Jim Brandenburg

Jim Brandenburg is a photographer that grew up on the prairies of Minnesota. He is famous for his work in the photography of nature. His personal way of life and the way he feels about nature really translates into the way he photographs animals and other aspects of nature. He grew up in the wilderness area and felt a very strong connection to it, even stating that we all come from the Earth, and go back in to the Earth. Brandenburg’s work can be seen on the covers and insides of several National Geographic magazines, but the work of his I find the most interesting and inspirational is his work entitled “Chased by the Light- a 90 day journey.” Discontent with the hectic and often satisfactory work he was doing with National Geographic, Brandenburg set out to make the best of his work. For 90 days during the fall in the area near his studio in the prairies of he set out to only click the shutter of his camera once a day, capturing the one shot he felt was best and the one he felt most connected to. I find this inspirational because he defied what being a professional photographer is all about, and instead of having hour long shoots with hundreds to thousands of shots, where only one or two are selected, he worked all day from before sunrise to well after sunset to find one shot, and took an amazing shot every time.