Revered Wildlife Photographer Jim Brandenburg Dies Age 79
National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg has died at age 79 in Minnesota. Tributes have poured in for the “inspirational” image-maker.
Brandenburg’s death was announced by his family on Facebook which states he was being treated for anaplastic thyroid cancer for the past seven months and had also been suffering from pneumonia.
“Please hold his wife Judy, daughter Heidi and her husband Nels Pierson, grandchildren Olivia, Liam and Lindsey, and all those who loved Jim in your hearts by taking a walk in nature, looking up at the clouds and feel the transformation of Jim’s energy back into the Universe,” the post reads.
Brandenburg won the National Geographic Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, an honor that is awarded by The Photo Society — itself comprised of 200 of the iconic magazine’s photographers.
“I am quite humbled,” he said at the time. “I have been so very fortunate over the years to have received some precious and treasured awards around the world, but this one is unique for me because it is from my peers — some of the finest photographic talent in the world.”
Brandenburg’s work graced the pages of National Geographic across four decades. He also published at least 10 photo books and is perhaps best-known for Chased by the Light – A 90 Day Journey (1998) and Brother Wolf: A Forgotten Promise (1993).
Chased by the Light saw Brandenburg take only one photo a day for 90 consecutive days. With no do-overs, he shot the project in the Minnesota Northwoods.
Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz paid tribute by sharing one of Brandenburg’s photos from Chased by the Light.
Minnesota lost a legend yesterday in wildlife photographer Jim Brandenburg. Gwen and I are sending our love to his family.
Here’s his photo ‘Chased by the Light’ taken in Ely. pic.twitter.com/zDHA7lqY9s
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) April 5, 2025
Brandenburg’s friend and colleague Layne Kennedy, also from Minnesota, describes him as the “Leonardo da Vinci of wildlife photography.”
“He humanized wildlife. He made us think about animals the way we think about friends,” Kennedy tells The Minnesota Star Tribune,
“His photographs gave us something that went beyond behavior, beyond beauty, beyond struggle. He showed wildlife as shared partners on Earth. That is what he gave us.”
