Announcing the winners of the 2025 KBA Canada Photo Contest!

Nov 03, 2025

(French translation coming soon/Traduction française à venir)

This summer and fall, photographers of all levels submitted their favorite photos of KBAs as part of the 3^rd Annual KBA Canada Photo Contest. The contest was a huge success, collecting more submissions than the last two years combined (450 in total!) from over 120 amateur and professional photographers from every province and territory in Canada. Submissions across the four categories – Fauna, Flora and Fungi, Landscapes and Ecosystems, and People and Conservation – spotlighted the incredible variety and beauty of KBAs. A heartfelt thank you to the talented photographers who shared their amazing moments and photos, and a big thank you to all the judges as well – in particular our special guest judge, Wildlife Photographer of the Year (2024) Shane Gross.

For your enjoyment, we’ve gathered the top photos from each category, along with an extensive list of Honorable Mentions that capture the stunning variety of landscapes and scenes captured by the photographers. The Grand Prize and top winners in each category will be receiving a KBA Canada Prize Package, and runner-ups and honorable mentions will be featured across the KBA social media channels.

Grand Prize

This year’s contest marked an exciting milestone – the introduction of a Grand Prize category, recognizing the single most outstanding photo among all entries. The inaugural Grand Prize went to Herring Spawn by photographer Jeremy Mathieu. The photograph gives an aerial view of the Pacific Herring spawn in Clayoquot Sound (Cleland Island & Southeast Clayoquot Sound candidate KBA), on Vancouver Island, B.C. The importance of the herring spawn for west coast ecosystems is astounding, supporting a huge diversity and abundance of marine and terrestrial life. From guest judge Shane Gross: “Choosing a grand prize winner was a particular challenge for the entire panel, but the scale of the biological event taking place just beneath the waves in Jeremy Mathieu’s stunning seascape really accentuated the awe-inspiring beauty of British Columbia’s coastline.”

Fauna

The Fauna category showcased the diversity and behaviours of wildlife within KBAs. The winning image, Simone Heinrich’s delightful photo of a caribou resting in a field of beautiful purple flowers, in Tonquin candidate KBA, captures the calm grace of one of Canada’s iconic species. Meanwhile, the runners-up in this category display the beauty of Canada’s prairies, with Kristian Wolowidnyk’s gorgeous monochrome second place image of a bison rocking out in Elk Island National Park KBA, and Caichong Chen’s third place image of a burrowing owl bathed in pastel dawn light in Grasslands National Park and Area KBA.

1^st place – A Quiet Moment in Bloom by Simone Heinrich.
During our summer hike in the Tonquin Valley, we watched a caribou peacefully grazing in a field of wildflowers. Once it had finished grazing, it lay down to rest among the flowers – a quiet, unforgettable moment. (Tonquin candidate KBA)

2^nd place – Headbanging Buffalo living his best Elk Island life by Kristian Wolowidnyk.
*I caught this buffalo rocking out on the main road in Elk Island National Park. (Elk Island National Park KBA)*

3^rd place – Embraced by the Morning Glow by Caichong Chen.
*As the first light touched the earth, a burrowing owl stood still, bathed in the soft warmth of dawn. (Grasslands National Park and Area KBA)*

Flora and Fungi

Photos in the Flora and Fungi category showed viewers new perspectives on species that don’t always get a lot of attention. Deborah Freeman’s dramatic winning photo of a Thimbleberry in Carmanah Walbran Forest candidate KBA evokes the abundance of KBAs. A. Michael Bezener and Cole Tomlinson’ second and third place images highlight the delicate detail and vibrant, stunning colors of some of Canada’s native wildflowers.

1st place – Richness of a forest by Deborah Freeman.
*In Central Walbran a Thimbleberry is plump and waiting to be noticed. (Carmanah Walbran Forest candidate KBA)*

2nd place – Jewel of the Sagebrush Shrubsteppe by A. Michael Bezener.
A Sagebrush Mariposa Lily (Calochortus macrocarpus) glows in the first light of day among the shaded grassland/shrubsteppe habitat of the White Lake Basin in the South Okanagan Key Biodiversity Area. (South Okanagan candidate KBA)

3^rd place – Pretty Primula by Cole Tomlinson.
*This photo of Dark Throated Shooting Star (Primula pauciflora) was taken in the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan. (Cypress Hills KBA)*

Landscapes and Ecosystems

The photos in the Landscapes and Ecosystems category displayed the breathtaking beauty of KBAs, highlighting their striking vistas as well as their habitat characteristics. These photos offered a vivid portrayal of the unique character of each site itself, instead of focusing on its inhabitants. A. Michael Bezener’s winning photo in this category gives a unique take on a frozen freshwater landscape in the South Okanagan candidate KBA that reveals hints of the biodiversity below. Meanwhile, Shaun Antle’s second place photo from Churchill candidate KBA highlights a rarely seen view of the tundra, while Sheryl R Garrison’s third place image gives an original and painterly perspective of Castle-Waterton-Akamina KBA.

1^st place – Frozen Winter Wonders by A. Michael Bezener.
Frozen bubbles created by rising methane from decaying lake vegetation and respiration gases from sleeping turtles and fish create fascinating multi-layered natural works of art locked within the icy surface of Vaseux Lake – evidence that even in winter the Okanagan Key Biodiversity Area harbours rich biodiversity and essential ecological processes. (South Okanagan candidate KBA)

2^nd place – Edge of the Arctic by Shaun Antle.
This image was captured out on the Arctic tundra, in District 23, Manitoba. I spotted him from the sunlight bouncing off his coat about a kilometer or 2 away. We got as close as we could and I put the drone up and kept a very safe distance away as I wanted to capture the Hudson Bay, Arctic Tundra, the sunset, the polar bear and in the background, silhouetted is the shipwreck Ithaca. (Churchill candidate KBA)

3^rd place – When Water Paints—Mount Galwey by Sheryl R Garrison.
On a calm day in Waterton Lakes National Park, a pool of water can reflect the mountains standing high above it, creating a transitory image reminiscent of a watercolor painting. (Castle-Waterton-Akamina KBA)

People and Conservation

If a picture is worth 1000 words, submissions in the People and Conservation category were essays describing the efforts, initiatives and people dedicated to conserving (and enjoying!) KBAs in Canada. Two of Liam Brennan’s photos were selected by judges as the first and second place images in this category, and the photos tell a striking story of research and recreation in KBAs in New Brunswick. Lauren Pitt’s third place image gives insight into the careful work and research underway to protect Prairie Rattlesnakes in Alberta’s grasslands.

1^st place – Copepods and climate change by Liam Brennan.
In this image, I depict oceanographic field work in Grand Manan basin. Our research lab is trying to understand spatial and temporal change of copepods – a small species of zooplankton that forms that is the dominant prey species of many species at risk such as the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. (Grand Manan Archipelago KBA)

2^nd place – Ocean ambassador by Liam Brennan.
*In this image, a sea kayak guide leads a group of paddlers out to search for wildlife at dawn in the Quoddy region of New Brunswick. (Quoddy Region KBA)*

3^rd place – Hands for the Land by Lauren Pitt.
Along the South Saskatchewan River north of Bow Island, conservation biologists record data on a Prairie Rattlesnake during a monitoring survey. Their careful work helps build understanding of this species-at-risk, contributing to ongoing efforts to protect Alberta’s disappearing grassland wildlife and the habitats they depend on. (Grassy Lake Sandhills and Bow Island candidate KBA)

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

Greater Yellowlegs in flight by Geoff McDonell

Nov 03, 2025

Past Blogs

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019