Friends and fellow photographers in Minnesota reflected on the powerful and moving work of Jim Brandenburg, often referred to as the “Da Vinci of wildlife photography.”
Brandenburg, a renowned wildlife photographer from Luverne, Minnesota, passed away Friday afternoon at the age of 79 in Medina.
A tribute appeared on his Facebook page Saturday morning, and word of his death quickly spread throughout the nature and outdoor community.
According to the post, Brandenburg had been battling anaplastic thyroid cancer for the past seven months and had also been ill with pneumonia.
The message urged people to honor his memory by connecting with nature — taking a walk, watching the clouds, and feeling his spirit return to the universe. It also noted the recent loss of his son, Anthony, who passed away on February 24.
“He was the Leonardo Da Vinci of wildlife photography,” said Minneapolis-based photographer Layne Kennedy, who had known Brandenburg for roughly 25 years. Like many others inspired by him, Kennedy spoke of Brandenburg’s influence on those who explore nature with a camera.
Brandenburg gained international acclaim for his work featured in National Geographic and books such as Chased by the Light and Brother Wolf: A Forgotten Promise.
In 2023, he received the National Geographic Lifetime Achievement Award — an honor he called humbling in a Facebook post, especially since it came from fellow photographers within The Photo Society, a group representing three generations of National Geographic contributors.
In recent years, Brandenburg launched a daily video project at nature365.tv, and his documentary, Secrets From a Forest, played through 2024 at the Bell Museum planetarium in St. Paul.
“He still had so much energy and creativity,” said longtime Star Tribune photographer Brian Peterson, reacting to the loss.
Laurent Joffrion, his collaborator on the Nature 365 project, wrote that Brandenburg deeply moved audiences through the poetic quality of his photography and films, and his deep connection with the natural world.
Tom Wallace, a former Star Tribune photographer who met Brandenburg as a teenager while they both worked at the Worthington Daily Globe, remembered him fondly: “He was incredible. His images were magical — the composition, the artistry — just stunning.”
Sam Cook, a retired journalist from the Duluth News Tribune, recalled traveling with Brandenburg while covering Will Steger’s polar expeditions. He admired Brandenburg’s tenacity and timing in the field, saying, “He had an instinct for being in the right place at exactly the right moment.”
Reflecting on Brandenburg’s legacy, Kennedy shared how the photographer transformed his understanding of the medium: “Jim gave wildlife a soul. He made us see animals as companions on this planet — not just subjects of beauty or struggle, but as beings who share this Earth with us. That was his gift.”