Surrey resident has realized a dream by having his photographs published in National Geographic.

His 鈥淏ears of Summer鈥� spread in the September edition of the magazine shows polar bears lounging in wildflowers in northern Manitoba.

鈥淲e went to Churchill 鈥� that鈥檚 the closest community but we were about two hours north of that, in the middle of nowhere,鈥� Gregus recalled. 鈥淲e did 13 days in 2020, then in 2021 we did 20 days, so we were there total 33 days over two years in that remote location, in July and August both years.鈥�

For the 26-year-old man who lives on the Surrey/91原创 border, photography has been a passion since the age of eight, with many accolades and awards over the past couple of decades.

鈥淣ow it鈥檚 starting to pay the bills,鈥� he said with a laugh.

He鈥檚 the the youngest member of Gregus Creactive Group, and was born into a family of artists in Bratislava, Slovakia.

鈥淢y dad鈥檚 a photographer too, and my mom and sister are fashion designers, so we are all creative people,鈥� Gregus noted.

Last year he won the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award from London鈥檚 Natural History Museum.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an award that wildlife photographers aspire to, so it was unbelievable to win that,鈥� Gregus explained.

The award led to the series in National Georgraphic.

鈥淲e found each other, I would say, after London in 2021,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith the award, I used that opportunity and got in touch with everyone I could. It was always my dream to be published in National Geographic, and I鈥檝e tried before. I sent them the polar bear pictures, they were very interested and it came together this time.鈥�

Photographing polar bears among wildflowers in Manitoba is also a dream come true for Gregus.

鈥淚 saw some pictures like that years ago, in 2006 or something, and said, 鈥業 have to go there,鈥� and then it took years of planning and planting the seeds in a lot of peoples鈥� heads, and eventually the pandemic came, and it paid off,鈥� he explained.

鈥淚 worked with a company in Churchill, a tourism agency that didn鈥檛 have tourists that year, and we went to the location,鈥� Gregus continued. 鈥淭he flowers didn鈥檛 bloom in 2020, but we got some amazing shots of bears in the summer that won Wildlife Photographer, but then the goal in 2021 was to get them with flowers, and we were able to do that.鈥�

Online, look for Gregus鈥� work on , and also .