

My life includes a lot of characters—people who make the world a more interesting place, who view and portray the seemingly mundane as extraordinary and who continually inspire me. Combine these characters with food, music, golden hour, sports, beverages, romance or travel and magic happens. And when I glimpse it I can't stop thinking about how to make an image about it.
The name of the neat little box that most closely encompasses the scope of my work is travel photography, and often the even tighter box of adventure travel photography applies. Sometimes this puts me in the Park Hyatt with a lighting pack and an assistant; sometimes in a tent with a mosquito net. Either way, I love my job, which I tend to think of as chasing rainbows and riding unicorns—always seeking out the best light and doing my best to harness magic.
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Professional Whitewater Kayaker, come Graphic Designer, come Photographer.
Currently: 100% Freelance Photographer
Recently Worked For:
Lonely Planet Images
Backroads: The world's number one active travel company
Educated By:
Brooks Institute of Photography; Santa Barbara, CA: BA Advertising Photography
Sierra College; Rocklin, CA: Applied Art and Design; Graphic Design
Academy of Art University; San Francisco, CA: Computer Arts
Loves:
Life, Bob Dylan, love songs, traveling, eating, golden hour, sunshine, rain, surfing small waves in warm water, beer, snowboarding in powder, petting dogs, vegetables, trespassing to photograph abandoned things, independence and wandering aimlessly.
Dislikes:
Mean people, leftover chicken and being photographed.
A Quote That Continuously Motivates Me:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”—Mark Twain
You can now purchase Brenda Ernst Photography's Framed Fine Art through Etsy. More will be added soon, but in the meantime a larger selection is available by clicking on the Fine Art Prints link in the menu at brendaernst.com.