Life and Work with Brooke Bartleson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Bartleson.

So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I got started with wildlife photography when I moved up to Summit County after graduating from CU Boulder. To be completely honest, I originally thought I was going to move to the mountains and become an author. Things never work out as planned though, and in this case, I’m happy they didn’t. Each day I fell more in love with venturing out into the wilderness to take pictures of the animals that dwell beyond where people live. Once I realized I could make these photos art, and find better and more exciting ways to frame and capture the moment, I was hooked.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Wildlife photography has never been a smooth road. When you’re a young female without any educational background in photography, other photographers can be very quick to write you off. They doubt you. They doubt your knowledge. They doubt your creativity. They doubt your ability to strike off alone into the wilderness in search of animals and come out of it successfully. This used to get me down. But slowly, I learned that my photos will always speak for themselves. It doesn’t matter if someone counts me out after a quick introduction at a photo workshop, all that matter is the moment they see my work. Your photos show the world what you are capable of. Let them speak for themselves.

Please tell us about Brooke Little Bear Photography.
I am a wildlife photographer. I specialize in photos of North American wildlife, especially wildlife of the mountain west. I spent this summer building a portfolio of bear photos from coastal Alaska and will be spending the fall photographing the elk rut in the Rocky Mountains. I like to think my work is unique because of my style. I exhibit a high contrast of light and dark with portrait-style photos of animals.

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
I’m really lucky. There aren’t a lot of barriers in the wildlife photography industry that are exclusive to being female. I’ve found that people are supportive more often than critical, and wild animals don’t discriminate!

Contact Info:

• Phone: 9737384678
• Email: Brooke.Bartleson@Colorado.edu
• Instagram: @BrookeLittleBear

Image Credit:
Brooke Bartleson

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.