Fred Bruemmer
Friedrich (Friedel) von Bruemmer (Fred Bruemmer) , CM (born June 26, 1929 in Riga , Latvia ; † December 17, 2013 in Montreal ) was an animal photographer and writer.
Live and act
Bruemmer was the son of German-Baltic family Brummer born in Riga. He came to Canada as a refugee in 1950 and initially worked in a gold mine in northern Ontario. His photos and well over a thousand articles - mostly illustrated with his own pictures - have been published in International Wildlife, Natural History , National Geographic , Smithsonian , Canadian Geographic and in many journals and major magazines in North America, Europe and Japan. As an enthusiastic nature lover, he was out and about for up to six months a year, intensively studying the history of nature and taking photos. His photo of a white-wool harp seal howler, which was included as one of 51 images in the book Photographs that Changed the World and is often used as a logo for animal welfare, is known worldwide . So far, 24 books have been published by him and some have been translated into many languages. William E. Taylor, Director of the Natural Museum of Canada , described in his foreword to Bruemmer's book The Arctic the work as " the most comprehensive book on the subject that has ever been published ".
Awards
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the documentation of the Arctic region, Fred Bruemmer was elected to the group of Fellows of the Arctic Institute of North America . The Royal Canadian Institute awarded him the Sandford Fleming Medal. The University of New Brunswick in Canada awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1989 . For his achievements in the field of photography, he became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts .
As early as 1983 Friedrich von Bruemmer was awarded Canada's highest honor, the " Order of Canada ".
In 2003 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association. In 2005 he received Canada's prestigious Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction Books for his biography SURVIVAL . The book was published in 2008 in a German translation by Klas Lackschewitz under the title "Survival - a refugee odyssey" and mainly reports on Bruemmer's years in Soviet prison camps .
Publications
- The Long Hunt , 1969
- Seasons of the Eskimo , 1971
- Encounters with Arctic Animals , 1972
- The Arctic , 1974
- The Life of the Harp Seal , 1977 ( Harp seals - dream and tragedy in the northern sea)
- Children of the North , 1979
- Summer at Bear River , 1980
- The Arctic World , 1985
- Arctic Animals , 1986
- Seasons of the Seal , 1988 (Fascinating World of Seals)
- World of the Polar Bear , 1989
- Seals , 1991 (with Eric S. Grace)
- Land of Dark, Land of Light , 1993 (with Karen Pandell)
- Les Animaux du Grand Nord , 1993 (with Angèle Delaunois)
- The Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea , 1993
- Arctic Memories: Living with the Inuit , 1993 (My life with the Inuit)
- Nanook and Naoya: The Polar Bear Cubs , 1995 (with Angèle Delaunois)
- Kotik: The Baby Seal , 1995 (with Angèle Delaunois)
- Polar Dance: Born of the North Wind , 1997 (with Tom Mangelsen)
- Seals in the Wild , 1998 (seals - life artists of the sea)
- Glimpses of Paradise , 2002
- Survival: A Refugee Life , 2005 (Survival - A Refugee Odyssey)
- Islands of Fate , 2006
- Arctic Visions: Pictures from a Vanished World , 2008
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bruemmer, Fred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bruemmer, Friedrich von; Bruemmer, Friedel von; Brümmer, Fred von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian wildlife photographer and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 26, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Riga |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th December 2013 |
| Place of death | Montreal |