Minnesota photographer Jim Brandenburg has died

Wildlife photographer Jim Brandenburg, whose landscapes brought worldwide attention to Minnesota, died Friday at his home in Medina. He was 79.

The news was announced on Bradenburg’s Facebook page. In the months leading up to his death, he had been treated for thyroid cancer and also had pneumonia.

“Jim was one of the few people I’ve met in my life who comes up with an idea and he fulfills it,” said Layne Kennedy, a Minneapolis photographer and friend. “So many people have great ideas and they never work on them. They never finish them. Jim was one of those guys that always did that.”

One of Brandenburg’s best-known photographs was “Brother Wolf,” which depicted a wolf peering around a tree. Only a portion of the wolf’s face is visible, giving the image a strong sense of place.

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Gray wolf — This photo of a gray wolf, titled "Brother Wolf," is one of the best-known stills Jim Brandenburg has ever snapped.
Courtesy Jim Brandenburg

“You were in the forest with him,” Kennedy said. “You sense the nervousness that you might sense if you saw a wolf peering halfway around the side of the tree looking at you.”

Keen observation while searching for the perfect image was key for Brandenburg. He approached conversations with people the same way, said Jan Sivertson, owner of Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais.

“He was a soft-spoken guy who was really interested in what other people have to say,” she said. “He was not by any means a domineering ‘I want to tell you my story’ kind of guy. He was always interested in the conversation. He was not so much a teller, as a listener.”

Another important accomplishment was 93 Days of Spring, a project documenting spring in 93 photographs. Those images were published in National Geographic in May 2016. At the time, that was the most photographs ever published in a single feature of the magazine’s history.

Selections from "93 Days of Spring"

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Day 65: Waterfall abstract, Ravenwood Falls — In his latest work, featured in National Geographic Magazine, Minnesota photographer Jim Brandenburg tells the story of spring in 93 photographs. Here is day 65, waterfall abstract Ravenwood Falls - Uncle Judd's Creek.
Courtesy of Jim Brandenburg

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Day 88: Rookie Pond in heavy rain — In his latest work, featured in National Geographic Magazine, Minnesota photographer Jim Brandenburg tells the story of spring in 93 photographs. Here's day 88, Rookie Pond in heavy rain.
Courtesy of Jim Brandenburg

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Day 69: Island cliff, Moose Lake — In his latest work, featured in National Geographic Magazine, Minnesota photographer Jim Brandenburg tells the story of spring in 93 photographs. Here is day 69, an island cliff on Moose Lake in the Boundary Waters.
Courtesy of Jim Brandenburg

Brandenburg also branched out into video. One project included one-minute vignettes of nature, posted every day starting Jan. 1, 2015.

“I’ve always really believed — when it comes to the environment which I feel very strongly about — it’s pretty hard to preach it and hit people over the head,” he told MPR News at the time. “They need to have their own self-transformation. I’m thinking little projects like this can make a difference... Maybe someone that never gets into nature will see something and feel something.”

In 2006, MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill wrote that Brandenburg was “best known for his images of the Northwoods — complete with wolves, moose, and deep, deep, snow.” The Luverne native also captured images of Minnesota’s prairie, which were included in an exhibition at the Sivertson Gallery in Duluth.

Jim Brandenburg, renowned wildlife photographer, dies

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