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What: “Ranches of Colorado” slideshow by photographer John Fielder
When: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.
Where: Museum of Western Colorado's Whitman Educational Center, corner of Ute and Fourth
Cost: Free (VIP reception preceding slideshow $50)
Info: 263-5443
When: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.
Where: Museum of Western Colorado's Whitman Educational Center, corner of Ute and Fourth
Cost: Free (VIP reception preceding slideshow $50)
Info: 263-5443
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — John Fielder's new book “Ranches of Colorado” is different from his other landscape coffee table books. The renowned nature photographer decided to point his camera toward private land for the first time, and the book contains essays by former Rocky Mountain News writer James Meadow.
Fielder met with the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, Colorado Open Lands trust, and the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts to identify 50 ranches with the scenery and human history he sought for the 275-page book.
There are 375 photographs of “all kinds of landscapes, from the plains to the foothills, the mountains to the western river canyons,” Fielder said.
“We also considered families and how evocative they were about their relationship with the land and how amenable they'd be with me spending days with them,” Fielder said.
Fielder spent two to three days at each ranch toting his 65 pounds of camera equipment around the property in his Chevy, or a four-wheeler loaned by the rancher.
“Most are five or six-generation ranches that have been worked continuously since the 1880s,” Fielder said.
Fielder asked Meadow to write the text to accompany 10 of the 50 ranches featured in the book.
Like Fielder, Meadow spent a few days living with the families and interviewing them.
Meadow died in March from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident in Denver three days after the book's final edits were completed. Fielder said the book is Meadow's legacy.
“He wrote some of the best writing about people and their essence I've ever read — ranching or otherwise,” Fielder said. “His essays bring out the character of these people.”
Colorado State University professor Rick Knight also contributed an essay about rangeland ecology and why we can't afford to lose ranching from an environmental perspective, Fielder said.
Forty-five of the ranches have been conserved in various land trusts throughout the state. The other five will also eventually be protected, Fielder said.
The local Mesa Land Trust is hosting a presentation by Fielder Tuesday at the Museum of Western Colorado's Whitman Education Center on the corner of Ute Avenue and Fourth Street.
Fielder will show 250 of the book's photos in an hour and 15-minute Powerpoint presentation set to the music of Aaron Copland. The show will include photos of the recently conserved Aubert Ranch, a 3,700-acre property on Glade Park. The Aubert family will be present at Tuesday's event.
During the slideshow presentation the photographer will tell stories about his experiences with the ranchers, and exploring their properties.
The presentation is free to the public.
A VIP reception will be held with Fielder prior to the event at the museum's main gallery, 462 Ute Ave. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased through the Mesa Land Trust, 263-5443.
“Ranches of Colorado” plus all of Fielder's other books and calendars will be for sale before and after the event, with a portion of the proceeds going to Mesa Land Trust. Proceeds from a silent auction, including a Fielder print of the Aubert Ranch, will also benefit the land trust.
Mesa Land Trust is a private, nonprofit group dedicated to preserving wildlife habitat, agricultural lands, and scenic natural lands in and around Mesa County. The land trust has conserved more than 57,000 acres since the organization was founded by a group of Grand Valley farmers in 1980.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
Fielder met with the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, Colorado Open Lands trust, and the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts to identify 50 ranches with the scenery and human history he sought for the 275-page book.
There are 375 photographs of “all kinds of landscapes, from the plains to the foothills, the mountains to the western river canyons,” Fielder said.
“We also considered families and how evocative they were about their relationship with the land and how amenable they'd be with me spending days with them,” Fielder said.
Fielder spent two to three days at each ranch toting his 65 pounds of camera equipment around the property in his Chevy, or a four-wheeler loaned by the rancher.
“Most are five or six-generation ranches that have been worked continuously since the 1880s,” Fielder said.
Fielder asked Meadow to write the text to accompany 10 of the 50 ranches featured in the book.
Like Fielder, Meadow spent a few days living with the families and interviewing them.
Meadow died in March from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident in Denver three days after the book's final edits were completed. Fielder said the book is Meadow's legacy.
“He wrote some of the best writing about people and their essence I've ever read — ranching or otherwise,” Fielder said. “His essays bring out the character of these people.”
Colorado State University professor Rick Knight also contributed an essay about rangeland ecology and why we can't afford to lose ranching from an environmental perspective, Fielder said.
Forty-five of the ranches have been conserved in various land trusts throughout the state. The other five will also eventually be protected, Fielder said.
The local Mesa Land Trust is hosting a presentation by Fielder Tuesday at the Museum of Western Colorado's Whitman Education Center on the corner of Ute Avenue and Fourth Street.
Fielder will show 250 of the book's photos in an hour and 15-minute Powerpoint presentation set to the music of Aaron Copland. The show will include photos of the recently conserved Aubert Ranch, a 3,700-acre property on Glade Park. The Aubert family will be present at Tuesday's event.
During the slideshow presentation the photographer will tell stories about his experiences with the ranchers, and exploring their properties.
The presentation is free to the public.
A VIP reception will be held with Fielder prior to the event at the museum's main gallery, 462 Ute Ave. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased through the Mesa Land Trust, 263-5443.
“Ranches of Colorado” plus all of Fielder's other books and calendars will be for sale before and after the event, with a portion of the proceeds going to Mesa Land Trust. Proceeds from a silent auction, including a Fielder print of the Aubert Ranch, will also benefit the land trust.
Mesa Land Trust is a private, nonprofit group dedicated to preserving wildlife habitat, agricultural lands, and scenic natural lands in and around Mesa County. The land trust has conserved more than 57,000 acres since the organization was founded by a group of Grand Valley farmers in 1980.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
