Somewhere around Homer, Alaska, lives a gray-crowned rosy-finch who’s blissfully unaware it’s an award winner.

Evergreen photographer Alan Murphy managed to capture its frosty visage one winter’s day a couple of years ago and dubbed it “Winter Pink.”

For his efforts, he won gold in the best portrait category of the annual Bird Photographer of the Year competition. Thousands of bird lovers around the globe submit their entries every year, to categories including birds in flight, urban birds and bird behavior.

Winning photos are collected in Princeton University Press’ book “Bird Photographer of the Year.” It’s available for purchase online at birdpoty.com.

Murphy got the winning shot while guiding one of his workshops on bird photography, specifically bald eagles and songbirds, including the gray-crowned rosy-finch, something he’s done every February in Homer for at least 15 years.

“It’s a high-altitude bird,” he said. “They can handle cold, freezing weather well in the winter. They flock together and come to sea level by the hundreds. This bird in the image was right next to the marina. The colors are out of focus of the boats in the background. It’s a nice complement to the bird. And the falling snow adds a lot.”

The self-taught photographer grew up in the Ireland countryside in the 1960s, where he’d roam the forests and streams surrounding him. His parents noted the 4-year-old’s love for the outdoors and bought him the binoculars and bird book that ignited a birdwatching hobby. When he moved to the U.S. two decades later, his passion escalated and he bought a camera to “take bad photos,” he says, get prints made and identify the birds.

“That led to an obsession,” he said. “I loved the challenge of getting close to birds. You get an award at the end. When you go birdwatching you see the bird and that’s great, but when you take a picture you get the picture of it and it’s a great way to lock in the memory of that experience.”

Murphy now leads dozens of workshops throughout the year around the world, including hawks and songbirds in Texas in January, Arizona birds in April and May, Colorado birds in June, belted kingfishers in Colorado in July, and California birds in November.

He teaches burgeoning photographers the field techniques he’s acquired over more than three decades as a bird photographer. Find a list of his workshops online at alanmurphyphotography.com.

“To be a better photographer, you need to be a better birder,” Murphy said. “Know how to identify the birds. Join a camera club — every town has one. They have field trips. The third thing is to go on a workshop.”

Murphy, who worked as a professional hair stylist and owned a salon in Houston after immigrating, joined bird clubs and did bird walks, including Christmas bird counts, to learn and see new habitats.

Nowadays he especially loves to take photos of bald eagles: “I’ve been doing it for so long and have never gotten tired of it. There’s always something different and they’re so majestic.”

Some of his favorite Colorado spots to indulge his passion include Mount Blue Sky, Red Rocks Park and Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

“The great things about mountains is every 1,000 feet of elevation you have different species,” he said.

Contact the writer: 636-0270