Simon Tolzmann Photography - My Journey Through Photography

Simon Tolzmann - About Me

As a lifelong lover of the natural world, I find myself outside observing and soaking in everything there is to possibly observe and soak in. Over the last 8 years, I've become more of a dedicated student of the natural world, and in the last 4 I have found that my place in all of it lies with photography. All of my casual exploration and passion for adventure is all coming together with my idea of working towards becoming a devoted conservation photojournalist.

Much of my work consists of photos taken while out simply exploring and adventuring, but as I progress with skill and as my ideas develop, I will be creating a lot more images with the purpose of telling important conservation related stories. Born and raised in Chicago, IL, I now live in Fort Collins, CO studying conservation biology at Colorado State University. I'm also a freelance photographer, and freelance wildlife photography workshop guide for hire.

All of my time outside has me visiting amazing places and doing crazy things, so I’ve gotten into some pretty interesting things other than photography. Rock climbing, mountain biking, fossil hunting, and hiking are my other main interests (coincidentally they’re things that I enjoy photographing…).

I'm the Chicago Bird Alliance's 2022 Young Environmentalist of the Year, an Ambassador for Colorado State University's Warner College of Natural Resources Media and Communications department, photographer for the college, and guide for Colorado Birding Guides.

In addition, I would be lying if I said I haven't had an incredible network of support throughout my journeys, a web of people I owe it all to. Of course I owe an unfathomable amount of everything to family and friends, but I owe much of my growth as a photographer to the wonderful folks at Hunt's Photo and Video, namely Gary Farber. Gary and the entirety of the Hunt's team passionately connect young photographers with each other across the globe, providing innumerable people with some of the most incredible opportunities and experiences. Many thanks to everyone who makes what I do possible, and please check out Hunt's Photo and Video for all of your photographic needs!