Jean-Simon Bégin is a professional painter and wildlife photographer from Quebec City. Active in both disciplines for over 18 years, he has participated in some sixty solo and group exhibitions and received over fifty awards in Canada and internationally. He is considered one of Canada's most influential photographers. In 2022, he was named Canadian Wildlife Photographer of the Year by Canadian Geographic.

A permanent artist at two prestigious Quebec galleries for several years, he launched his own business in 2019. That same year, he founded a publishing house to publish his first photographic art book, Contemplation, about Quebec's wildlife in a winter context. The book sold over 2,000 copies. Solstice followed in 2021 with over 2,500 copies and Contemplation II in 2023.

Jean-Simon reaches tens of millions of subscribers annually through his various platforms. He acts as a content creator and shares all of his adventures with as many people as possible for free.

With his work, he attempts to raise awareness and educate the population about the fragility of biodiversity and the importance of safeguarding it.

Youth and creation

From a young age, Jean-Simon was immersed in the world of art. A pottery workshop occupied a room in the basement of the family home located in the suburbs of Cap-Rouge. The young man's mother was an artist and art teacher. As a result, he had the opportunity to learn the basics of drawing and clay, followed by a natural affinity for the piano. He therefore took classical lessons for many years. This instrument was a great catalyst for the boundless energy of the young artist, for whom creation seemed instinctive.

Inspired by his father and George Brossard, he developed a fascination for insects and began his own collection; his first specimens came from his parents' backyard and the surrounding woods. He then maintained this passion with his best friend, which led him to spend sleepless nights watching light traps and waiting for the rarest species to appear. At the time, the neighborhood where he lived was surrounded by several marshes and forests, so he had the chance to explore this small wild world and discover many treasures. It was this environment that gave birth to his love for nature, an environment that has today almost entirely disappeared in favor of large urban developments, which deeply saddens the young explorer still present in him.

A little later, around the age of 12, he came into more concrete contact with photography. One day, his father, then an agronomist, brought home a digital camera, one of the first models available. These cameras were far from being efficient, but seemed to offer a new world of opportunity. In the courtyard of the family home, a small stream meanders and several species of animals seem to appreciate the tranquility of it. It was in this familiar setting that Jean-Simon captured an image for the first time using a camera: a mallard duck in full flight. His two parents, impressed by the shot, had it printed. This image was a turning point for him, because it was from this moment that his photographic journey began.

During his adolescence, drawing still occupied a lot of his time while classical piano gave way to a rock band. As for photography, he practiced it at every opportunity, as soon as he found himself in nature. A school teacher noticed his potential at that time and suggested he create postcards with his nature images. This opportunity then marked the young entrepreneur and sowed the seeds of a great idea in his head. Throughout his school career, he was supported and encouraged by his teachers, but especially by his parents to pursue this direction.

It was at CEGEP, while studying graphic design, that he completed an art project that changed his life. The project consisted of creating an original work inspired by a well-known painter. To do so, he chose the artist who inspired him the most at the time: the great Jean-Paul Riopelle. Having already had the chance to experiment with a range of different mediums at home, he then tried oil painting with a spatula for the first time. His canvas, with its abstract style, allowed him to awaken a hidden talent and, above all, an affinity with this unusual and difficult-to-master tool.

A few years later, the artist offered his first solo exhibition to the public, and the 15 paintings included in it quickly sold out. After two years of study, he left the graphic design program to fulfill his desire to discover the world. Under threat of ecosystem destruction, he felt the urgency to fulfill a childhood dream: to explore the jungles of South America. For more than a year and a half, he crisscrossed Latin America from Mexico to Argentina. From country to country, he captured images of the wildlife he encountered, while also taking photographs while scuba diving. The Galapagos Islands were a highlight of the trip. This place, inspiring his greatest dreams of biodiversity, turned out to be a major ecological disaster: the 27,000 inhabitants of the islands burned all their waste, and the resulting picture was grim. This great journey, which was supposed to continue for another year, ended in Vietnam, from where he had to return for family reasons and the great need to find his home: Quebec and its forest that he knows so well.

Upon returning home, he devoted all of his time to his career as a painter and photographer, with music then taking a more secondary role and practicing it solely as a hobby. Over the next few years, he devoted himself body and soul to these two professions, in addition to working in restaurants to finance his businesses.

The artist then made a good living from his painting and held a series of exhibitions. However, photography brought in little income and required considerable investments each year. Working tirelessly day, evening, and weekend, it was several years later that he was finally able to devote himself full-time to his two passions. Jean-Simon's story is one of perseverance. He never lost sight of his goal of making a living from his passions, despite the countless pitfalls and setbacks that life threw at him.

In recent years, Jean-Simon has become one of Canada's most recognized photographers and aims to inspire as many people as possible to take environmental causes to heart. Having experienced the loss of natural territory himself, he wants the world to understand the importance of biodiversity conservation. He has specialized in Quebec's northern wildlife for several years and has recently begun exploring Nunavik, where he hopes to share its culture and unique biodiversity with the world.

For many years, Jean-Simon has offered his images free of charge to newspapers and non-profit organizations working to defend endangered species in Quebec. His involvement in the Charlevoix woodland caribou cause has helped give these species a face and share images of these endangered animals with thousands of people.

The photographer also gives talks in schools to raise awareness about our local wildlife among young people. Through his social media, he reaches tens of millions of people annually. His career is just beginning, and he has big ambitions for the future. As he likes to say, he will pursue his two passions until his dying day.