A family bike ride, a tranquil lake and a perfect moment. When Athabasca University grounds technician Rob Koons came across the scene at Eleanor Lake in southeastern British Columbia last August, he knew he had a good photo opportunity. What he didn't know at the time was that he also had a Canadian award winner.

Koons's picture is the grand prize winner of Canadian Geographic's 25th annual photo contest and was judged best of more than 10,000 entries. And it's a moment that netted Koons a prize package worth $14,000.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing; it looked like a great picture so I snapped it," said Koons.

Contest judge David Barbour, a professional photographer from Ottawa, called the photo authentic. "It's a beautiful, truthful image," Barbour told Canadian Geographic. "It goes to show how colours, repetition of shapes and subtle compositional elements really make a photo."

Koons's prize package includes a nine-day schooner tour through the Queen Charlotte Islands and a Nikon D5000 camera plus a printer and scanner.

You can see the gallery of contest winners and runners-up.