Growing up the son of an ice cream store owner and a school teacher in Valley Stream, New York, Steven Kazlowski always craved a life pursuing nature. With a degree in marine biology from Towson University in Baltimore, Kazlowski worked briefly for a marine lab before setting aside a microscope for a camera. He headed to Alaska to become a wildlife photographer, initially working construction jobs and on fishing boats to support his dream. He now works full time as an independent photographer.

Kazlowski's photos have been featured in Audubon, Backpacking, Canadian National Geographic, National Wildlife, and Time magazines. Four books exclusively feature his photography: Alaska Wildlife Impressions, Alaska Wildlife of the North, Alaska Bears of the North, and the newly released The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World, published by Braided River, a conservation imprint of The Mountaineers Books. The book, on which the Burke Museum 2008 exhibit of the same name is based, uses the plight of the polar bear to examine the devastating impact of global warming on the Arctic coastal habitat.

Residing in Seattle, Washington, Kazlowski travels to Alaska and through western North America during the year, waiting and watching for the perfect photograph.

Steven Kazlowski's images will be featured at the Burke Museum June 28  through December 31, 2008, in the exhibit titled The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World.