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Biography
Howard W. Brancel was born November 4, 1937 at Kettle River, Minnesota
to Robert O. and Clara (Marsh) Brancel. He was raised by his
grandparents, Orville and Margie Brancel in Pierre, South Dakota from
1938 to 1956. He graduated from Pierre High School as a member of the
Class of 1956.
Howard attended college at South Dakota State College prior to
entering the U.S. Navy on February 2, 1957. While in the navy he served
honorably as an enlisted man aboard the USS Robinson, DD-562 and the USS
Ross, DD-563 as a Machinery Repairman. He then trained and graduated
enlisted Honor Man as a US Navy Frogman or Underwater Demolitions expert
trained in diving with explosives and reconnaissance. He was stationed
at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia. He operated with
UDT-21, 3rd Platoon, in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Persian Gulf,
and the Caribbean areas of naval operations.
Howard attended Old Dominion College and joined the Norfolk Virginia
Police Department in late 1962, He served as Stretcher Car Officer,
Patrol Car Officer, Norfolk Police Harbor Patrol Boat Officer, Beat
Officer and diver on the Police Underwater Recovery Unit (an adjunct to
the Detective Bureau).
In 1965 he accepted a position on the Pierre, South Dakota Police
Department so that he could be near his aging grandparents. While
serving on that department, he achieved the rank of Captain in charge of
felony investigations, illegal drugs and officer training. He Advanced
his professional level by attending extension college courses in
sociology related programs sponsored by the University of South Dakota;
the FBI National Academy; BNDD advanced Investigators program as well as
Federal Fingerprint Classification Expert; Federal Firearms Instructor,
Nationally Certified SCUBA Instructor, Explosive Ordnance Disposal
Instructor and other training programs totaling over 2400 hours of
instruction. He was a member of the State Omnibus Crime Bill Committee,
Police Combat Firearms Team and leader of the Police and Fire
Departments Underwater Rescue and Recovery Units. He was named police
officer of the year by the Pierre Post of the American Legion.
In 1971, after the death of his grandparents, Howard resigned from
the Pierre Police Department and moved to Hilo, Hawaii with his wife and
2 young daughters. He worked construction as a journeyman carpenter
while making his new career plans. These plans would incorporate his law
enforcement training, SCUBA diving background and aerial, surface and
underwater photography and cinematography skills. From this background
Howard first became a professional instructor to private detective and
security guard agencies and local law enforcement personnel. He later
became the owner and licensee of Security Services Incorporated, a
private detective agency and a security guard agency in Hawaii. He also
taught SCUBA at the University of Hawaii, Hilo Campus where he was
attending sociology and journalism classes. He participated as a member
of a Federal Fisheries marine research grant team studying the market
feasibility of a commercial spiny lobster fishing industry in local
island waters. He photographed and filmed capture and “banding” research
techniques. He participated in a similar research program involving a
potential commercial shark fishing industry. He used his photography and
cinematography services on a Federal Humpback Whale Research program
associated with the University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus, psychology
department. He spent 4 months on a remote island beach and offshore
recording whale activity, both on the surface and underwater as well as
on periodic light aircraft flights around the island of Hawaii recording
and charting all humpback whale activity sighted. He worked as a TV
cinematographer for a Honolulu television station submitting live film
on volcano eruption activity. He filmed the open ocean swimming event of
the first Iron-man Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii, from underwater, for ABC
Wide World of Sports. He was instrumental in bringing the first luxury,
super SCUBA diving charter boat, a 96 foot, 100 ton vessel, “The Spirit
of Adventure”, to Hawaiian waters and was the on-site manager of all
aspects of its operation and multi-island cruise itinerary for the
California based owners. He was a cinematographer/photographer for the
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) on the Island of
Hawaii. He was to record on time-lapse, 16mm format film, any tsunami
(tidal wave) scheduled or anticipated to make contact with any shoreline
of the “Big Island” as well as record the after effects suffered by the
impacted area, as a member of the “First Response Team”.
In 1979 Howard sustained head injuries from a construction accident
which removed him from the labor force for almost 10 years. During this
time, in 1981, Howard moved his family from Hawaii to North Georgia. It
was there that he converted his cinematography skills, training, and
experience to the more current and versatile medium of videography and
still photography and to specialize in wildlife recording, production
and marketing. His home and production facilities are in the north
Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains of Union County but his travels take him
and his wife Sandra (his 2nd camera operator, partner, and business
manager) on wildlife recording safaris all across these 50 wonderful
United States of America. Look for their work wherever you might find
“actual” wildlife reproductions. Their work is 100% “wild” life with no
zoo shots or staged shooting sessions. |
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