About Mike

Mike was born in 1956 in Sudbury Ontario, Canada . He spent his youth  in Ottawa living along the shores of the  historic Ottawa River.  Both his parents were teachers and  their involvement in the residential camping movement enriched  the lives of Mike and his two brothers tremendously. His fascination with the natural world  began early in life  and much of his time was spent  fishing, gathering insects and critters for his collections and exploring  the  local wetlands by canoe. He also spent a lot of quality time  looking after his menagerie of domestic and wild pets. At the age of ten Mike was caring for six Albino Rabbits, a Guinea Pig , a four foot Iguana, two abandoned Red Fox pups, a Blandings Turtle, a Milk Snake, an abandoned Kestrel,  a few Praying Mantis and an aquarium full of exotic fish including a very funky Chinese Algae Eater.

In 1977  Mike got a job as an assistant wilderness guide and he paddled the Coppermine River with a group to the Polar Sea. Mike was so inspired by the landscape , wildlife and the tundra  during that initial journey that he committed his life to a photographic  and guiding career. For the last 30 years Mike  has been compelled to explore many remote parts of the planet and in particular the Arctic regions. He has headed north every year  for the last 30 years to  spend time  on the land with indigenous families and to photograph, film and explore the rugged landscapes of the Arctic world . Mike’s photographic work in conservation and environmental issues has helped raise awareness and given momentum to establishing new protected spaces  and national parks in Canada.

Mike has explored many diverse  cultures and unique environments across the globe. These include: jungles,  cave explorations, deserts, alpine environments, endangered spaces, wild rivers and many of the worlds oceans to capture on film the essence of place and try to inspire a conservation ethic  that will protect our fragile planet.

Mike has been a contract photographer for over three decades, producing outstanding imagery for a broad cross-section of clients including corporations, government agencies, publishers and magazines. He is a versatile individual with a skill-set that allows him to capture the drama of a climb at seven thousand meters in – 40 C temperatures or dive into the ocean depths to document the behaviour of whales and sharks or create compassionate images in a hospital environment for an educational brochure and C.D. Mike’s work has been featured in many of the world’s finest magazines.  His photographs have been exhibited throughout the world in many traveling exhibitions and at World Expos and on the Jumbotron in New York city. The Mike Beedell Photo Library has over 500,000 images from across the globe and the library houses one of the finest Arctic collections. The Beedell Image library also  contains extensive broadcast video. Mike accepts assignments locally and worldwide. When not traveling or leading expeditions Mike lives in the Gatineau Hills  of Quebec with his wife, Bonnie Kumer and their dog/child Laird. Mike has a Social Science degree from the University of Ottawa.

Partial Client list