Two‑time top photographer builds Soldiers, not just images

BAUMHOLDER, Germany — Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Nelson never thinks he takes good photos.

Nelson, the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Photographer of the Year in 2023 and 2024, admits that someone else has to push him every year to submit his work for awards.

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

The humility comes from his extensive Army career that began in air defense 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 currently deployed to Germany with the 109th MPAD in support of U.S. Special Operations Command Europe.

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

But someone like Nelson isn’t content with what photographers refer to as grip-and-grins. He wants to see action.

“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 said. “Did I enjoy standing in the cold rain all day? No. But looking back I got some really nice products.”

Oddly enough, Nelson’s service alongside the Air Force is a time when he, as he puts it, figured out how 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 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 said. “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 supports, helped give him the broad military picture and experience that he uses to assist his fellow Soldiers today.

It also built the high standards he has for photography and public affairs work in general, 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 said. “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 year with the 352nd SOW didn’t just sharpen Nelson’s technical skills behind the camera. It reshaped how he approaches leading and taking care of his family and his Soldiers.

Today, in his role with the 109th MPAD, and his second stint in the special operations world, he applies the same attention to detail and high standards to making sure his team is trained, equipped and ready for whatever mission comes next.

Army public affairs mass communications specialists serve as journalists and photographers who highlight Soldier stories and military operations. At Nelson’s current rank, he is expected to train and supervise younger Soldiers and act as a liaison between them and the command team.

He teaches his Soldiers that being a good storyteller or photographer goes beyond technical knowledge.

“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 said. “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 lot of hats. Supply, administration, operational readiness, medical readiness, mentor, senior leader and official unit representative have all been his responsibility at some point. Most National Guard units have multiple full-time Soldiers covering those responsibilities.

Nelson covers all of those for the 109th MPAD on his own. He, a graduate of Kutztown University with an MBA in progress, jokes that he should get another college degree for all that experience. Soldiers in the unit say that range of responsibilities is obvious day to day.

“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 also deployed with the 109th MPAD, said. “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 a teenager fresh out of training, said Nelson was the first person to show him how an MPAD operates. He helped Thomson prepare for Ranger and Air Assault School and quizzed him for the Best Warrior Competition.

Thomson said Nelson is a supporter, recalling a memory from his Basic Leader Course graduation ceremony.

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

Thomson added that Nelson’s genuine interest in his Soldiers’ careers, education and hobbies has encouraged them to keep learning, pursue new opportunities and better understand the Army so they can help Soldiers in the same way.

That kind of leadership isn’t written in a readiness NCO’s job description. But as the only full-time representative of the unit, he understands that showing genuine care for 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 said. “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 also reshaped what Nelson considers success.

As his career has evolved, his focus has shifted from chasing promotions, degrees and qualifications to investing in his Soldiers and in the family waiting for him back home.

“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 said. “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, schools and accolades matter but not as much as the people they’re supposed to serve. These days, he is less concerned about awards and assignments and more about the trust his Soldiers place in him and the example he’s setting for his boys at home.

He readily acknowledges his imperfections.

“Just ask First Sergeant,” he quipped.

1st Sgt. HollyAnn Nicom, the senior enlisted leader of the 109th MPAD, declined to comment on Nelson’s supposed imperfections. She did, however, provide many comments on his positive value to the unit.

But that humility underscores the kind of leader Nelson strives to be. He is a professional who grew through trial and error, earned his place through hard work, and now measures success by the strength of his team and the wellbeing of the family waiting for him at home.

“I’m not actively trying to build a legacy,” Nelson said. “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 knows his boys don’t understand his job completely yet, or why he is away from them right now. He only hopes they look back one day and see his service as an inspiration.

These days, the most important cameras in his life aren’t the ones he carries for work. That title belongs to his in-home cameras and video chat devices. He says they help with the distance and staying connected.

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