Every year, our readers deliver incredible photos from around the North, and 2019 was no exception. From Northern lights to northern life, here’s a look at the best of the year: your top 10, plus 20 honourable mentions.
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From Northern Lights to northern life: Your top 10 photos of the year, plus 20 honourable mentions
CBC News · Posted: Dec 29, 2019 5:00 AM CT | Last Updated: December 29
With the decade drawing to a close, it’s time for one of our favorite holiday traditions: choosing your best photos of the year.
Every year, the decisions get more and more difficult, but we’ve done our best: take a look at CBC North’s top 10 reader submitted photos of the year, as voted on by CBC staff, plus 20 honourable mentions.
1. Our top photo of the year captures an iconic Canadian moment in Sachs Harbour, N.W.T. — getting set for an afternoon skate on the Arctic Ocean. The stunning colours and striking background make this a worthy choice for the top of our list. (Submitted by Cassandre Mason)
2. You moose be kidding! Just missing out on the top spot is this shot from Jake Paleczny of a moose at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, contemplating an April snowfall after weeks of gorgeous late-winter weather. (Submitted by Jake Paleczny)
3. Life on the land: Angela Tugak took this incredible photo of her husband, hunter John Tugak, and a bull caribou outside of Arviat, Nunavut. The incredible timing needed to capture this Northern moment makes it a slam dunk selection in our top 3. (Submitted by Angela Tugak)
4. Coming in at number 4 is this adorable shot of the next generation of Inuit, modelling some traditional sealskin wear with a beautiful backdrop, to boot. David Kilabuk took this shot of two-year-old Mariam Eva Nakashook near Pangnirtung, Nunavut. (Submitted by David Kilabuk)
5. Rounding out the top five for the year is this family photo from Arctic Bay, Nunavut. Hana Aola’s photo showcases an incredible six generations of Inuit, pushing it ‘beyond art and into documentation of a fairly rare event,’ one of our staff wrote. We couldn’t agree more. (Submitted by Hana Aola)
6. Into the realm of wildlife oddity, Gerlinde Hofmaier sent us this fantastic shot of a squirrel enjoying a pinecone from Atlin, B.C., looking all the while like he’s out for an afternoon smoke. This cheeky shot is unique and hilarious, a good mix for our top 10. (Submitted by Gerlinde Hofmaier)
7. Kristian Binder is no stranger to our year-end lists, and this Northern lights shot from Inuvik, N.W.T., was a worthy choice for the top 10. ‘That’s the ambient light from the airport reflecting on the clouds on the right side of the frame. Made for a very cool look!’ he wrote. (Submitted by Kristian Binder)
8. A moon so close, you can touch it — or roll it! Freddie Oovayuk sent us this creative shot from Baker Lake, Nunavut. It comes in at number 8 on our year end list. (Submitted by Freddie Oovayuk)
9. Out for adventure: Miriam Cook makes the top 10 with this incredible photo from the Tors, in Yukon. She said she crossed paths with a wolverine, heard elk bugling, saw ewes and lambs, and caught her first snowfall while exploring the area. (Submitted by Miriam Cook)
10. Sneaking into the top 10 is this shot from HBC Hill over Kimmirut, Nunavut. Noah Kolola took this incredible photo, showing off the community in a whole new light. (Submitted by Noah Kolola)
Honourable mentions
Honourable mention: Grab a cup of hot cocoa and hunker down until the summer. This amazing shot by Sylvain Paradis makes Inukjuak, Nunavik look like a fairytale village. (Submitted by Sylvain Paradis)
Honourable mention: Rain and sunshine and a caribou herd. Phillip Aviugana sent this gorgeous shot from Kendall Island, N.W.T. (Submitted by Phillip Aviugana)
Honourable mention: -43 C in Deline, N.W.T. might be bitingly cold, but it’s also absolutely beautiful. This shot was sent to us by Morris Neyelle. (Submitted by Morris Neyelle)
Honourable mention: Nothing like being out on the land. Maggie Tooktoo sent us this incredible photo of her boyfriend, Joshua Kettler, butchering a caribou outside of Inukjuak, Nunavik. (Submitted by Maggie Tooktoo)
Honourable mention: A Tlicho rainbow! Martina Zoe-Martin took this stunning shot of a rainbow forming above the land between Behchoko and Chan Lake, N.W.T. (Submitted by Martina Zoe-Martin)
Honourable mention: The changing seasons are no problem for good boy Szotyi, as seen in this photo from Whitehorse’s Renata Lendvai. (Submitted by Renata Lendvai)
Honourable mention: Wonder how warm this little guy is? Ryan Kreelak sent us this shot from Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut, taken during a traditional dress competition on National Indigenous Peoples’ Day. This is Ryan’s nearly two-year-old son, Daniel Kanayok Kreelak. (Submitted by Ryan Kreelak)
Honourable mention: The aurora dance behind Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T.’s Distant Early Warning Line station in this incredible frosty photo by Chris Kelly. (Submitted by Chris Kelly)
Honourable mention: Rise and shine! Diane Pettifor took this photo of a dramatic sunrise at Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport. (Submitted by Diane Pettifor)
Honourable mention: The sun peeks through the fog over Cape Dorset, Nunavut, in this otherworldly shot from Manny Noble. (Submitted by Manny Noble)
Honourable mention: Sweet, sweet victory. Dean Charlie sent us this tongue-in-cheek shot from Fort McPherson, N.W.T., after killing his first mosquito of the season. ‘The family is proud of me and they’ll have a feast for me,’ he wrote. (Submitted by Dean Charlie)
Honourable mention: How’s that for a view? Karen Logan sent us this photo of a youth taking in the landscape in Igloolik, Nunavut. (Submitted by Karen Logan)
Honourable mention: Now that’s fully embracing the winter! Brett Boughen sent us this photo from Yukon: ‘It’s a smaller unnamed lake 50 km south of Whitehorse reachable only by trail. Was shortly after noon in the low near winter solstice sun. Was a couple inches of trackless snow which made for usually easy going. Was magical,’ he wrote. (Submitted by Brett Boughen)
Honourable mention: Passing on tradition: George Qulaut sent us this photo of four Igloolik youth bringing in walrus meat from a successful hunt. The youth are being taught to harvest, butcher, and ferment the meat. (Submitted by George Qulaut)
Honourable mention: We the real North! Tapia Attagutsiak and her family celebrated the Toronto Raptors’ first-ever NBA championship in the High Arctic community of Arctic Bay, Nunavut. (Submitted by Tapia Attagutsiak)
Honourable mention: The aurora dance over a gorgeous owl mural in Iqaluit, captured in this shot by Bill Williams. (Submitted by Bill Williams)
Honourable mention: What a moment! ‘Caught this cute couple having an argument yesterday evening in Sachs Harbour, [N.W.T.],’ Cassandre Mason wrote. (Submitted by Cassandre Mason)
Honourable mention: Dolly Felix gives a gorgeous sundog a warm northern welcome in this shot, taken on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway by Francis Anderson. (Submitted by Francis Anderson)
Honourable mention: Caribou on the move. Minnie Clark sent this stunning action shot to our CBC Yukon Facebook page. (Submitted by Minnie Clark )
Honourable mention: The Aurora danced across the North to begin 2019. Yukon photographer Robert Postma snapped this lovely shot, writing that ‘nights like this fill me with a sense of wonder and I hope that everyone gets the opportunity to witness them once in their life.’ (Submitted by Robert Postma)
