want to change the behaviour of what you’re shooting. If it sees you, that’s fine. It knows you’re there, that’s fine. [But] if it changes its behaviour completely because you’re there, it’s not a representation of its natural behaviours. 

Who do you connect with about wildlife photography? 

Thanks to social media, I have found a community of young wildlife photographers across Canada, with a few in the United States. Those are really the people I talk about photography with. 

I do go photographing with other photographers sometimes, but the youngest ones are in their twenties. Most of them are retired. 

How does your approach differ from that of much older photographers?

A lot of them shoot for fun, and they’ll aways find the craziest stuff. They’ll [capture] this insane behaviour, and you’re like, “What? How did you see that?” “Oh, I was just walking and that happened.” Whereas I can’t go out as much, so I see a lot less. So, whenever I go out, I try to maximize my chances of seeing something.
 

When you’re shooting in towns and cities, does your intent and approach differ at all?

It differs a lot. 

It’s the same animal, but the behaviours are completely different. And to just capture that—their daily life, how harsh or how beautiful it is—is really what I’m trying to do in the city. 

What drives you?

Seeing wildlife is what makes me want to do this. I do it because I enjoy the outdoors. I want to represent what I see and how I see it. 

A lot of people, especially here in the city, don’t think of wildlife. We have this huge wetland in an industrial area, and it’s constantly threatened by development, and no one cares about it. But it has some wonderful bird species. 

But if no one looks at them, no one goes to photograph them, no one shows them to the world—they’re just gonna get destroyed by construction, and it’s gonna be some office building, you know?

So, you love being out in nature photographing wildlife, but you also see it as kind of calling. 

If I can make someone go, “Wow, I didn’t know wildlife was that amazing,” and to care more about our planet and nature, that is really why I do it.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

See more of Lory's photos on Instagram or his website.