Alberta storm chaser Matt Melnyk wins photography award

A pair of southern Alberta photographers are among those taking top honours in the Canadian Geographic Photo of the Year competition.

A Calgary-based storm chaser has won an award from one of Canada’s oldest magazines.

Canadian Geographic announced the winners of its 2025 Canadian Photos of the Year on Wednesday. Matt Melnyk placed first in the “Weather, Seasons and Skies” category.

His photo was one of 18 honoured by the periodical, which said it received more than 7,000 entrants.

“From capturing a bucket-list shot to just getting out there and experiencing the beauty and geographical diversity of Canada, we love to see what our photography community has been up to over the past year,” said Canadian Geographic’s editor-in-chief Alexandra Pope in a news release.

“Although they all portray different locations and subjects, the winning images in this competition have one thing in common: they made us stop and say ‘Wow.’”

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Melnyk’s photo was a split-second capture of lightning forking down from a severe thunderstorm southeast of the city of Calgary.

The runner-up in the category was a magical photo of the northern lights taken by Edmonton’s Shane Turgeon.

Honourable mentions in the category were given to another Calgary photographer, Monika Deviat, for her photo of a shooting star above a mountain lake, and Saskatoon’s Jeff Wizniak photo of an ominous storm cloud.

Canadian Geographic awarded the title of Canadian Photographer of the Year to Port McNeill, B.C.’s Anthony Bucci.

“One of his winning shots was captured in the remote valley of Zeballos on Vancouver Island where, during the winter, the fog rushes in and around the mountain peaks,” officials said.

“Bucci sat there watching Rugged Mountain for hours, waiting for the perfect thickness of fog.”

Canadian Photos of the Year 2025 - Full winners list

Canadian Photographer of the Year

• Anthony Bucci, Port McNeill, B.C.

Flora, Fauna and Fungi

• Winner - Eli Wolpin, Vancouver
• Runner-up - Cari Siebrits, North Vancouver
• Honourable mention - Stephen Shikaze, Calgary
• Honourable mention - Kristian Wolowidnyk, Edmonton

Epic Landscapes

• Winner - Ash Voykin, Rossland, B.C.
• Runner-up - Safayaat Ul Alam
• Honourable mention - Peter Robinson, Vancouver
• Honourable mention - Samuel Choy, Vancouver

Weather, Seasons and Skies

• Winner - Matt Melnyk, Calgary
• Runner-up - Shane Turgeon, Edmonton
• Honourable mention - Monika Deviat, Calgary
• Honourable mention - Jeff Wizniak, Saskatoon

Outdoor Adventure

• Winner - Will Lambert, Banff, Alta.
• Runner-up - Peter Baumgarten, Manitowaning, Ont.
• Honourable mention - Patrick Kilburn, Thornhill, Ont.