I always wanted to shoot pictures in the San Juan mountain range. The roads to get the really good views are rugged and full of holes and rocks. One early morning around 4am I set out with the jeep along the road I had read so much about. Finally after one of the bumpiest rides I have been on, I saw the pink sky start to appear which most often occurs about 40 minutes before the scheduled sun rise. Mt. Sneffels in the crown jewel of these mountains (also called The Dallas Divide). I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I saw how beautiful the scene was looking with this early morning light. I knew I had about 15 minutes to shoot from every possible angle I could get to. The final results is this picture which is still one of my personal favorites and is featured at a few mountain furniture stores and galleries in the resort towns of Aspen and Breckenridge. Even though the actual location is closer to Telluride, it is such a classic Colorado picture that people who like mountain landscapes favor this one regardless of where it was captured.
I love taking pictures of some of the most beautiful places on this amazing planet. What was once a hobby has now become my second career and I absolutely love it! I spent most of my work life in the radio broadcasting arena first as a D.J spinning records while still in high school. Slowly I worked my way up the ladder and eventually became the President of a radio company operating radio stations all over the country.
My last 15 years were spent in Colorado and it was there I started taking pictures of the amazing scenery in the Rocky Mountains. I retired early from radio after severe hearing loss came upon me almost overnight. This shattered by ability to enjoy music anymore which was so awful.
We moved back to Nashville where our family lived. Not knowing what I would do next (I knew I could not return to radio anymore due to my hearing loss). One day some friends saw a few of my mountain pictures in our home and they said……”this stuff is good……people would buy these”. I didn’t believe them at first but I kept hearing it from other friends.
We were planning a summer trip with family heading back out to Colorado for a week. Without telling anyone, I decided to bring a couple canvas pictures on the trip. We were headed to Breckenridge so I brought a few pictures I took there a year earlier.
One morning with almost zero confidence and a fear of being rejected, I walked to Main street with a few of my canvas pictures. To my amazement the first gift store said “Yes, these are good….our customers will love these”. They ordered 6 pictures which totaled less than $400, but to me it was like I hit the jackpot. I was so excited which is a little funny because in my radio career I mentioned 8 figure budgets. I couldn’t wait to share the news with my family.
WOW!!!!! I was on top of the world and a new career was born.
