Pushing The Innovation Envelope: Infrared Underwater Photography with Michelle Valberg

Seeing the Unseen: Michelle Valberg’s Infrared Underwater Photography with Outex

Renowned Canadian wildlife photographer Michelle Valberg has always pushed the boundaries of visual storytelling — from the Arctic’s icy wilderness to Indonesia’s warm, life-filled seas. On her latest adventure, she explored a rarely seen frontier in underwater art: infrared photography beneath the surface.

Using Outex’s waterproof housing system, a Kolarivision infrared filter, and her Nikon Zf camera, Valberg captured ethereal, dreamlike images that reveal the hidden textures and tones of marine life — in wavelengths invisible to the human eye.

Exploring a New Light Spectrum Underwater

Infrared photography is challenging on land — but underwater, it becomes a true artistic and technical feat. Water absorbs most infrared light within just a few feet, and typical camera sensors are blocked from recording it.

Valberg overcame these hurdles using a Kolarivision internal infrared filter placed between her Nikon Zf camera’s lens and sensor, allowing the camera to record only infrared wavelengths. Shooting in Indonesia’s clear tropical waters, she relied on natural light and precise exposure control to create surreal monochrome and false-color imagery that reveals patterns and contrasts invisible in normal conditions.

How Outex Made It Possible

Infrared work demands optical precision — every layer between the lens and subject affects light transmission. That’s where Outex’s optical glass ports became critical. Designed for maximum clarity and minimal distortion, they preserved the fine tonal gradations and sharpness needed to capture the subtle reflections and textures of Valberg’s subjects.

The Outex Pro Kit  waterproof camera housing allowed her to use her professional Nikon Zf system without compromise, maintaining full control of all camera settings while keeping her setup lightweight and travel-friendly. Unlike bulky underwater housings, Outex adds no unnecessary weight or drag — perfect for Valberg’s on-the-go shooting style in remote and dynamic environments.

A Minimal Setup for Maximum Creativity

For Valberg, the Outex system’s portability was as transformative as its protection.

“I could travel light, stay mobile in the water, and still trust that my Nikon gear was completely protected — even when experimenting with infrared, which is so sensitive to light loss,” she explains.

By combining Outex’s compact, flexible housing with Nikon’s mirrorless precision and Kolarivision’s IR technology, Valberg unlocked a new visual language underwater — one that transforms the familiar blues and greens of ocean life into silvery dreamscapes of texture, tone, and mystery.

Innovation That Expands Creative Frontiers

Infrared underwater photography is still an emerging art form — part science experiment, part poetic exploration. It demands gear that enables experimentation without compromise.

Outex’s modular, optically-pure design empowers photographers like Michelle Valberg to go beyond the visible spectrum and capture the unseen beauty of the natural world — wherever their imagination takes them.

Explore Michelle Valberg’s work: michellevalberg.com
Learn more about Outex underwater systems: outex.com