“Johnny beautifully captures touching and powerful photographs of polar bears highlighting the urgency to protect these majestic creatures and their diminishing natural habitats. I purchased two spectacular photos for my sister who is an ecologist and she adores them.” — Veronica Delgiudice, North Vancouver, British Columbia

“One of the most important attributes of a good wildlife photographer is patience. As a National News photographer I expected Johnny to display none of that. I was pleasantly surprised when he was perfectly content simply working with what circumstance provided. When the action inevitably picked up Johnny turned into ‘Johnny on the Spot,’ consistently crushing photo ops. Working with Johnny was an absolute privilege and joy. I would be honoured if he joined us again on tour." — Alex de Vries

"The photo of the Zen bear is so realistic and printed so well its more like a fine piece of art. Everything I have in my home has some kind of personal attachment so I was honoured to purchase it from Johnny who had done some video work for me at the US Masters water ski tournament.  The photo arrived perfectly packaged and in a timely fashion. The Zen bear has been placed above my bed to give off similar vibes." - George Athans, 3 time World Water Ski Champion, Member of the Order of Canada (Dec. 2022)

"I just wanted to thank you again for such a spectacular experience and for your patience, guidance and valuable hints and tips to help us improve our photography. It was so exhilarating and awe-inspiring to be amongst those majestic polar bears, and to capture those images." -Tony Trott, of Calgary, Alberta (Nov. 2022)

"Johnny has nailed the ingredients of an amazing tour to Churchill. His experience of over two decades with the polar bears, coupled with his world class photography expertise culminates in a fabulous experience. Each day is wrapped in the warmth of the Bluesky Bed and Sled accommodation. Local, genuine hospitality that is unbeatable. His collaboration with the lifetime local guides results in a wonderful engagement.  If you want to truly fill your soul, spend a week with Johnny Hayward Photo.  An intimate dive into the ways of Polar Bears."  Paul Wright, Whistler, British Columbia (Nov. 2022)

"Jonathan started as a freelance photographer for CP in Ottawa in 1997. For the next decade he covered a host of major events including international travel with the prime minister and coverage of the return of the unknown soldier. In 2007, he joined CP as a full-time staff photographer, moving to Vancouver as part of the preparations for the 2010 Olympics. That Olympic Games is just one of several that Jonathan would go on to cover for CP, along with multiple World Cup sports events, Grey Cups, Stanley Cup finals, not to mention numerous NHL and regular season sports. His travels have taken him to the White House, Athens to follow the Olympic torch, and on royal tours throughout Canada. His coverage from Canada’s high arctic featured unprecedented images of northern wildlife. Jonathan is also a true multimedia journalist, starting to shoot video for CP when we began that service in 2006. He has always captured strong video footage along with incredible still photographs."

"Throughout his career, he has covered several federal and provincial election campaigns. He has extensively documented the issues in Vancouver’s downtown eastside, including a beautiful series of black-and-white portraits of community members in 2013, the homeless situation in the city and the drug overdose crisis. His work on the overdose situation led to an opportunity to shadow B.C. Ambulance workers in 2021 as they responded to 42 overdose calls in the city in a single day. Jonathan has also been on the frontlines for some of the most significant natural disasters in western Canada. He covered the wildfires in Fort McMurray in 2016, several seasons of wildfires across B.C., and the destruction caused by the 2021 flooding throughout the province. He was one of the few to secure aerial photographs of the massive infrastructure damage that year. In 2018, Jonathan was at the scene of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in rural Saskatchewan. He was the only one to gather aerial photos of the crash site. In addition to haunting documentation of the crash itself, Jonathan captured many of the moving images from tributes and memorials in the days that followed."

"Jonathan’s Humboldt photos earned him the National Newspaper Awards for Breaking News and News Photo of the Year. These are just two of the numerous honours his work has earned, including multiple NNA wins, Sports Media Canada’s Outstanding Sports Photography award, several accolades from the News Photographers Association of Canada (NPAC), and the Canadian Association of Journalism’s Photojournalist of the Year prize. Jonathan was the lead photographer on the 2010 CP team NNA nomination for the “One Bomb” project, chronicling the painful aftermath of an explosion in Afghanistan that killed four soldiers and journalist Michelle Lang."  Megan Leach, Director-CP News Photos, THE CANADIAN PRESS