Whenever in the wilderness or Colorado’s public lands I find myself at peace. While hiking in and experiencing these wilderness areas I find my inspiration. This is where I capture the beauty of the Rocky Mountains with my camera. Through photographs, I share my experiences of being in this natural beauty with others, those who never experience it themselves or those who would like to be reminded of their experience. I will often go back to the same place several times before the light is right to capture a photo that expresses the true natural beauty of the area. I use a high resolution Nikon D800 camera (Nikon Professional series) to capture the finest detail of the scene. Creating images of our public lands and wilderness areas gives me a sense of purpose. Sharing these images with others in galleries and art shows and seeing the joy they bring to viewers gives me a sense that in a small way, I am succeeding at bringing the beauty of our wilderness lands to others. I process the images in my “digital darkroom” to enhance them and bring out the beauty of the wilderness experience as much as possible. I frame my work using standing dead trees that I harvest myself and mill into frame molding in my studio. This allows me to use the natural features in the wood to enhance the images. Some people tell me it gives the images a 3D look.

Artist Biography

Gary Piper is a fine art photographer who primarily photographs public lands and wilderness areas in Colorado. Born in Upstate New York (1950) on the southern edge of the Adirondack Mountains, he first developed his love for nature photography while photographing the Moose River in the Adirondacks. Using his father’s darkroom he learned that great photography requires skills in composition, exposure and processing in a darkroom. Gary pursued photography as a hobby until 2005 when he received his first digital camera. Self-taught, he started working in the digital world. In 2007 he moved to Tabernash located in the Rocky Mountians. Here the beauty of the mountains re-ignited his passion for photography. Gary started photographing the Indian Peak Wilderness Area, Byers Peak wilderness area and Rocky Mountain National Park. Several of the local gallery owners encouraged him to enter the Alpine Art Afair, a juried show. Encouraged by his successes in this show he began moving from hobby to professional photographer. In 2008 and 2009 Gary had the opportunity to photograph the area around Pituffik Airport, located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 947 mi from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland. There he photographed the fall, last light, winter, first light and summer. In April Gary traveled on a dog sled with an Inuit guide photographing icebergs frozen in the Artic Ocean. By 2010 Gary became known as a nature photographer in Grand County Colorado and has since expedited in several galleries, resort clubs, and real estate offices. He continues to enter juried art shows with great success. Gary’s interest in sharing his photography skills motivated him to start the Alpenglow Photography Club serving Grand County, Colorado. Currently he is the current president of the club as well as orography instructor. An environmentalist Gary donates 20% of his profit to charitable organizations that support wilderness areas, thus creating a mission to enhance public awareness of wilderness areas and the preservation of them