DVIDS – Information – Two‑time high photographer builds Soldiers, not simply photos

BAUMHOLDER, Germany — Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Nelson by no means thinks he takes good photographs.

Nelson, the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Photographer of the Year in 2023 and 2024, admits that another person has to push him yearly to submit his work for awards.

“The thing about the arts, photo, video, visual media, is it’s so subjective,” Nelson stated. “One person can love your work and the joe sitting right next to them could have a dozen critiques.”

The humility comes from his in depth Army profession that started in air protection artillery and now continues as a public affairs specialist and unit readiness noncommissioned officer with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. Nelson is at present deployed to Germany with the 109th MPAD in help of U.S. Special Operations Command Europe.

He says the spotlight of this deployment up to now was the D-Day commemoration at Normandy American Cemetery. He participated in a reenlistment ceremony there and was one of many photographers for the official program, which included a speech by the Secretary of War.

But somebody like Nelson isn’t content material with what photographers seek advice from as grip-and-grins. He desires to see motion.

“That isn’t even what I really enjoy shooting. I haven’t seen or documented any explosions, artillery or a lot of special operations training,” Nelson stated. “Did I enjoy standing in the cold rain all day? No. But looking back I got some really nice products.”

Oddly sufficient, Nelson’s service alongside the Air Force is a time when he, as he places it, found out easy methods to Army.

In 2021, he served a year-long tour as a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Air Force’s 352nd Special Operations Wing, based mostly in Mildenhall, England.

“It was my first real operational assignment and working in a joint environment gave me a broader picture of what’s out there,” Nelson stated. “That assignment also led me to take some of the pictures I still reference today, the ones I hang on my walls at home. Some of my best work came out of that experience.”

His time with the 352nd SOW, a subordinate command of SOCEUR who he now helps, helped give him the broad army image and expertise that he makes use of to help his fellow Soldiers in the present day.

It additionally constructed the excessive requirements he has for pictures and public affairs work on the whole, which the 352nd SOW demanded from him on day one.

“‘You don’t shoot on manual?!’ was the initial reaction. I quickly fixed that,” Nelson stated. “Mostly due to the extreme levels of scrutiny, they only published the best photos or content, so I really needed to improve my skills, learn to adapt quickly to challenging conditions and really ‘get in it’ as they put it.”

That yr with the 352nd SOW didn’t simply sharpen Nelson’s technical expertise behind the digicam. It reshaped how he approaches main and taking good care of his household and his Soldiers.

Today, in his position with the 109th MPAD, and his second stint within the particular operations world, he applies the identical consideration to element and excessive requirements to creating certain his workforce is skilled, geared up and prepared for no matter mission comes subsequent.

Army public affairs mass communications specialists function journalists and photographers who spotlight Soldier tales and army operations. At Nelson’s present rank, he’s anticipated to coach and supervise youthful Soldiers and act as a liaison between them and the command workforce.

He teaches his Soldiers that being a great storyteller or photographer goes past technical information.

“Find the personal story. Forget the status, forget the rank, forget the uniform. Find the reason people are driven. That connects with a much broader audience than anything else,” Nelson stated. “The images are where I get picky. A candid shot is much better than a staged one. Find one with emotion, dirt, and exhaustion. I feel like some of my best photos are ones of Soldiers, people under load, or exhausted from an exercise, or dirty. And they didn’t even know I took the picture. But they capture the drive, the essence of the Soldier, and that’s what registers with our audience.”

As the 109th MPAD’s readiness NCO, he wears a variety of hats. Supply, administration, operational readiness, medical readiness, mentor, senior chief and official unit consultant have all been his accountability in some unspecified time in the future. Most National Guard models have a number of full-time Soldiers masking these obligations.

Nelson covers all of these for the 109th MPAD on his personal. He, a graduate of Kutztown University with an MBA in progress, jokes that he ought to get one other faculty diploma for all that have.
Soldiers within the unit say that vary of obligations is clear everyday.

“He knows a little bit about everything. I have seen him teach and help each of us in countless situations,” Sgt. Dave Thomson, a public affairs specialist additionally deployed with the 109th MPAD, stated. “He is always present and approachable. If you cannot find him, you usually only have to listen for his signature laugh cutting through every other noise in the room.”

Thomson, who joined the unit as an adolescent recent out of coaching, stated Nelson was the primary individual to point out him how an MPAD operates. He helped Thomson put together for Ranger and Air Assault School and quizzed him for the Best Warrior Competition.

Thomson stated Nelson is a supporter, recalling a reminiscence from his Basic Leader Course commencement ceremony.

“I did not know he was there and the audience had been instructed to remain quiet and respectful,” Thomson stated. “When I walked across the stage I suddenly heard someone shout ‘Yeah Thomson!’ Of course it was Sergeant Nelson.”

Thomson added that Nelson’s real curiosity in his Soldiers’ careers, schooling and hobbies has inspired them to continue to learn, pursue new alternatives and higher perceive the Army to allow them to assist Soldiers in the identical approach.

That form of management isn’t written in a readiness NCO’s job description. But as the one full-time consultant of the unit, he understands that displaying real take care of Soldiers is the wisest use of his authority.

“Getting older has shaped the way I work, talk, interact and view assignments, taskings and missions,” Nelson stated. “The readiness NCO job really is a teaching and learning experience. The amount I’ve learned since becoming the readiness NCO far exceeds my civilian education.”

It has additionally reshaped what Nelson considers success.

As his profession has developed, his focus has shifted from chasing promotions, levels and {qualifications} to investing in his Soldiers and within the household ready for him again dwelling.

“I want to shift focus and be with my family more. My two young boys are now, and will be, the driving factor in my life,” Nelson stated. “Buying a farm, promotion to sergeant major, getting a master’s degree…if they don’t help, improve or benefit the family as a whole, maybe we reevaluate my goals. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done a serious re-eval in my life.”

Promotions, colleges and accolades matter however not as a lot because the folks they’re purported to serve. These days, he’s much less involved about awards and assignments and extra in regards to the belief his Soldiers place in him and the instance he’s setting for his boys at dwelling.

He readily acknowledges his imperfections.

“Just ask First Sergeant,” he quipped.

1st Sgt. HollyAnn Nicom, the senior enlisted chief of the 109th MPAD, declined to touch upon Nelson’s supposed imperfections. She did, nonetheless, present many feedback on his optimistic worth to the unit.

But that humility underscores the form of chief Nelson strives to be. He is an expert who grew via trial and error, earned his place via arduous work, and now measures success by the energy of his workforce and the wellbeing of the household ready for him at dwelling.

“I’m not actively trying to build a legacy,” Nelson stated. “If someone looks back on my tenure here at the MPAD, I hope they see how I tried to be fair and gave every effort to better the Soldiers around me.”

Nelson is aware of his boys don’t perceive his job fully but, or why he’s away from them proper now. He solely hopes they give the impression of being again at some point and see his service as an inspiration.

These days, a very powerful cameras in his life aren’t those he carries for work. That title belongs to his in-home cameras and video chat gadgets. He says they assist with the space and staying related.

“I get to see both boys almost every day via video chat,” Nelson stated. “Don’t get me wrong, I would trade this all in a second for a snotty kiss from my youngest.”