Focus on Nature

Connecting kids to nature through photography.

Focus on Nature is a registered charity based in Guelph Ontario that inspires young people to explore and connect with nature through photography. We conduct workshops in schools and day camps in the summer and during March Break.

​SIMON BELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:  Since being given a hand-me-down Box Brownie camera at the age of six, photography has been a thread through Simon’s life that links the many artistic, commercial, and now educational endeavors that he’s been involved with.  After studying at York University, Simon worked as a studio photographer before starting his own audio-visual business in Toronto, creating corporate presentations for over twenty years.  At the same time he was pursuing his passion for nature photography and developing new skills in stereoscopy, the art and science of 3D photography. These two interests came together in a series of children’s nature books, featuring his 3D photos of wildlife, published by Penguin/Ladybird Books and Somerville House Books. The series was very successful, selling over 150,000 copies in six different countries.

Simon is well known in Guelph as the former publisher and photographer for SNAP Guelph, the newspaper he co-founded in 2005. He continues to lecture on stereo photography and exhibit his photographic work around the province. He has been a volunteer instructor with Focus On Nature since 2011 and as Executive Director he continues to inspire young photographers to get out and explore their local environment with their cameras.