Photographer John Fielder Left Colorado a Lasting Legacy

Three weeks before he passed away, legendary outdoor photographer John Fielder stood before a packed house at History Colorado Center, talking about a forty-year career that culminated in the gift of thousands of photographs to the state, an incredible act of generosity documented by the exhibit that opened at the center the next day – REVEALED: John Fielder’s Favorite Place.

Fielder, who was raised in North Carolina, recalled that he originally visited Colorado in 1969; after he moved here in 1972, he began photographing some of the most beautiful spots in his new home and ultimately turned his art into a full-time job. “I never felt like I owned these places,” Fielder said of the locations he photographed. “I always felt kind of guilty.”

But while he shared the sites in his photographs, he never gave away details that might endanger them. “Not once in fifty books did I ever identify a place that had a fragile trail,” he assured the crowd.

Fielder didn’t just photograph Colorado’s most beautiful places; he helped protect them by pushing the 1992 initiative that created Great Outdoors Colorado, funded by the Colorado Lottery. He also led the charge for a statewide responsible-growth measure in 2000, and recently weighed in on a far more local issue with a Westword commentary, always urging that we celebrate “nature’s cycles of life.”

Fielder concluded his History Colorado remarks with this: “Never give up hope, never.”

Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022, Fielder died at his home in Summit County, surrounded by family, on August 11 – but not before he’d presented Colorado with an amazing gift, some 7,000 photographs culled from the hundreds of thousands he’d taken over the years, all available for everyone to “browse or download,” he promised.

Governor Jared Polis had introduced Fielder at the July 21 History Colorado event, and “on behalf of the state, I thanked him for donating his life works to History Colorado,” Polis said in an August 12 statement issued after Fielder passed. “His unique talent and work allowed him to showcase our state to millions across the world, and he will be dearly missed. My condolences to his family and friends. I hope that we can all follow his example to appreciate and preserve our outdoor lands.”

As Fielder noted on his website, through the photographs he’d donated to History Colorado, “You will have the opportunity to follow in my footsteps across 28 mountain ranges, float with me down each of our major rivers, explore remote desert canyons, and drive across our vast Great Plains. You will see the heart of 44 Colorado federal wilderness areas and 11 national forests, many of Colorado’s state parks and wildlife areas, and more than 500 local parks, open spaces, and trails across Colorado’s 64 counties. In between these public places lie private ranches and farms. You will not need the permission I sought to visit over 100 of Colorado’s most historical and beautiful ranches ranging in size from 600 to 150,000 acres.”

But the photographs deliver more than a sense of place, he pointed out: “They are a record of Nature as of 2022. As Earth has rapidly warmed, perspective is more critical than ever. In Colorado, trees have died and glaciers have melted, and this change in the ecological landscape will only accelerate. Perhaps my imagery can be a baseline to judge the impact of current change and allow us to predict what Colorado will look like in 2050 and beyond.

“I have never felt that I ‘owned’ my photographs, only that I was borrowing these places to explore and record, and that I would give them back someday. That day has arrived. I will continue to explore and photograph, but for now, thank you, Colorado, for the gifts you’ve given me, the adventures, the joy and the inspiration. I am excited to preserve these treasures and make them readily available through History Colorado for generations to come.”

Ready to share Fielder’s remarkable life journey? See the photographs in John Fielder’s Colorado Collection at History Colorado, or visit REVEALED at History Colorado Center,1200 Broadway.