John fielder photographer biography book

American photographer and conservationist (–)

For other people named John Fielder, see John Fielder (disambiguation).

John Fielder (August 2, – August 11, ) was an American landscape photographer, nature writer, the publisher of over 40 books, and a conservationist. He was nationally known for his landscape photography, scenic calendars (which have been published for over 30 years) and for his many coffee table books and travel guides—including Colorado's best-selling Colorado –, in which he matched the same scenes of classic photographs taken in the 19th century by photographer William Henry Jackson.

Biography

John Fielder was born on August 2, A Washington, DC, native, Fielder moved to Colorado upon graduation from Duke University, where he studied accounting. After working eight years for department stores, he turned his photography hobby into a profession.

Fielder married his wife, Virginia, in The couple became parents of three children.

Fielder won the Colorado Book Award three times, in , , and His photos were published in more than 50 books.

In January , Fielder released the entirety of his over 5, photographs into the public domain, with History Colorado as caretaker.

Fielder worked to promote the protection of Colorado open space and wild lands. His photography influenced people and legislation, including the Colorado Wilderness Act of , and earned him recognition, including the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award in , and in , the Aldo Leopold Foundation's first Achievement Award given to an individual. He was an original governor-appointed member of the lottery-related board of Great Outdoors Colorado, and spoke to thousands of people each year to rally support for land use and environmental issues.

Jo

When he stumbled upon the archives of William Henry Jackson&#;s photos from the 19th century Colorado, the nature photographer knew he had hit a treasure. His then-and-now photographers had book-buyers lined up down the street.

by Betsy Marston

If you’ve ever bought a calendar or coffee table book featuring the grandeur of Colorado’s 14’ers, the stunning color photographs were almost certainly by John Fielder.

His output was stupendous: over 40 books of Colorado landscapes published during his career as a nature photographer, which began in No doubt he had many more books to produce before pancreatic cancer took him on Aug. He was

One book, though, became his blockbuster, appealing to almost everybody’s curiosity about how Colorado had changed over the last years. Called “Colorado, ,” the large format, brown-covered book paired historic photos by William Henry Jackson along with Fielder’s contemporary re-photographs.

In introducing the book, Fielder credited a call to Eric Paddock, photo curator for the Colorado Historical Society, for the book’s genesis. Fielder was looking around for his next book, due out in , when he called Paddock about Jackson’s iconic photo of the Mount of the Holy Cross, outlined in snow. When Paddock told him he had that negative along with 22, others of Jackson’s work, Fielder said he felt he’d won the jackpot: He could make more than a century of history of change come alive by showing how landscapes altered — or mostly stayed the same — over time.

For months he pored over the negatives there and at two other libraries, selecting those he thought most striking and reproducible. Then, with a helper, art student Eric Bellamy, he drove over 25, miles and also hiked miles, carrying 70 pounds of equipment in a backpack, to get the shots he needed.

Sometimes he had to climb mountains — it took two trips up 13, feet-high Notch Mountain to capture Jackson’s photo of Mount of the H

John Fielder in Focus
Colorado Nature Photographer and Environmentalist

Steve Walsh | Photography by John Fielder

With point and click cellphones becoming more and more advanced in the quality of images they produce, perhaps everyone considers themselves a photographer.

But there&#;s a difference between an image that is merely a representation of what was seen and an image that is so stunning that in addition to making you want to visit that locale in person, it inspires you to consider what you can do to preserve nature for your own generation as well as the generations to come!

John Fielder&#;s work overwhelmingly falls into this category.

Since the early &#;s when the ability to preserve current images of life was first invented, people have been fascinated by what photographs can tell us about an earlier time, even if that earlier time was just ten years ago when you were a kid at camp or away with your family on vacation.

Now, for the first time, we have a book to recommend to young people about John Fielder, the premiere nature photographer of Colorado, a man&#;s whose work is so well-known and so revered that it will be archived at CSU for future generations.

This first biography of John Fielder outlines the process through which one person went from a well-paid, seemingly &#;secure&#; corporate position to take those first daring steps to devote himself full-time to pursue his dream of a creative career.

This book tells the story of John&#;s earliest outings in nature, when he first declared to his grade school teacher that he would one day live in Colorado, what sparked his interest in photography, tips as to how he perfected his technique to capture the perfect image, and when he became interested in conservation.

We highly recommend this book for the young person who may like to explore how to approach nature photography, how to respect nature when out in the wild, the importan