Ernie Braun (1921-2010) was an American photographer. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but grew up in San Diego, California, and spent most of his adult life in San Anselmo, California.
Braun attended San Diego State College, where he studied journalism and took photos for the yearbook. After being drafted into the Army, he became a military photographer and accompanied troops into death camps after they were liberated.
After the war ended, he married and returned to California. He later studied at the Art Center College of Design in Southern California but never received a degree.
He took his first photo at age six on a camera given to him by his uncle. As an adult, he supported his family as a commercial photographer; from 1954 through 1968, he was Joe Eichler's lead photographer, although he also worked for modernists such as Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons, Lawrence Halprin, Joseph Allen Stein, Gardner Dailey and Roger Lee. He contributed to
Sunset,
Better Homes and Gardens, Architectural Forum, Architectural Record, Progressive Architecture, Look, Life and
Fortune. In 1968 he received the American Institute of Architects' Architectural Photography Medal for outstanding achievement.
Eichler was his favorite client, because he gave him artistic freedom. Most architects and builders did not want people in their photos, but Eichler allowed Braun to do as he pleased.
In the 1960s he found his true calling as a nature photographer. The Trust for Public Land was one of his clients, and he submitted photos to
Backpacker magazine. He also wrote several books about nature photography and taught nature photography at the California Academy of Sciences and the Point Reyes Field Seminar Program.
From ernestbraun.com and eichlernetwork.com
 |
| vickielester.com |
 |
| eichlernetwork.com |
 |
| arcspace.com |
 |
| eichlernetwork.com |
 |
| legacy.com |
Those photos are just stunning. As are those homes! xx
ReplyDeleteI think his photos reflect the excitement people felt about this new post-war design...really happy photos.
DeleteCan't imagine the architect Pierre Koenig not in the case study #21 house photo or the women in the night shot of the #22 house overlooking the city. Guess architects thought they looked dated with people or cars, but in this case they don't.
ReplyDeleteI think the architects wanted people to focus on the houses and not to be distracted by anything extraneous in the shots, but Braun's photos helped sell a whole lot of Eichler homes, didn't they?
DeleteI love both images with people on them and without people. Beautiful work.
ReplyDeleteI love both too. I think much of his architectural photography work was comparable to Shulman's, although I don't think he gets as much recognition.
DeleteOh, I LOVE these, Dana, they're absolutely beautiful, both houses and pictures! What a handsome guy too:-) That livingroom in the last pic is sooo gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteJust for you, I went back to the post and included a picture of him in his later years...still a handsome man. And I think that last photo is amazing!
DeleteHaha, thank you, Dana:-)
ReplyDelete