Michelle Valberg is an amazing Ottawa photograph. Lucky us, she is the one who took our amazing headshots for the BOOM website! Well, one of Michelle's spectacular photos is now up for an award (no it's not the one of me)!

Her image of a hot-air balloon flying between two columns of an iceberg near Arctic Bay, Nunavut, is in contention for a National Geographic photo contest.

"It was probably one of the most unique photos. I mean, who thinks of seeing a hot air balloon between two icebergs," said Michelle Valberg.

How did the picture come to be?!

Michelle was at a campsite in Nunavut in June after a wealthy tourist from Mexico hired her along with a Toronto-based company called Arctic Kingdom to lead him and his family on a tour of the remote north. Among the unique requests of the tourist were two helicopters and a hot air balloon, both to provide once-in-a-lifetime views of the region.

And a once-in-a-lifetime photo!

The winners for the National Geographic Traveler Reader Photo Contest are expected to be announced in August.

Congrats Michelle!

Kim ;)