We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandon Huttenlocher and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Brandon, how do you think about risk?
Life is a constant battle of risk vs reward. I’ve always been a risk taker when it comes to my career. I left the corn fields of Illinois at 18 and moved across the country to Lake Tahoe to pursue creating snowboard movies without knowing anyone or having any real plan. A couple years later after taking the general education and business classes at the community college there, I knew I needed a change as if I continued down that path I would always wonder “what if.” It was this quote from Ian Ruhter that helped fully convince me I was making the right decision to go to Brooks Institute of Photography. “There’s a point in every person’s life, the must choose to follow their dreams, or be stuck in the life they fear.” After graduating I landed a job that many people would be happy to have had. I stayed there long enough to save some money only to quit and chase the snow once again for a few years around the world and to meet so many influential people. Those years came and gone and I’ve since made Aspen, CO my home base and now working full time with Design Workshop, one of the largest landscape architecture and urban design firms. I get to travel country photographing their projects, yet I live in a place I’m always eager to return home to, to be able to play in my “backyard” of the Elk Mountains. I’ve taken a lot of risk to get here, and in the end thus far, I couldn’t be happier.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work over the years has definitely transitioned but I still have a love and passion for where it all began – snowboarding. Early on it was all about chasing the snow and the best light through the mountains. Today im mostly photographing projects for Design Workshop which could entail high end residences in Aspen to the Yellowstone Club to new community parks to aerial mapping of undeveloped land. Making the transition from the outdoor industry to the “architecture industry” made sense for me. Most people (or course there are exceptions) who try to make a living photographing within the outdoor industry end up having to supplement at least part of what they do in order to stay a float and that is exactly what I had to do. I never got into it for the money, I had some of the best years of my life to date, but it was time for me to move on at that point as it was costing me more to work, than I was making. Now having a career doing what I do, I still get to go out and shoot some of the outdoor adventure lifestyle stuff I always wanted to and truly get to enjoy every moment of it rather than stressing about receiving a paycheck from these shoots (though I still do require that if its for a client and not personal work). When I’m not shooting client work, I’m typically in the mountains hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, splitboarding – many times with a camera in hand as this lifestyle is my roots and I’ll always enjoy shooting it. Then there are times I intentionally leave the camera home to fully immerse myself in the experience and environment to help keep from burnout and keep the stoke alive. I love setting goals and working hard to achieve them – that could be daily goals or 5 year goals.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So your coming to visit me in Aspen (well technically Basalt) huh? Theres so much to do in my “backyard” regardless of the time of year. If its summer we could grab the bikes and go ride Basalt Mountain or head up to Snowmass and ride Sky Mountain Park. If we want things a little slower we could head out for a hike. The options are really pretty endless from casual well worn trails to spicy ridgeline walks. Paddleboarding on Northstar Preserve in the evenings around sunset is usually really nice and typically quieter from the mid day crowds. We’ll most likely end up going for a drive on a 4×4 road at some point, hopefully we don’t get caught behind mudslides like the last time I had family out here and was showing them around; we were unable to get back to town for 18 hours. If its winter we can get a quick skin up Tiehack at Buttermilk before the lifts start turning and then go ride at Snowmass for the day. Or we can go tour the many different zones around depending on the snow conditions. More likely than not, we’ll end up eating Zane’s because we stayed out having fun to long and none of the restaurants are open, luckily Zane’s serves food late night and is just down the street from me.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Its hard to say where I’d be without the support of my parents and family. They believed and supported in me even though some of the decisions I’ve made in the past probably haven’t been the wisest. And all my friends – they all play an integral role in shaping who I’ve become – from the young days causing ruckus around the neighborhoods to those I reach out to regularly for support on business decisions today.
Website: https://www.brandonhuttenlocher.com/
Instagram: @brandonhuttenlocher