Colorado Mountains and Wildflowers
About the Workshop
Early to mid July is a great time to be in the mountains of Colorado. The wildflowers are at their peak and the weather is pleasant with clear blue-sky mornings and billowing clouds in the afternoons. No matter the weather though we will find something to photograph. On clear mornings we’ll photograph mountain landscapes and if clouds do move in, we’ll turn our cameras to flower portraits, authentic western frontier towns, clear running streams and mountain waterfalls.
The highlight here of course is the San Juan mountain range of southwestern Colorado. The Sneffels range surrounds Ouray and winter snows should still be present on the tallest peaks, making them appear tall and remote and contrasting nicely with the blue skies. In addition to the mountains of course there are wildflowers galore. Hundreds of species bloom in profusion during the short mountain summers and we’ll use flowers as foregrounds and for portraits and for abstracts and more.
We’ll spend some time on high mountain passes photographing mountains reflected in small tarns and high mountain lakes. We’ll get into the backcountry both on our own on well-maintained forest roads and also with professional drivers taking us off-road by jeep. We’ll have one full day and one half day with jeeps taking us on moderate 4×4 roads to areas inaccessible without an off-road vehicle. We’ll photograph ancient ghost towns and huge fields of untouched flowers and we’ll head over some very high and impressive mountain passes.
The Colorado Mountains in summertime can’t be beat for awesome scenery and lots of flowers.
Included in the Workshop
The workshop includes individualized field instruction, classroom lectures, honest critiques and lecture notes.
Your fees include the professional instruction of a PAW leader. All workshops have leaders, however a PAW leader is an expert on the location, and has proven skills as a workshop instructor. Our instructors are there to help you make better images and to fill your portfolios not theirs. PAW leaders don’t photograph on our workshops, they teach.
Meals are not included. You will be responsible for all transportation to the workshop and travel during the workshop.
The workshop will allow a maximum of 12 participants and requires a minimum of 6 participants.
Schedule
We’ll meet in the Ouray Victorian Inn at 6pm on July 6th for orientation, introductions and some logistics to get you primed for our early morning departure the next day.
The workshop ends after the morning shoot on the 11th of July.
Exertion Level
There are some short hikes of less than half a mile on uneven terrain. Most of the sites are closer than that to the road, but the high altitude (Ouray is about 7800 feet) takes your breath away with just a little exertion. We’ll go slow and I promise there are no forced marches. I am always available to carry some of your gear if you need a part-time sherpa.
Equipment and Gear
A wide angle lens is a necessity and you’ll want some way to do macro photography, either a macro lens or set of diopters or extension tubes. By wide angle I mean something in the range of 12-24mm for those with the APS-C sized digital sensors. Full frame camera users will be fine with something like a 17-35mm or so. Bring a polarizer and a sturdy tripod and maybe a diffuser and small reflector for flower portraits.
Feel free to contact Don if you have specific questions or concerns about what to bring.
Transportation and Lodging
Denver International Airport is about 6 hours from the hotel.
Grand Junction is about 2.5 hours from the hotel.
Suggested hotels and airports for Colorado Mountains and Wildflowers are shown below. Click on the name of the hotel or airport for more information, including a map. This information is provided as a helpful resource for our participants, but is not guaranteed accurate. Please confirm any important details before making travel plans.
Review the workshop description carefully for more information about rates, locations, and dates. If you have any questions, please contact us before making your reservations.
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50 Third Ave.Ouray, CO 81432United StatesSee map: Google Maps
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8500 Pena Blvd.Denver, CO 80249United StatesSee map: Google Maps
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2828 Walker Field Drive Suite 301Grand Junction, CO 81506United StatesSee map: Google Maps
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Peak Wildflowers and Pleasant Weather
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Mountains reflecting in vivid lakes
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Ancient Ghost Towns
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San Juan Mountain Range
Date
Participants
Leader(s)
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Don has traveled extensively throughout six of the World’s continents in search of adventure stories and great images.
Photo Gallery
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Final Thoughts
