Quiet
and contemplative,
Minnesota photographer
Jim Brandenburg is one
of the most accomplished
and prolific wildlife
photographers in the
world. The immediacy and
serenity Brandenburg
captures in the wild
often requires long
solitary hours and is a
reflection of his belief
that "Photography is
more primitive than
writing...as the animals
we evolved from, we rely
on vision much more than
language...the old
saying is that a picture
is worth 10 words...that
does sum everything up."
Brandenburg began his
career as a natural
history photographer and
film maker while in
college, later working
in journalism and
freelancing for the
National Geographic for
whom he became a
contract photographer in
1978. He has since
worked on numerous
assignments for National
Geographic, has been
represented extensively
in magazine, book and
television projects, as
well as for Life,
Audubon, Smithsonian,
Natural History, World,
Geo, BBC Wildlife,
traveling worldwide from
the high Arctic to
Africa and Asia over the
years. In addition, he
was commissioned in 1981
by the U.S. Postal
Service to design a set
of wildlife stamps which
were released that year
and included in the
Graphic Design in
America exhibition which
toured the United States
and England in 1990.
One of the highlights
of Brandenburg's career
occurred in 1988 when he
"discovered" and filmed
for posterity a pack of
wild Arctic wolves on
Ellesmere Island in the
high Arctic. It is
believed that this was
probably the last pack
not ingrained with fear
of proximity to man.
Brandenburg's extensive
work photographing
wolves has been vital in
focusing attention on
the animal's status and
he was instrumental in
reintroducing wolves
into Yellowstone Park.
The photographer's
credits are impressive.
He was twice named
Magazine Photographer of
the Year by the National
Press Photographers
Association and the
Kodak Wildlife
Photographer of the Year
by the Natural History
Museum-London and BBC
Wildlife. One of only
five Americans, he
received the World
Achievement Award from
the United Nations
Environmental Program in
1991 in recognition of
his using nature
photography to enhance
public awareness of the
earth's fragile
environment.
Actively publishing
for several years,
Brandenburg released
"White Wolf - Living
with an Arctic Legend"
in 1988, "Minnesota -
Images of Home" in 1990,
"Brother Wolf - A
Forgotten Promise" in
1993, and two children's
books, "To the Top of
the World" in 1993 and
"Sand and Fog" in 1994.
Brandenburg serves on
the board of directors
for Defenders of
Wildlife Foundation,
oncerts for the
Environment and Wolf
Ridge Learning Center as
well as donating time
and energies to other
environmental
organizations.
