“Green and Gold”: Canadian Geographic Best Wildlife Photography 2026 Issue

How do you express the feeling of your first time being published in a magazine as large as Canadian Geographic? This has long been a dream of mine, and I couldn’t believe it came true.

This common flower fly was a simple backyard visitor. Though I saw the species often, their speed and flightiness made photographing them tricky. I had to become part of the garden background, sitting by the oregano plant it frequented. Eventually, I was able to get a shot — the only shot I’ve managed to get of this species — before it flitted away on its next adventure.

What makes this image and its place in CanGeo so special to me is that it demonstrates that when we build biodiversity-friendly areas, the wild comes to us. There is so much life worth protecting all around us, and although it is important to show remote areas with species we might never see in person, we can’t lose sight of what we have in our own backyards.