Photography has always been one of Canadian Geographic‘s specialties. While the greater motivation is to make Canada better known to Canadians, we also delight in the beautiful quality of photography that we’re privileged to have on our pages. Over the years we’ve been honoured with a number of awards, but today we’re looking back at our annual photography issue from 1999.

It won the coveted title of Best Magazine Cover from the National Magazine Awards. The judges reviewed more than 1000 magazine covers from the previous 30 years, then held an online viewers-choice vote for the best Gold-winning magazine cover. And, well, Canadian Geographic came out on top!

So we present to you, the 1999 NMA-winning magazine cover from Canadian Geographic, “Through the Lens,” by Stephen Hanks. Photo by Larry Towell.

What’s been your favourite Canadian Geographic cover?