I did mention beforehand that I’m not actively shooting large format film anymore, but hopefully my responses will still be informative. One of the goals of ELFPA is to interest young people in large format photography, and I hope that my interview is not subversive to that goal!

By the way, you can view my entire collection of large format film photos here.

Today I was happy to receive a copy of the March 2010 issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine, which features an article written by Kathy Wise about me and my photography, including nine of my photos from Colorado. There’s another article in there featuring some sweet black and white Montana mountain photos by Bret Bouda, as well as a large collection of winning photos from their annual photo contest. Check it out next time you’re at the supermarket!

You read the article online here: Mountain Bound: The Photography of Jack Brauer

They also have a supplemental web exclusive interview here: Jack Brauer: behind the lens

The Russian publishing house Otkrytoe Pis’mo has published a calendar featuring 12 of my landscape photos from locations including Colorado, Wyoming, New Zealand, Croatia, and Patagonia. I just received several copies of the calendar in the mail. I can’t read a word of it, but they look good! According to a Google translation of the calendar page on their website the calendar’s title is “The Aspiration to the Heights.” If you happen to be passing through Russia pick one up!

In the meantime, check out my interview on PhotoBards.com.

Just got a batch of 2010 Colorado Fourteeners calendars in the mail, courtesy of Todd Caudle at Skyline Press. My Wetterhorn Basin photo is the July photo. Woohoo! The calendar also features some nice photos by Jody Grigg and Dave Showalter, two fellow Colorado photographers.

All four images will be published in the annual “Expressions” journal that features the top 250 images of the Showcase. The previous “Expressions” journals that I have are among the most inspiring collections of nature photography that I’ve ever laid eyes on, so I consider this to be a great honor for my photos to be included.

Wilson Peak is one of Colorado’s most beautiful and most recognized peaks, and in 2007 a Texan real estate developer who owned some mining claims below the mountain closed access to the standard hiking route (all other routes involve much more dangerous mountaineering). After negotiations with the National Forest Service made no progress, The Trust for Public Land stepped in and was able to purchase critical portions of the property in order to reopen and protect public access.

You can read the online version of the article here.

One thing that strikes me about the article is how tactful and seemingly objective the writer is concerning Mr. Nichols, the Texan villain of the story. Like many Colorado residents, I’ve been following this issue for some time, and I certainly don’t have that kind of restraint with my opinions of this guy. No matter how I look at it, all I can conclude is that Mr. Nichols’ actions were greedy and selfish. Before closing access to the peak, Nichols tried to charge every hiker $100 to cross his property. After the controversy started brewing, he attempted to trade his obscure, relatively inaccessible property for prime real estate lower down in the valley – a truly ridiculous proposition that the forest service rightly rejected. He threatened to resume long-abandoned mining operations on the peak, most likely to scare the locals and leverage his negotiations. This is the kind of behavior that gives Texans such an awful reputation here in Colorado – no respect for the local community, no respect for the environment, just rapacious ploys to make a buck.

But I digress… the article is quite good, though it does gloss over much of the specifics and history of the controversy. The article weaves in a story about Erik Weihenmayer, a blind climber who recently hiked Wilson Peak, which was probably just a stroll for him since he has climbed the highest peak on every continent.

A big thanks is due to The Trust for Public Land for saving access to Wilson Peak, and protecting this beautiful mountain from further mining degradation. As for Mr. Nichols, well, I hope he’s in Texas enjoying the $3.25 million he extorted by holding our beloved mountain hostage.

You can read more about Wilson Peak as well as a little history of the access dispute at SummitPost.org.