About Me

My name is Jim Braswell. I am a life-long resident of Missouri and my wife Karen and I currently reside in rural Cass County, outside of Drexel, Missouri (the Show-Me State). I attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where I obtained a B.S. in Biology. For 31+ years, I worked for a major pharmaceutical company. I retired on February 01, 2007 and am now focusing on nature photography full-time.

Although I photograph scenics, my main interest is wildlife. Through my images, I strive to convey the complex daily lives of the subjects I photograph. Whenever I photograph, it is always my intent to capture the actions and behaviors of my subjects. My objective is to educate others about the wildlife that surrounds us, including their behaviors, feeding habits, raising of young, and how they coexist in our complex world today.

Since 2007, I have become very active in photographing local wildlife from a kayak (which I’ve nicknamed “Rubber Duckie”).  The kayak allows me to get closer to wildlife, and allows me to enter the world of aquatic mammals and birds at their level, seeing things from their perspective.  I currently have several beaver families that I monitor and photograph on a regular basis.  And during the spring and winter bird migrations, I get unusually close to various waterfowl.  Seeing things from the kayak level is a whole new adventure! 

I am a member of the Great Plains Nature Photographers (GPNP) and of the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA).  I am also a Master Gardener with the Greater Kansas City Master Gardener organization.

Publications my images have appeared in:

• 2005 Missouri Lottery Calendar (February calendar photo)
• 2005 University of MO Horticultural Calendar (September calendar photo)
• 2005 Kenai (Alaska) Peninsula Tourism Brochure
• 2006 Great Plains Nature Calendar (self-published)
• 2006 “Bild am Sonntag” article on Alaskan bears (German publication, circulation 2.3 million)
• 2007, 2008, and 2010 Dolphin Charters Tourism Brochures
• 2009 Alaska Calendar (self-published)
• 2010 Baja Mexico Calendar (self-published)
• March 14, 2010 Orange County Register (California) photo for article on Alaska travel

Stock Photo Listing of My Photographs (Images available on request):

• Mammals (sea and land)
• Birds (songbirds, birds of prey, wading birds, other birds)
• Cats of the World (tigers, mountain lions, bobcats, snow leopards)
• Reptiles and Amphibians
• Flowering & Non-flowering Plants
• Scenics (Alaska, Midwest, Florida, sunrises, sunsets, weather-related)

Below is an image of me at work, photographing a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake in southwest Oklahoma. We had just pulled into the parking lot of a prairie dog town when the rattler scooted across in front of us and coiled up in a striking position, under a broken curb stop. I grabbed my camera and took some images of the 5-foot reptile. Karen, on the other hand, was busy catching this little fellow sneaking up on me (or, did he think I was protecting him?):