It may be impossible to fully capture the beauty and dimensions of the North in a single photo, but the winners of this photography contest came pretty darn close. Here are our favourites.
Grand Prize
Winner: A protective raven daddy looks for a tool to scare off Iqaluit photographer Grace Will-Scott, who’d been observing his nest of four young chicks. “I think at the moment that I took this picture, the papa raven was trying to get the bolt so he can bang it against something to make me go away.”
Arts & Culture
Winner: Maggie Tooktoo of Umiujaq, Nunavik was captivated by this scene featuring the lights from Inukjuak, boyfriend Joshua Kettler’s headlamp, and the caribou they were soon going to eat. “I wanted to remember this moment.”
Runner up: Dyanne Wilsony captured the Yellowknives Dene First Nation Drummers at a 2016 ceremony in Yellowknife’s Rotary Park to unveil a new plaque commemorating the area’s ice road history.
Honourable mention: Jana Kasparova, of the Czech Republic, has spent the past three years living in Tuktoyaktuk, NT, working, volunteering and making close friends like Bertha and Mervin Chicksi. Her companions are pictured here during an ice fishing trip to the Husky Lakes.
Science & Nature
Winner: Cassandre Masson of Sachs Harbour was spending some downtime by the beach when she was joined by this curious weasel. “All of a sudden, it was playing under the car before swiftly appearing on the wheel, giving me that badass look!”
Runner up: MacIntosh Pavia spotted this Arctic hare last summer while shooting portraits around Iqaluit. Unfortunately, he only had a 50mm lens on his camera. “So I had to get very close to get the sharpest details.” The brave hare didn’t seem to mind.
Honourable mention: Clint MacNichol photographed the shores of Hall Beach, Nunavut, just as the rising November sun began to peek over low-lying clouds, “giving the impression of hills in the background, while also causing the bright, golden effect.”
History & People
Winner: Cassandre Masson, of Sachs Harbour, NT captured her spouse taking their son out for his first ice skating lesson. “What I love the most is how people seem to connect to them, even if we don’t see their faces.”
Runner up: Mark Hernandez submitted this photo of himself on the ice road between Inuvik and Aklavik, NT. The shot was taken by a drone (operated by photographer Kristian Binder) that was flying over the frozen Mackenzie River.
Honourable mention: Brian Purdy shot this portrait in Tuktoyaktuk in the early ’70s. “I was there as a lawyer on a court circuit, and spotted the lady working on whale meat while walking around on my lunch break.”
Travel & Adventure
Winner: Jana Kasparova was on her way back to Tuktoyaktuk from the Midnight Sun Fun Run in Inuvik when she stopped for this photo. It was early morning, and the road was hazy and dusty. The perfect light and the perfect backdrop for the perfect road trip shot.
Runner up: Jana Kasparova took this “inside- out” photo of pal Shaun Cormier exploring an abandoned cabin near Tuktoyaktuk. As she says Cormier once told her, “old windows make great frames.”
Honourable mention: Grace Wilk-Scott of Iqaluit took this shot on the first day of summer, June 21, 2018, after noticing kids playing hockey on Arctic Bay’s melting ice. “It was so impressive to see them doing this without any fear.”
