Jim Brandenburg (born November 23, 1945) is an environmentalist and nature photographer and filmmaker based near Ely, Minnesota. His career includes over 10 years as a newspaper photojournalist, over 30 years as a contract photographer for the National Geographic Society…. (source)

I’ve read Jim’s story, and bought the DVD of this film years ago. It’s so inspiring and very deep! I’ve now decided to finally do my own “1 photo a day” project, which I almost did last year. Goals are good. It’s time to do it, but with looser rules: being allowed to shoot more than one frame a day, and subjects will not be limited to nature.

I should say too that I can relate to Jim’s story. I also replaced shooting guns with shooting photos at an early age, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota was one of my primary inspirations too. I laid my camera down too, though, for an extended period, unlike Jim.

DANGER ALERT @ minute-55: despite the many greatnesses of this work, bringing me to tears at times, we must not violate God’s principles. “Worshipping” the creation instead of the Creator Who made nature is the fall of man Romans 1 describes, that we must not fall into. In the film, Jim often departs from the 6,000 year Biblical creation story when he mentions the mythical evolutionary time frame. Nat Geo is renown for doing this, and this has always bothered me. [12/16: now they’re promoting 9-year-old transgenderism!] To me, photographing nature is an act of worship. My #1 goal is to show the glory of God revealed in what He created, as stated in Romans 1:20:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Some quotes I transcribed:

“..one of two settings…that moved Brandenburg early in life to swap a hunting rifle for a camera.” – Narrator

“To capture an animal with a camera is something I’ve never grown tired of.” – JB

“..his passion, it is so deep….” – Ann Bancroft

“Jim is as focused as anybody I’ve ever seen.” – Anthony (JB’s son)

“The raven is the key to getting an image of the wolf.” – JB

“This is my story. I find that developing a grounded sense of context of where you live, knowing your subject better than a far off, exotic place, over a period of years and years and years. And telling that story, I find a much richer experience.” – JB

– –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3vW1kglEnk

Chased by the Light A Photographic Journey with Jim Brandenburg