Joel Such grew up in the ponderosa clad foothills of Colorado’s Front Range, where his intense passion for the avian world was sparked at a young age. Ever since, Joel has pursued birds with unwavering devotion and has dedicated his life to studying, protecting, and documenting the natural world, working on a wide variety of field projects and environmental education initiatives throughout the United States and Latin America.
 
With both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in conservation biology, Joel’s commitment to conservation extends to community-based, multicultural projects aimed at garnering support for wildlife and their habitats. Armed with a telephoto lens since age nine, Joel uses photography as an essential tool in his dual roles as a biologist and artist, helping to raise environmental awareness and advance conservation efforts.
 
For the past seven years, Joel has predominantly lived in Colombia’s Western Andes where he is currently engaged in protecting and reforesting critical cloud forest habitat, documenting the region’s cryptic wildlife with his camera, and leading nature tours that support on-the-ground conservation projects.