James Branaman’s Biography
A photojournalist by trade, I consider myself a visual explorer. I'm available for a wide range of still photography, writing & video assignments in the Tampa Bay area & beyond for both editorial & commercial clients. Feel free to contact me at james@branamanphotography.com.
I studied at Western Kentucky University & interned at the Beacon News(Aurora, Ill.), The Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times & participated in the William Randolph Hearst National Photojournalism Championships. After working as a staff multimedia journalist in the Seattle area, I followed a pretty girl (now my wife & the other half of Branaman Photography) to the Tampa Bay area of Florida.
My work has been published in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times & many other national publications & has been recognized by such groups as the National Press Photographers Association, Associated Press, & the Society of Professional Journalists.
Highlights range from documenting life in the Mississippi Delta with The American Diversity Project to visual storytelling in small Kentucky communities as part of the Mountain Workshops. Assignments have taken me scuba diving with sharks, documenting the re-awakening of Mt. St. Helens' volcanic eruptions & wading into alligator nests with biologists in the Everglades.
I'm passionate about working in wilderness & wild places & since 2011 I've been selected to serve as Artist-in-Residence with Rocky Mountain, Acadia, Mesa Verde and Everglades National Parks. When I'm not out working on stories about travel & the wilderness, I'm probably still traveling or in the wilderness.... or enjoying a nice craft beer thinking about traveling.... in the wilderness.