BREAKING Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Green grass, blue skies and polar bears.
It's not a combination many people picture when thinking of the burly creatures in Canada's Arctic, but it's one that was captured by Martin Gregus. His breathtaking and intimate photos of polar bears enjoying the summer sun earned him one of wildlife photography's most prestigious honours.
This week the Vancouver man won the Rising Star Portfolio Award at the Natural History Museum's 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, a prize given to young photographers aged 18 to 26. His work will be featured at the London, U.K., museum and later toured around the world.
"It was just a dream come true," he told CTV National News of winning the award. "I've been doing photography since I was eight years old."
Gregus and his team, which included his assistant and a bear guard, travelled to Hudson Bay for 13 days in 2020 and 20 days in 2021 to get up close and personal with the local wildlife.
"We managed to document some unbelievable behaviours, and it was so exciting just waking up in the morning and seeing these bears right in front of your window," he said.
A picture from the photo series that won Martin Gregus the Rising Star Portfolio Award at the Natural History Museum's 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. (Courtesy of Martin Gregus)
But it's not just about being in the right place at the right time, according to Gregus. Part of the work involves avoiding interference with the animals and allowing them to get accustomed to your presence -- something that is evident in one of his photos, which features a mother nursing two of her cubs.
"I get goosebumps thinking about it," he said of the photo. "[It was] very intimate, and that's just hours and hours of homework you put in with these bears to sort of introduce them to you."
Other pictures from the winning set included two female polar bears playing in shallow water, along with an adult taking an afternoon nap in the grass with a cub.
A picture from the photo series that won Martin Gregus the Rising Star Portfolio Award at the Natural History Museum's 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. (Courtesy of Martin Gregus)
Many of the photos were taken with the use of drones, which let Gregus observe the surrounding wildlife while keeping his distance.
It wasn't always so easy, however, keeping the bears at bay. Camping in the wilderness without a bathroom in sight can leave a person rather exposed.
"Every time you need to go, you take a gun with you and you just go out and find a nice area and you hide there and occasionally polar bears go by," Gregus said.
Gregus had to beat out a wide field to win his award.
"Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the world's biggest wildlife photography competition. It's been running for 57 years," Natalie Cooper, competition judge and senior researcher at the Natural History Museum, told CTV National News. "We had over 50,000 entries this year and we had to then narrow those down to just 100."
A picture from the photo series that won Martin Gregus the Rising Star Portfolio Award at the Natural History Museum's 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. (Courtesy of Martin Gregus)
The competition this year included awards in 19 categories and also offered a number of commendations.
"What we're looking for is technically excellent photographs but really beautiful photographs as well, so things that make you stop and think and want to keep looking at them," she said. "We're also interested in things that have a story behind them, too."
Gregus also wasn't the only Canadian to be recognized for his wildlife photography.
Gil Wizen of Mississauga, Ont., won two awards. One was in the “Behaviour: Invertebrates” category, for his close-up of a spider in the midst of weaving with its webbing. Two more of his photos received commendations under this category.
His second award was in the “Urban Wildlife” category, where he photographed a large Brazilian wandering spider, seemingly guarding its newborn brood, after finding them under the bed he was sleeping on.
Shane Kalyn of Vancouver also won an award in the “Behaviour: Birds” category for his close-up of two courting ravens.
Celina Chien was commended in the “Photojournalism” category for her picture of a Bornean orangutan gripping the bars between enclosures at a zoo, and Nichole Vijayan was commended in the “11-14 Years” category for her photo of an eastern bluebird feeding its chick.
A picture from the photo series that won Martin Gregus the Rising Star Portfolio Award at the Natural History Museum's 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. (Courtesy of Martin Gregus)
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.
Ontario Provincial Police confirm one person has died after a single-vehicle rollover crash in Sharbot Lake, Ont. that seriously injured five others.
A grieving mother is speaking out after her 36-year-old son was shot and killed in North Preston, N.S., Wednesday night.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.