The man behind Wawatay Studios first made his reputation with his eye-watering photographs of the Northern Lights. Even before he had his first Instagram follower, Andre Brandt was driving 100 kilometers one way on -40° nights regularly, to sit waist-deep in snow in the woods, so he could meet the Lights with his camera as they came onstage. 

In a precious case of something on the internet catching on because it’s genuinely good, word of mouth carried the @andre.brandt Instagram account to photography enthusiasts throughout Canada. It didn’t go full-on viral but, before long, Brandt found that he had gained that all-important first thing for an independent artist: a real following. 

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In time, some of the new followers came with project proposals; several were even household-name corporations. Seeing a path to true sustainability, Andre quit his job, bought a Sony A7R3, and founded Wawatay.

In the years since his transition to full-time photographer-on-the-rise, Andre has expanded his artistic range to include the Milky Way and all other things landscape (especially nightscape), portraits, events, video, teaching, and printmaking. In [year], he was even asked to help curate the venerable night-photography and imagesofcanada Instagram accounts, which combine for well over a million followers. 

But those prints, though.

We’re not talking coasters and mouse-pads here, although Andre does those as well as anybody on the internet. We’re talking about [type of paper?] paper, canvas, and aluminum surfaces with custom frames. Room-making conversation pieces. 

The most popular sizes for an Andre Brandt print are aaxbb and ccxdd, but anything—anything—can be done. To date, the largest print ever purchased from Wawatay was over six feet wide. To be sure, Brandt is poised and ready for a new order to break that record.

His newest ventures include vidoeography, documentaries and sits as an active member on the Mall of The Arts board of Directors.  Browse through his selection of breath taking photography and feel the crisp fresh air of Northern Manitoba!