Justin Grubb

As a conservation filmmaker and photographer, my mission is to capture stories about wild animals and the sustaining challenges they face in a rapidly changing planet, along with documenting the dedicated people who are working to protect them. Ever since my youth, I have inherently had a love for wildlife, but it wasn’t until I received my first digital camera that I found my medium for sharing my passion for the natural world. 

The nature of my work stems entirely from the natural world, where my main subjects are the true artists, shaped by millions of years of evolution. To make my work come alive, I simply use the gentle dancing of light to freeze a moment in time and to tell the story. Through my work, I have covered conservation stories in remote regions around the world and have witnessed extinction bearing down on important species in the wild. To create my images, I often head into the wilderness with research teams on expeditions to find and photograph rare species in their natural habitat. Field work is composed of long days, physical exertion and often frustrating moments, but when the subject and the light come together at the right instant, time stands still as I experience the thrill of a lifetime.  

Through the images I create, I hope to inspire a connection between people and nature, to instill the same sense of wonder and awe I experienced in the moment I created the image. To me, this is incredibly important because building empathy for the environment is one of the best ways to help protect it and to inspire action. Impact and action is the focus of my storytelling, as without it, my work simply becomes a pretty picture. Embedded in my storytelling are ways the viewer can protect the natural world and call to action so they can go from a casual viewer to an active participant in conservation. I draw upon my experiences as a wildlife biologist and formal educator to help create and interpret my images to tell incredible conservation stories.

SPEAKING

“Trade in sea turtle products is banned, but they're still sold in Japan.” Japanese demand for tortoiseshell is driving critically endangered—and protected—hawksbill sea turtles toward extinction.

TEDx St Louis

Justin Grubb recently took the stage at TEDxStLouis to share a powerful and timely message: your backyard can be a refuge for wildlife and a frontline for conservation.