PrintJack Brauer: behind the lens
Uncompahgre Morning - “This photo was taken in Ridgway, Colorado, right near town. It was just an absolutely frigid morning, in the negatives. The river there is fed by hot springs, so on cold mornings there is always fog hanging around. I just walked down to the river and the sun was just rising, poking through the fog. So I lined up the sun behind the tree and took that shot.”
North Twilight Sastrugi - “This photo was taken during a winter camping trip [to North Twilight Peak in the West Needle Mountains]. I hiked on this high ridge. That is old snow that has been formed by the wind into these hard ridges and weird forms. I got down real close to the snow to emphasize those lines.”
Elbert’s Moonshadow - “This is one of my favorite photos. I hiked up Mount Elbert, the tallest mountain in Colorado, in the middle of winter. It was a rare evening, perfectly calm. I knew the full moon was going to rise, so I watched the sunset and stayed up there for three hours, bundled up in my down jacket and waiting for the moon to rise. That shot is about a six- or eight-minute exposure after the sunset.”
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The Ouray, Colorado-based photographer sat down with C&I to talk about his inspiration, how he gets those shots, and the stories behind a few of his favorite photos.
Cowboys & Indians: You literally climb mountains to see and photograph what is on the other side of the next peak. How do you choose where you’re going to climb to get the best shot?
Jack Brauer: With a lot of my photography, I am going for these grand vistas — basically the best perspective I can get on an entire mountain. So sometimes I use Google Earth to scout locations. If I didn’t have Google Earth, I would go backpacking to some mountain base and then hike up to a ridge to get a good vantage point. The advantage of Google Earth is that you can fly around and scout locations beforehand — you don’t have to hike around in advance. Then, when I hike in, I have a ballpark idea of where I need to be. I can hike straight to that point, which saves time and helps me pinpoint the optimal view.
Needles Dawn Reflection - “I like to go on these treks in the Needles Mountains. This photo was taken during a seven-day trek. That range is just so remote and wild, I saw maybe one other person out there the whole time. The lake is in the middle of the trek, so I hiked up there before dawn and took that photo in the morning light.”
Alpenglow on Sneffels - “I tried to get a photograph of the mountain from a unique perspective. I have spent a lot of time hiking on that mountain, so I know it really well. That morning I hiked in the darkness up to the high ridge. I scoped this out in advance on Google Earth so I would know where to go in the dark, then I was all ready to shoot when the sun started rising.”
C&I: As a technologically savvy barely 30-something photographer, what is your equipment of choice?
Brauer: I take both digital and film photos. I often use a large-format 4-by-5-inch camera, one of those old-fashioned cameras that look like an accordion, all manual. But I just picked up a Canon Digital SLR setup, so more and more I’m shooting digital. Back in Norway I took both systems, a half-and-half thing.
C&I: You spent six weeks this past summer taking photographs in Norway. How was shooting mountains in Norway different from photographing peaks back in Colorado?
Brauer: That was amazing. It is probably the most photogenic place I have ever been to. The mountains are really unique and the weather is dynamic, always changing. The mountains are at lower altitude and are glacier-carved, with big sheer walls and really impressive shapes. When I was there in the summer, there was nearly 24-hour light, so I could hike up a mountain, get up around 10 o’clock at night, shoot the sunset at 11, wait an hour or two, and hike down at sunrise.
C&I: Where are you headed next?
Brauer: I’m playing around with the idea of going to Peru.
C&I: Which other photographers inspire you most?
Brauer: A big inspiration when I started was Art Wolfe. Now my favorite photographers are Georg and Verena Popp, two large-format photographers based out of Europe. They have an eye for unique compositions and good light. And Jesse Speer, a friend of mine, who’s another Colorado photographer.
C&I: What are your plans for the winter?
Brauer: I’m a snowboarder in addition to a photographer. I mostly do backcountry snowboarding, usually up on Red Mountain Pass [in the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado]. But this winter I am moving up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for five months. Photography will be the side thing while I’m there. I’m going to snowboard and hang with friends.
Click here to see more of Jack Brauer's photography from our March 2010 issue.
