Wow. The San Juan Mountains in Colorado
are amazing. We begin the first morning by shooting Maroon
Bells, before traveling to the Crystal Mill, then southwest to the
San Juan Mountains around Telluride, Ouray, and Durango. We spend time exploring many of the
well-maintained dirt roads into the San Juan National Forest as well
as shooting the iconic Red Mountain Mining District between Ouray
and Silverton.
We finish the final day in Mesa Verde National
Park, photographing the Cliff Palace and other Indian Ruins, and
hopefully the huge mule deer bucks and wild horses in the park. This safari is limited to 5 photographers and you
are
welcome to drive your own vehicle. It is one breathtaking
landscape after another, with wildlife surprising us somewhere on
every trip. |
For those not traveling with me we usually meetup in Glenwood
Springs, Colorado along Interstate 70. If you intend to fly-in to the safari
or back from it, I would suggest Grand Junction, CO as the
arrival/departure airport, both for the airfare price and car
rentals. Weather is usually cool, but can change suddenly, so I
suggest typical fall high elevation clothing: gloves, knit hat, all-weather
coat, boots, etc.
The deposit is 50% via check, Paypal, or credit card, and
the balance is due halfway between the deposit date and the
safari date unless you are booking within 3 months, then
full payment is due. Check the main safari page for other
information. Spouses can ride along at no charge,
but you must have your own vehicle.
Link
This safari is 5 days long. |
I've spent my 38-year wildlife photography
career shooting in the American West. The first 23
years shooting out of Utah, the past 15 years out of
California. With 1500 published photo credits, dozens
of magazine covers and article, and a lifetime wandering the
roads of the west, the photo safaris that I lead are all to
the best locations, at the best times, during peak wildlife
activity periods. What a rush it has been. |
It's hard
to describe just how beautiful this mountain range is, even
photos don't do the totality of it justice. We
literally are shooting all day and have to force ourselves
to stop for meals, it is that good. The light is never
bad, and if you get tired of the color, then there are the
mining ruins that are everywhere, from the Red Mtn Mining
District to Silverton, but no road is without cool looking
mining relics of a history long past. |
I've never had a bad weather day on this
safari, but I'm looking forward to it when it finally comes.
Snow is the icing on the landscape cake, and with striking colors
throughout the San Juan's, setting up dazzling visual images would
be pretty easy. There are whole mining communities lost in
time to photograph - Yankee Girl Mine, Alta Lakes, Silver Ledge
Mine, and the Congress Mine to name just a few. |