Photographer wins dream Canadian Geographic gig for wildlife portfolio together with dramatic shot of puffin and cute fox portrait

Most images competitions supply a money or tools prize, however I’m certain many people would commerce that off for a job as a photographer with a dream group.

That’s precisely what Newfoundland-based photographer David Sturge has gained after just lately being topped the Canadian Wildlife Photographer of the Year by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS).

He now will get to work as a photographer for Canadian Geographic, RCGS’ bimonthly journal, masking assignments throughout tradition, environmental and journey in British Columbia.

Sturge, who’s based in Paradise, Newfoundland, and works as a provincial park ranger and wildlife guide, won the competition with a stellar portfolio of animal portraits.

Among them were a dramatic shot of a puffin holding a feather in its mouth and looking directly at the camera, as well as a photogenic fox seemingly posing for the shot.

According to the organizers, the 2026 edition of the photography competition attracted more than 10,000 entries. 18 photographers in total were honored for images depicting terrestrial and aquatic animals, flora and fungi, and winged species.

Steven Marriott claimed first place within the “Terrestrial Life” class for an motion freeze-frame of an American mink dashing towards his lens after catching some prey at a conservation space in Ontario.

While within the “Aquatic Life” class, winner Jean-Christophe Lemay acquired the judges’ vote with a mesmerizingly colourful shot of a sandworm swimming on the floor of the St. Lawrence Estuary.

Over within the “Flora and Fungi” class, entomologist Anthony Zerafa got here first with a shot of Scheuchzer’s cottongrass rising on the shore of Colour Lake on Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut.

And Saskatchewan-based biologist Jon Behuniak gained the “Things with Wings” class with a macro body of a thick-headed fly on a raspberry cane.

The Canadian Wildlife Photographer of the Year is an annual images competitors celebrating the natural world inside Canadian borders. Photographs should be taken in Canada by photographers who’re everlasting residents within the nation.

You may also like…

Here’s our tried-and-tested decide of the best cameras for wildlife photography.