I’ve been here in Colorado, my first post Covid trip, since early July. During my professional career I shot everything from stunt pilots in a chase plane to exploding soda bottles to members of the Reagan administration along with architectural and food photography. Landscapes, are something I appreciate. I admired the work of Eliot Porter, Ansel Adams and others, but landscapes were not part of my work. Although, as with architecture, weather, light and access are determining factors.  For me, access is the issue. The best venues are reached by climbing and long hikes. For me, the thin air in Colorado makes strenuous climbing and long hikes with camera and tripod untenable. If I had two years to get in shape and train for it, I’d still be apprehensive. Negotiating rough terrain just doesn’t seem like a smart thing for me to do. I’ll admit it, now that I am over 70, I’m a bit more timid. So, vistas have become my jam. So, I do drive to areas I want to shoot and sometimes those trips can be intimidating. 

Old Fall River Road to the Alpine Center in Rocky Mountain National Park is a one-way narrow, twisty dirt road with no guardrails, it rises and drops like an old wooden roller coaster. It has lots of potholes and ruts to keep you bouncing about in the hour or so it takes to get to the 11,700 foot elevation Alpine Center and its spectacular views.  

Here are my 23 of my favorites from the first six weeks of my visit.

Breckenridge Ski Trails

Lake Dillon

Barker Meadow Reservoir

Cottonwood Pass

Flagstaff Road

Goss Reservoir

Ouray

Flagstaff Mountain

Flatiron

Flatiron 2

Flatiron Wide View

Old Fall River Road

From Old Fall River Road

Flagstaff Mountain

From Trail Ridge Road

Continental Divide

Wild Basin Park

Wild Basin Park