If you see a camera on campus, odds are the face behind it belongs to campus photographer Steven Stefaniuk. From events to art installations to staff and faculty portraits, Stefaniuk captures much of what happens around campus, and he’s curated his favourite shots from 2025.

Scroll through the 15 photos below to see the familiar faces, exciting moments and unique perspectives Stefaniuk captured this year and find out what made those images memorable for him.

“This close-up of the Bruce the Moose sculpture in the library is from my favourite new piece of art on campus this year, designed by student artist Clinton Minault. I saw it in progress in Allard Hall, being constructed with wood veneer strips, and I thought it was cool. When it was placed in the library, I took photos of it from all different angles. It feels like a living piece of art that can degrade over time – it's not a solid piece, but at the same time, it is a solid piece. I really like the structure of it.”

“I don't often get a chance to go behind the scenes in the restaurant spaces on campus, so I really enjoyed this shoot at the first $5 cooking class MacEwan offered to students. Students learned how to cook a meal, properly use a knife and other wonderful life skills. Then, they took the meal that they cooked and a pre-packaged meal home with them. The chef in the background, Ariel del Rosario, is a MacEwan alum who co-owns Filistix in Building 9. I like the composition of this photo – the way it nicely captures a moment in time.”

“I liked this piece of art from the 2025 Fine Arts Grad Show, so I tried to do a bit of a longer exposure with people walking around it and interacting in the gallery. I think it shows how different people engage with art – some standing and observing, and others passing through. I am a big fan of these shows.”

“We had a photo shoot on campus in May, and I was a secondary photographer. So I just grabbed a couple of the models for about half an hour. It was a nice, overcast day, so the lighting wasn’t too bright. I like this shot – you get to see the models in a different part of campus, with one of the towers behind them and the edge of kihêw waciston. They were just chatting, and it feels very natural. It’s one of my favourite student photos from the last couple of years.”

“For this shoot, I used a super wide-angle lens. I really like this shot, looking up at the clock and into the sky, and how it looks at campus in a different way. I also love seeing the student campus photo submissions on our Instagram page – I’m inspired by the shots that focus on a different aspects of campus architecture or are taken from an angle I hadn’t thought of before.”

“I did a portrait shoot with kihêw waciston this summer. It’s a great space, but a bit tricky to find an area for a nice portrait. We found this spot right at the front of the centre, and the portraits in this series wound up being some of my best of the year. I think the warm lighting captured the staff there really well – including Alixaundria Lamothe, whom we see here, beautifully.”

“At the beginning of the academic year, Dr. Trimbee was walking around campus in a cast after breaking her leg over the summer. When we needed to take a portrait, we decided to make the most of it. I threw on a big, super-wide lens that emphasized the boot. She was a really great sport. I think it’s one of my favourite photos that I’ve taken of her.”

“Earlier this year, we installed Chancellor Gary Mar, who is a very cool guy. I really like this photo of him and Dr. Trimbee on stage at convocation, reacting to former premier Ed Stelmach telling a story about Gary Mar playing a practical joke on him. I just really liked seeing the chancellor’s face in that moment. I take a lot of photos and attend a lot of events, but I like that this captured a really fun moment.”

“This is Dana Sanderson, a lab tech in the Department of Biological Sciences. I get to take a lot of photos of people around campus, but rarely do I get to have them do fun stuff. We took some standard portrait photos, then I asked Dana to scream at me with a cougar skull and push it toward the lens. I love this photo and the background with all the specimens in it; it really captured the spirit of the skeletons and taxidermy we were talking about, and I liked showing off the Biological Sciences Lab in that way.”

“Emmanuel Ogbondeminu was featured in MacEwan’s Students First internal fundraising campaign for scholarships, awards and bursaries. Sometimes the lighting just works out, like it did here. Emmanuel was the perfect subject for this photo – and a great person to talk to. I love the lighting and how it hints that it’s on campus without being obvious about it.”

“MacEwan Ambassadors are so great about letting me take photos of them. I had this group of ambassadors walk towards campus at sunrise in September. They look like they’re having a good time going to school, talking with friends, interacting and getting there as the sun rises. I was really appreciative of them meeting with me so early in the morning.”

“The original headliner for Fall Fest was cancelled this year, but the replacement was actually an artist I love, Oliver Tree. I stayed a little bit later than normal and managed to take some photos of him doing his performance in a MacEwan convocation gown during the second half of his set. It’s a cool shot through the crowd, with people raising the sign for ‘I love you’ in American Sign Language and having fun. I love Fall Fest every year, but this one felt really special.”

“The lighting was spectacular for this sunrise shot in late September. You can see the clouds parting over a really blue sky and a nice orange sunrise. I really appreciate the Facilities staff has done with the plantings over the past couple of years – especially the colour. ”

“On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, kihêw waciston led a march from campus to City Hall. So many people joined that march – this line crossing the crosswalk is just the beginning; you can‘t see the other 100 or so people who are behind them.”

“Convocation is one of my favourite times of the year, and my favourite photos of those days are the ones where a student looks really excited to wave to their family in the balcony. You can tell – even in this photo where you can’t see the graduate’s face – that they’re smiling, they’re having a great time and they’re excited to be there, to see their parents and to spend the day with their peers before they move on to something else. Shots like this just make me so happy.”