Julien Marchal was born in Clamart (Haut-de-Seine/France) in 1976 and is also a Canadian citizen. His passion for the sea in Corsica (France) and marine mammals, and his commitment to protecting the seabed, led him to photography. At first, it was in Strasbourg (France), then in Montpellier (France), that he prepared his future encounters with his protégés. In 1995, he discovered his first whale (fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) and the blue and white dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) in the "Pelagos" marine sanctuary in the Mediterranean Sea. His travels in Canada have brought him into contact with killer whales. (Orcinus orca) (1997), pairs of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) (2000) or fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) (2000) and the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) (2006). In Guadeloupe (French West Indies), he worked in an aquarium caring for sea turtles (Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas) (1998). In the Azores, a newborn sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) which he had the privilege of discovering (1999).... Most of his photographic work is done out of the water. Otherwise, it is the result of swimming with eight sperm whales. (Physeter macrocephalus) and spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) in Mauritius (2000), short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) in the Mediterranean (2000), its first blacktip shark (Carcharinus melanopterus) and a giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) in the Bahamas (2001) or the humpback whale (Megaptera Novenglae) in French Polynesia (2008 to 2010). In addition to his photographic activities, Julien Marchal is a member of worldwide cetacean associations, a naturalist guide to cetacean encounters, and an activist against the captivity of dolphins (Parc Astérix (France) in 1997) and orcas. In this capacity, he gives lectures and publishes articles to "raise public awareness" and "educate future generations". Ihe spent time in French Polynesia (2008 to 2010) as a naturalist guide for a dolphin group. (Tursiops truncatus) sedentary on the Rangiroa attol (Tuamotu archipelago). In winter 2010, he worked as a translator for a humpback whale-watching company (Megaptera Novenglae) in the Dominican Republic (Samaná). In Bergeronnes (Quebec, Canada) from 2010 to 2017 he was a boat captain, guide and photographer for marine mammals on the St. Lawrence River in a marine park. Later he worked for a foundation -Students on Ice (Quebec, Canada) - on the "Canada C3" expedition as deckhand and zodiac operator on a former icebreaker. He recounts his adventure in the book "Commemorative Canada C3". From 2018 to 2021, he was a helmsman and deckhand for the Canadian Coast Guard (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and an oceanographic vessel in Quebec (Canada) carrying out various missions, the last of which was on right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In summer, he continues to introduce visitors to marine mammals at Croisières Essipit (Quebec, Canada), a company founded by an aboriginal community. During the winter, he remains available for marine contracts in France/DOM-TOM and Canada. He lives with his family on the north shore of Montreal (Quebec, Canada).