So Minnesota: Photographer Jim Brandenburg captured nature through a camera lens
One Minnesotan captured the beauty of wildlife like no other.
Photos from world-renowned photographer Jim Brandenburg are part of the Bell Museum collection.
“He had this uncanny ability to capture that magic of nature,” said Bell Museum Executive Director Holly Menninger. “He’s from Minnesota, and he cared deeply about Minnesota’s unique habitats and ecosystems.”
Born in Luverne in 1945, Brandenburg studied art at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Brandenburg started his career at the Daily Globe in Worthington. For the next 30 years, he worked as a photographer, traveling around the world for National Geographic Magazine.
“He provides literally a lens through which anyone can connect with nature and find that appreciation and beauty,” Menninger said.
Throughout his career, Brandenburg won several major awards. Brandenburg’s well-known image of the Leaping Arctic Wolf was named one of the 100 most important photos in Canadian history.
In April of 2025, Brandenburg passed away at the age of 79, but his legacy will live on with moments captured on camera.
“He had a gift,” Menninger said.
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