Colorado Photography

Colorado is, in my opinion, the most beautiful State in the U.S.A. This is why I have dedicated my life to making pictures of Colorado. As a 5th generation native, I know Colorado well. I have spent countless days exploring Colorado by climbing the highest 100 mountains, including all the Fourteeners. Some of my favorite places include the San Juan Mountains, The Elk Mountains, and the areas near Crested Butte and Telluride. All of these locations and more are represented in my Colorado photography galleries. Below you will learn what makes Colorado my favorite muse and find my best Colorado images for sale. You can also visit my other thematic galleries featuring Colorado photos, including the San Juans, Crested Butte & Kebler Pass, Telluride, the Elk Mountains, the West Elk Mountains, Aspen Trees & Forests, Fourteeners, and Silverton Colorado.

Other Colorado Photography Galleries

FallMountainsSan JuansCrested Butte & Kebler PassTellurideElk MountainsAspen TreesSilvertonFourteeners

Colorado Landscape Photography for Sale

Online Galleries of Nature

By viewing the galleries on this website, including this one, you can obviously tell that I have a deep passion for Colorado photography and Colorado landscape and nature photography prints. My Colorado photography prints are for sale in large format, museum quality print mediums, including elegant and modern acrylic masterpieces, ChromaLuxe metal prints, and high quality fine art paper prints.

Colorado landscape photography of yellow paintbrush wildflowers found at 13,000 feet near Silverton, Colorado in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado at sunset.
This photograph of Colorado wildflowers and high mountain peaks near Silverton makes an excellent fine art print.

Prints of Colorado Landscapes

I have invested tens of thousands of dollars in the best camera equipment available in order to ensure that my photos are captured in high image resolution, making it possible to make large wall art out of my Colorado photography. I have chosen to use only the highest quality materials available to create my fine art prints of Colorado. I've meticulously tested several print mediums at my own expense to ensure that my photographs of Colorado will live up to your high standards.

Fine Art Prints | Collections of Colorado Photos

If you have questions on the differences between those options or if you would like to learn more about the process of buying my Colorado photography fine art prints, you can check out my extensive prints FAQ. I can also do custom sizing and am available for an interior design consultation to provide you with a virtual rendering of your purchase before you buy. Purchasing a piece of fine art from my Colorado photography gallery is easy - simply click on the image you are interested in and view the available mediums and sizes and add it to your cart. I pride myself on your satisfaction. Custom large wall art sizes are always available and discounts are offered for multiple orders.

Colorado photography showcasing rare light that illuminates Sleeping Ute Mountain at sunset in fall.
Rare sunset light illuminates an aspen forest and rising fog near Dolores, Colorado in this fine art print by artist Matt Payne.

Search for Colorado Photography

I have captured thousands of pictures and images of Colorado and have made it easy for you to search for them on my website. You can search for Colorado photography and find some hidden gems within my website that may not be included in some of my online galleries. If you have any specific requests for images, please feel free to contact me!

What is Colorado famous for?

Colorado is an awesome place. I've lived in Colorado most of my life and have travelled far and wide within its borders. Below you can find a list of my favorite places that comprise my Colorado photography galleries.

Colorado Mountains / Rocky Mountains

Colorado has the most mountains in the United States, including 53 peaks that are above 14,000 feet in elevation (known as the Fourteeners or 14ers), and 637 mountains above 13,000 feet in elevation! Suffice to say, Colorado is famous for its incredible mountains, which are also some of the most photogenic peaks in the country. If mountains are not your thing, no need to worry, as there are other things that Colorado is famous for.

Panoramic Colorado photography featuring sunset and Colorado mountains with aspen trees in fall.
Colorado is famous for its incredible mountains and represents the best the Rocky Mountains have to offer. Fine art prints of Colorado available.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Over 4 million people a year visit Rocky Mountain National Park, located northwest of Denver. Rocky Mountain National Park is 415 square miles in size and offers opportunities for wildlife viewing, hiking, boating, backpacking, and mountain climbing. If you are planning a visit to the Park for Colorado photography, I'd highly recommend learning more about it and the various rules and regulations that exist there.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of my favorite National Parks and is a hidden gem of Colorado, especially in winter months. I was recently commissioned by Atlas Obscura to explore and write about 8 Colorado destinations in winter and Black Canyon of the Gunnison was by far my favorite location that I visited for Colorado photography.

Great Sand Dunes National Park

The Great Sand Dunes National Park is also an incredible location and one of the most incredible places in Colorado to photograph the night sky. The large sweeping dunes of the park are situated on the western flank and at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and offer many opportunities for nature lovers to explore and take in the crisp blue Colorado sky - one of the best subjects for Colorado photography!

Denver

Denver is one of the most fun cities in the country due to how it is geographically situated at the base of the Colorado Rockies. Denver offers sports lovers, outdoor lovers, and food lovers plenty of options while providing access to some of the most picturesque locations in the state for photography.

Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs is where I'm originally from, and it is where my love for Colorado photography began. Colorado Springs has some of the most beautiful mountain and landscape backdrops for photography including one of my favorite places on Earth, the Garden of the Gods.

Colorado photography showcasing a panorama of the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak at sunrise in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Colorado Springs is home to the Garden of the Gods and Fourteener Pikes Peak, both seen in this fine art panorama at sunrise.

Durango, Colorado

Durango is where I call home now, and I chose it for many reasons! It is small enough of a city to provide plenty of opportunities to get involved in local affairs and to make friends easily while providing geographical access to some of the most pristine and wild landscapes for Colorado photography just a short drive away. Durango also offers easy access to the canyons of Utah, where I spend a lot of time in the winter and spring and has one of the coolest and photogenic trains around!

Colorado photography of the Needle Mountains with dramatic clouds at sunset as seen in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado near Silverton.
This panorama of the San Juan Mountains near Durango, Colorado features some impressive cloud formations at sunset above some of my favorite Colorado peaks, including (from right to left) Pigeon Peak, Turret Peak, Eolus Peak, Arrow Peak, Sunlight Peak, and more.

Crested Butte, Colorado

Crested Butte is one of my favorite small towns in Colorado and a lot of my Colorado photography is from there. It is situated just north of Gunnison on Highway 135 and is perfectly located east of Kebler Pass and west of Taylor Park, providing access to the southern parts of the Elk Mountains, the incredible West Elk Mountains, as well as the western side of the Sawatch Mountains. While Crested Butte is most known for its excellent ski resort, it is also one of the best areas for Colorado photography of wildflowers and fall color.

Colorado Photography featuring a panorama of fall color near Crested Butte
Fog, fall colors, and snow-capped mountains including "The Castles" put on a show in this sunrise panoramic fine art print captured near Crested Butte, Colorado.

Telluride, Colorado

One of the best small towns for Colorado photography is Telluride. Telluride is located in the heart of the San Juan Mountains and is nestled beneath stunning mountain peaks in all directions. Telluride provides incredible access to some of my favorite peaks, including Wilson Peak, Mount Wilson, Dallas Peak, and a long string of hidden gems to the east of town.

Colorado photography with a vibrant sunrise near Telluride, Colorado over the San Miguel Mountains - including El Diente, Mount Wilson, and Wilson Peak with bright fall colors o
A vibrant sunrise illuminates the clouds above the mountains near Telluride, Colorado.

San Juan Mountains

When I think of the Rocky Mountains, images of the San Juan Mountains are conjured immediately. My favorite Colorado mountains are located within the San Juans, where I have spent hundreds of days in the field as a photographer and mountain climber. In 2021, I published and co-authored a book on the San Juan Mountains with Bob Rosebrough, a project that allowed me to showcase my true passion for Colorado photography and mountain climbing. The San Juans are probably most famous for their wildflowers, rugged off-road drives, and turquoise lakes; however, the vast sea of peaks that comprise the Needles, Grenadiers, and the mountains near Silverton will always be my favorite aspect of the San Juan Mountains.

Colorado photography showing a sunrise panorama from San Juan Mountains of Colorado with views of 14ers Eolus, Windom, and Sunlight in the Needles sub-range. Epic Mountain photography.
Colorado photography at its best! The San Juan Mountains are a sea of peaks, as demonstrated by this fine art panorama photograph captured at sunrise from the summit of North Eolus Peak near Silverton, Colorado.

Aspen Trees

Who doesn't love aspen trees? They are easily one of my favorite photography subjects for so many different reasons. From the way they quake in a breeze, to how they transform a mountainside from green to gold in late September and early October, aspen trees are one of the most amazing things about Colorado and one of the reasons it is a popular fall destination for Colorado photography.

Colorado photography of crisscrossing aspen trees as seen in fall in Colorado after a hail storm.
Colorado photography of aspen trees is hard to beat! Glorious aspen trees exude beauty and wonder in this fine art print captured in the forest near Telluride, Colorado.

Fourteeners / 14ers of Colorado

Colorado is home to 53 mountains that are above 14,000 feet in elevation and are have drawn the attention of countless mountain climbers and hikers who pursue their summits, and a lot of my Colorado photography is of the 14ers. In 2012, I completed my goal to climb all the 14ers, joining the ranks of a few thousand others who have done the same. The Fourteeners are iconic and are the subject of a large portion of my Colorado photography collection.

Colorado photography of a panoramic view of the Needle Mountain sub-range of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, as seen from Knife Point. Mountain Photography.
The Colorado Fourteeners are some of the most photogenic mountains in the United States. Here, several famous 14ers are captured in a single fine art photograph.

How would you describe Colorado?

There's a lot of diversity in Colorado photography thanks to this distribution of its land. Geographically speaking, Colorado is basically a rectangle; however, the contents of said rectangle are magical. Colorado is roughly split 60/40 from north to south by the Colorado Rockies, which includes the Front Range and the Sangre de Cristo mountains. While there are some beautiful landscapes of plains and high deserts east of the north-south line created by the mountains, Colorado is most well-known for the mountains that comprise its western 60% portion. Colorado is also quite large, encompassing 104,094 square miles of land. In addition to the roughly 40% of Colorado's eastern section of plains, the western 10% of the State is also mostly flat, with desert canyons and high mesas accounting for a good portion of that land.

What is the Most Photographed Place in Colorado?

There are a few locations in Colorado that are contenders for this prize; however, the hands-down winner is the Maroon Bells - a truly wonderful area for Colorado photography. The Maroon Bells are by far the most photographed place in Colorado due to their iconic stature, ease of access, and the stunning beauty that the scene in front of the Maroon Bells has. Situated outside of Aspen, Colorado, The Maroon Bells were first made famous by who other than Ansel Adams with his 1951 black and white photo from Maroon Lake featuring the snow-capped South Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak. Ansel made his photograph while travelling to one of the first meetings of the Aspen Institute. I first fell in love with the Maroon Bells during my 2012 climb of them where I got the chance to photograph the surrounding area and lots of mountain goats from the summit of South Maroon. The very next day, I enjoyed incredible views of the area from the other 14er across the valley, Pyramid Peak, which also happened to be my 14er finisher.

Colorado photography of a panorama of the 14er Elk Mountains of Colorado including the Maroon Bells, Pyramid Peak, Snowmass Mountain, Capitol Peak. Mountain photography.
Some of the most amazing 14ers in Colorado - The Maroon Bells, Snowmass Mountain, Capitol Peak, and Pyramid Peak all seen together in one giant panorama as seen from the summit of 13er Thunder Pyramid. The Maroon Bells are the most photographed location in Colorado, but rarely do photographers capture this vantage of them.