About Michelle
Life Behind the Lens

Michelle Valberg, C.M. is one of Canada’s most celebrated wildlife and nature photographers—a visual storyteller, Nikon Ambassador, and recipient of the Order of Canada whose career spans  four decades and all seven continents.

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With an eye for beauty and a heart for purpose, Michelle’s work captures not just what we see in the natural world, but what we feel. Her images are intimate, artful, and alive—whether it’s a spirit bear emerging from the rainforest, a sea otter floating through mist, or the vast silence of the Arctic under northern light. Her goal is to create emotional impact, to connect viewers deeply with the environment, and to inspire action to protect it.

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Michelle was the first-ever Photographer-in-Residence for Canadian Geographic, and her work has graced the covers of magazines, Canadian coins and stamps, public art installations, and galleries around the world. She is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and The Explorer’s Club, and has earned international recognition including the Wildlife Photographer of the Year gold medal at the World Photographic Cup, the Julia Margaret Cameron Award, and the Louie Kamookak Medal for making Canada's geography better known to Canadians and the world.

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But beyond the accolades, Michelle is driven by something deeper: a profound connection to wildlife, wild spaces, and storytelling with purpose. She is the founder of Project North, a not-for-profit that has delivered over $2 million in sporting equipment to youth in more than 40 Arctic communities, and she continues to use her platform to advocate for conservation, community, and the power of the visual narrative.

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Her workshops and expeditions are as immersive as her images—whether leading a group through the grizzly bear sanctuary of Khutzeymateen, photographing polar bears in Nunavut, or teaching online courses that reach photographers around the world. Known for her generosity, warmth, and incredible eye, Michelle empowers others to not just take better photographs—but to see the world more deeply.

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In all her work, Michelle reminds us that photography is more than documentation. It’s emotion. It’s connection. It’s a way of giving voice to the voiceless, light to the unseen, and meaning to the wild moments that pass us by too quickly.