EF STAFF
The Story Behind the Cover
Nolan L. | October 8, 2025
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Before this trip, I had never operated a camera, travelled outside North America, or even been on a plane. There were a lot of ‘firsts’ for me, but nerves aside, I was sent on my EF tour to Peru with the task of capturing photos of Canadian travellers, and, hopefully, finding the perfect cover shot for our 2026 catalogue.
My name’s Nolan, I’m a Graphic Designer for EF Tours Canada, and this is the story behind our 2026 catalogue cover.
Made in Canada, found around the world
There’s a renewed sense of patriotism in our country, due in large part to current events I’m sure you’re aware of. For our team, it’s challenged us to think about how we can best show up as authentically and proudly Canadian—both when our groups are travelling, and when we’re talking to our community here. So we’d decided that showcasing as many Canadian travellers across our promotional materials as possible was a great start.
Behind the scenes, this meant sending everyone from our offices in Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver on tour—armed with cameras and microphones—to capture thousands of photos and videos for us to share with our travel community. We’ve featured students from Inuvik, Northwest Territories exploring thousand-year-old castles in Prague; followed a group from small-town Quesnel, B.C. wandering the ultramodern metropolis of Tokyo; and this year, the cover of our catalogue features a student named Jeet, hailing from École McTavish High School in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
“I love having my photo taken. I knew the cover photo would be me the moment I saw it.”
Capturing the perfect moment
I had told everyone at the beginning of the tour that if everything goes right, one or more of them could be on the cover of our 2026 catalogue—which gets mailed out all across Canada.
I wanted the moment to be spontaneous. Capturing a Canadian student, in the moment, on tour—what could be more authentic than that? Well, when we got to the top of Machu Picchu and our Tour Director told us this was a popular photo spot, the students were practically lining up for me to take their photos for the catalogue cover. Some solo, like Jeet, but many in groups as big as five, with their EF backpacks and arms around each other.
I wasn’t expecting so much outright enthusiasm for the assignment—I couldn’t stop smiling. It turned out that the perfect moment I was looking to capture didn’t come in the form of an unsuspecting student caught up in a feeling of wonder, like I thought it would. Instead, it came from these students, dressed in their multicoloured ponchos and alpaca wool hats, having a blast posing in front of a World Wonder with their friends.
Experiencing the magic firsthand
The significance of the photo being taken at Machu Picchu cannot be emphasized enough. Recognizable destinations always resonate more with people, but until I actually stood 2,400 metres high in the mountains of Peru and learned the history of the Inca Empire, I don’t think I really understood why.
I had heard people speak about a transcendental feeling they get when they’re in certain places in the world, and when we got to the summit, we all felt it. Walking around the lost city, you touch the walls of a building, and you can feel everything that went into it. You can visualize the work it took to build, the sense of community that was cultivated, and of course—the devastation when they were forced to leave.
The students felt it too—they were hanging on our guide’s every word. Later, back on the tour bus, our Tour Director quizzed us on our newly acquired Incan knowledge—the retention and participation was incredible. Hands shot up (including mine), answers were shouted out, and it was clear that everyone was leaving with an understanding of the world that was very different from the one we’d arrived with.
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“Travelling used to mean going to a resort and staying there for a week or two, but now I feel more excitement in going to different parts of the world and just exploring everywhere without knowing what's coming next.”
Before I went on tour, I was anxious about all kinds of things. Would I capture the right photos? Miss a flight? Get lost on a new continent? Of course, everything I was worried about turned out just fine—it’s everything I couldn’t have imagined that ended up staying with me. Watching students fully immersed in a new culture, seeing new friendships grow right in front of my eyes, and capturing a photo that encapsulates everything student travel has to offer.
I hope you enjoy this year’s catalogue.
(Nice pose, Jeet! You nailed it.)
