Scott Leslie's interest in photographing nature stems from when he was a child exploring the woods and shorelines near his home on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Discovering a passion for birds, he began developing as a naturalist. After earning a degree in economics, he picked up a camera for the first time and was hooked. In 1992 he co-founded the Tobeatic Wilderness Committee (TWC) in Nova Scotia. The TWC was fighting to protect the largest virgin wilderness in the Canadian Maritime Provinces. The power of photography and words in helping to protect the natural world and educate the public were clearly apparent to Scott. His photographs and articles were used extensively to win the support of Canadians for the Tobeatic's preservation. In 1995, the 250,000 acre Tobeatic Wilderness was officially designated as a protected wilderness area. In addition to his topside work, he's made thousands of dives as a photographer, a diving instructor, and a commercial sea urchin diver in Canada's Bay of Fundy, and elsewhere in the North Atlantic (much of this photographic work is available through Minden Pictures.com). But throughout his career, birds, wetland wildlife, invertebrates and seascapes have been and continue to be his main passions. Scott has won several awards for photography and writing, including two recent Atlantic Journalism Awards, a nomination for a Canadian National Magazine Award, and The DOPPS International Bird Photography competition in Europe, among others. His photographs and writing have been published in dozens of publications throughout the world. He is author and photographer of five books including Bay of Fundy: A Natural Portrait; Wetland Birds of North America; Woodland Birds of North America; Sea and Shorebirds of North America; and Grassland and Desert Birds of North America. Currently, he is working on a book about endangered species around the world. He lives with his wife Paula in Bear River, Nova Scotia.