"Jim typically does not like to talk equipment but thought we should share some exciting news with you. After shooting with Nikon equipment most of his professional career, then being lured away to become a Canon Explorer of Light, Jim has now gone back to his 'photographic roots' and is proud to announce that he is once again - a Nikon shooter!"

Excerpted from Jim Brandenburg's Quarterly Newsletter

About Jim Brandenburg
Jim Brandenburg travelled the globe as a photographer with National Geographic Magazine for several decades. His extensive body of work has been published throughout the world and his photographs have won a multitude of national and international awards. He was the recipient of the ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ award by the Natural History Museum-London and BBC Wildlife Magazine, and twice was named ‘Magazine Photographer of the Year’ by the National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA) for his National Geographic work. Brandenburg was presented with the ‘World Achievement Award’ from the United Nations in recognition of his use of nature photography to raise public awareness for the environment.

Following his sold-out evening talk on Friday, 10th December at the Grays of Westminster and Nikon Owner magazine Christmas dinner at the Institute of Directors (IoD) on Pall Mall, Jim Brandenburg, one of the world's greatest nature photographers, visited Grays of Westminster on Saturday, 11th December to collect his new Nikon D3S, 20mm f/2.8D AF and AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR ED lenses. He is pictured here to the right of Gray Levett, founder of Grays of Westminster, which he described as “the greatest camera store in the world”.

Jim Brandenburg travelled the globe as a photographer with National Geographic Magazine for several decades. His extensive body of work has been published throughout the world and his photographs have won a multitude of national and international awards. He was the recipient of the 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' award by the Natural History Museum, London and BBC Wildlife Magazine, and was twice named 'Magazine Photographer of the Year' by the National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA) for his National Geographic work. He was also presented with the 'World Achievement Award' from the United Nations in recognition of his use of nature photography to raise public awareness for the environment. In addition to publishing several books on wolves, a few years ago he set himself the unique photographic assignment of shooting only one picture per day for an entire autumn season. His book and DVD Chased by the Light followed, as well as the sequel Looking for the Summer.

Jim Brandenburg's presentation at the Grays of Westminster and Nikon Owner magazine Christmas Dinner explored the full circle of his career with highlights starting with his early days and subsequent years with National Geographic Magazine where he worked on assignments all over the world for the magazine, book division and television. He showed the audience a selection of his outstanding work which included breathtaking images of wild arctic and grey wolves.

Jim Brandenburg was part of the production team for the 'Plants' section of the BBC LIFE documentary series with David Attenborough. Jim Brandenburg and BBC Wildlife Producer Neil Lucas spent months filming Minnesota's north woods at Ravenwood, Jim Brandenburg's home near Ely and the prairies of Southwest Minnesota.

His philanthropic work entails saving the remnant native prairies in the land where his ancestors settled after immigrating from Europe and Scandinavia.

The exercise of selecting the Top Forty Nature Photographs of all time is both an honour and a tremendous challenge. It may not be possible for anyone to create a definitive selection of the forty 'best' or 'most important' nature photographs, if only due to the vast variety of criteria that must be considered. But the international League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) decided to try anyway and made their announcement this week to help celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.

The international League of Conservation Photographers is a fellowship of the top professional photographers from around the world working today.

More than 100 photographers and editors associated with the iLCP nominated images that they considered to be 'the best' in what they felt represented aesthetics, uniqueness, historical and scientific significance, and conservation efforts. The photographers were not permitted to self-nominate.

The prestigious Top Forty nominations represent the work of 25 photographers including the legendary Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Eliot Porter. Four of Brandenburg's images were included in the final selection, more than any other photographer. "To have 4 of my photographs chosen by my peers as part of the top 40 nature photographs of all time is indeed the highlight of my career. I am honoured beyond words," said Brandenburg.

The four Brandenburg images selected were: Oryx on Namib Desert, Namibia, southwest Africa; Gray Wolf near BWCAW, Ely, Minnesota; Arctic wolf, Ellesmere Island, Canada; and Bison on Frozen Landscape, Blue Mounds State Park, Luverne, Minnesota. They may be viewed on his blog or website at: www.jimbrandenburg.com Within this past year, the Arctic wolf image was named one of 100 most important photos in Canadian history in the book 100 Photos that Changed Canada.


The oldest nature photograph included in the Top 40 is of three frightened deer in the north woods of Minnesota near Lake Superior by George Shiras, published in 1921 in National Geographic Magazine.

Jim Brandenburg's long career of conservation efforts was honoured in 1991 by the United Nations. He received the World Achievement Global 500 Forum award in recognition of his using nature photography to raise public awareness for the environment. Jim and his wife Judy are the founders of the Brandenburg Prairie Foundation (BPF), whose mission is to preserve native prairies in southwest Minnesota. The BPF has helped to preserve approximately 1000 acres to date with Touch the Sky Prairie, a division of USFWS Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuges. Touch the Sky Prairie is near Brandenburg's hometown of Luverne, Minnesota, USA.

The complete collection of the Top Forty Nature Photographs may be viewed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilcptop40/sets/72157623774840478/

International League of Conservation Photographers: www.ilcp.com
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