Michelle Valberg

Deep in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, the water came alive. A pod of bubble-net feeding humpback whales burst through the dark ocean surface, all open mouths and powerful bodies. It was pure chaos. Glaucous-winged gulls swooped in to feed on the fish left behind, and one looked as if it might fly straight into the whale’s open mouth. Against the shadowed forest, for one split second, the whole wild spectacle came together in a frame I’ll never forget.

An intimate capture of a mother polar bear and her cub, standing on the stark volcanic rock of Scoresby Sound in Greenland. They pause, noses lifted, catching the scent of another female who has wandered into their territory. The deep contrast between the bears’ white fur and the dark basalt creates a powerful visual tension, a story of survival, instinct, and tenderness unfolding against one of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.

We found “Barney”, the Spirit Bear, feeding along the shoreline deep within the Great Bear Rainforest. He was taking advantage of the low tide to forage on exposed barnacles. Just as curious about us as we were about him, he paused, sat calmly, and held our gaze, offering a rare glimpse into his untamed coastal world.

In that fleeting moment on Vancouver Island, as I lay on the ground of rocks, camera in hand, my heart pounded with a mixture of excitement and reverence. Before me, a coastal wolf named Wink was drawing nearer and nearer. He stood curious, bold and beautiful. Our eyes met, and in that instant, it felt as though time itself had slowed. It was a connection that transcended words, a silent dialogue between two souls—mine and Wink’s. In those powerful eyes, I glimpsed the untamed spirit of the wilderness, the resilience of a species that had endured in these rugged landscapes for generations. Coastal wolves, also known as sea wolves, are a unique subspecies of a gray wolf that have adapted to a diet heavily reliant on marine resources. It was a privilege to capture this beautiful creature within the majesty of its natural world, and to remind us all of the profound connections that exist between humans and the wild.

One morning, while in the Great Bear Rainforest, I was crouched low at the river’s edge with my knees in the water and 3 Nikon mirrorless cameras ready for all encounters – however, I didn’t anticipate Boss standing 15 feet directly in front of me. He lowered his head into the river and, without realizing it, I too instinctively ducked my head a fraction. I was watching the elusive Spirit Bear through my viewfinder, holding my breath and trying to remember to exhale. He pulled his head up and shook, droplets spiralling around his head. He looked at me for an instant, and plunged his head back into the water. I felt a catch in my throat. The photographer in me knew intuitively that it would be a memorable photo. The human in me felt that, in that moment, I was part of Boss’ life, as he was part of mine. We were deeply connected in a way that is hard to describe.