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Top Nature Photographers In Colorado

November 20, 2011 2:10 PM

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(credit: http://jimsteinbergphotography.com)
Colorado is one the top places to live in the country if you’re interested in being a nature photographer. The opportunities — from the Eastern Plains to the high alpine tundra to the Western canyons — are boundless. Here are some of the finest in the state, but certainly there are plenty more out there who are worthy.

Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski

dancingpelican.com

This accomplished photographic team has few peers. Recipients of major international wildlife photography awards, they capture iconic images of nature from the earth’s deepest reaches to their own back yards in the metropolitan Denver area. Shatill’s “Young Red Fox” was honored by the BBC’s Photographer of the Year Competition, and Rozinski’s “Dancing Pelican” won first prize in the international Nautre’s Best competiton. One of their recent projects is called “Valley of the Dunes,” a pictoral documentation of Colorado’s lush San Luis Valley and the state’s newest national park, The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Conservation is an important theme in their life’s work.

Jim Steinberg

jimsteinbergphotography.com

While racking up more than 500,000 miles on his old 1980 Volvo, Jim Steinberg has already seen more of Colorado than most of us will see in a lifetime. A prolific wildlife and nature photographer, Steinberg has contributed widely to various publications, including National Geographic, the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society. He has received national and international recognition for his work. In recent years, his talents and energy have been devoted to “Colorado Scenic Byways: Taking the Other Road.” The two-volume set includes a coffee table book with stunning images from the state’s twenty-five designated scenic byways. A companion, take-along book with maps, photo tips and nature writings makes a practical guide for his readers’ own travels.

John Fielder

johnfielder.com

There likely isn’t a bookstore in Colorado where you will not find the work of John Fielder. From calendars to coffee table books, Fielder’s photography fills the page with the state’s vast and varied beauty. He has photographed the length and breadth of the Continental Divide, the Colorado Trail, wilderness areas, rivers and valleys, forests, plains and canyons during all seasons of the year. Perhaps his most well-known project is “Colorado: Then and Now.” Fielder re-photographed more than 300 locations visited a century earlier by noted photgrapher William Henry Jackson, resulting in a fascinating study of changes to Colorado’s landscape over the span of a hundred years of growth and development.

Nathaniel Coalson

natcoalson.com

A Conifer resident, Nat Coalson discovered his passion for photography during a backpacking trip in Yosemite. He was educated at the Colorado Institute of Art and now photographs nature scenes across the Rocky Mountain West. He lectures and writes about digital imaging and printing and was a finalist for the Outdoor Photographer award in the 2009 Nature’s Colors awards. We love an abstract photo he took up close of a rusting truck. “Oxide Triptych,” part of his Alloy Adorned series, looks like a painting with its splattering of blues and oranges.

Don Mammoser

donmammoserphoto.com

Don Mammoser’s is a self-professed flower fanatic. His work has been published in magazines such as National Geographic Adventure. He is the author of “The Photographer’s Guide to the Colorado Rockies” and “Wildflowers of Colorado Field Guide.” Educated as a zoologist, he taught himself to take pictures and has spent years studying Colorado’s native flowers. Some of Mammoser’s favorite spots close to the Denver Metro area include Meyer Ranch, Red Rocks, and Jefferson County open spaces. In the mountains, he loves Crested Butte, Ouray, and many others. He particularly loves the diversity Colorado offers, since different species grow on the prairies than in the mountains, and one can drive from the plains to Alpine Tundra conditions in less than a day. He said breathtaking carpets of wildflowers are easily found throughout Colorado.

- Doug Whitehead is the producer of CBS4′s travel show Colorado Getaways and a photographer at the station. Co-worker Jesse Sarles also contributed to this list.

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  • Katie Cadena
  • A, von Kaenel

    Kudos to Nat, truly a natural.

    Would also suggest that you missed a great one in not including Richard Hahn of Estes Park!!!!

    http://www.hahndigitalarts.com/HahnDigitalArts.com/Welcome.html

  • Janet S

    It’s impossible in a list like this not to leave out plenty of great photographers. But Colorado has perhaps the best nature photographers of any state in the nation, so I think five is too short a list. Here’s some others I’d recommend

    James Balog – http://www.jamesbalog.com/pages/home.php
    Larry Carver – http://www.larrycarver.com/
    Grant Collier – http://www.gcollier.com
    Jack Brauer – http://www.widerange.org/
    Erik Stensland – http://www.imagesofrmnp.com/

    There’s also Linde Waidhofer, Todd Caudle, John Mumaw, Glenn Randall, Steve Weaver, Eric Wunrow, George Hager, George Lepp…

  • Rita M

    Christopher Walsh also does an excellent job. Check out his beautiful 2012 Colorful Colorado Calendar at http://www.christopherwalshphotography.com

    • Mike

      This is absolutely gold. I was not etpncxieg that I’d get so much out of reading your write up! You’ve just got yourself a returning visitor

  • Sharaine

    You forgot a really good one .. Randall K. Roberts … check out his work at http://archive.RandallKRoberts.com.

  • Souvik

    It is rare for me to find something on the irennett that is as entertaining and fascinating as what you have got here. Your page is lovely, your graphics are great, and what’s more, you use source that are relevant to what you are talking about. You’re certainly one in a million, well done!

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