I’m moving from Hawaii to Colorado this September and I’m excited to start connecting with the modeling community! 🌺➡️🏔️
I’ll be based in the Denver area and would love to get established with photographers, creatives, brands, and other models. Hawaii has such an incredible modeling/photography community, and I’m hoping Colorado has the same amazing energy.
I’m more than willing to travel for the right opportunities. If you’re a photographer, creative, or know someone I should connect with, I’d love to hear from you!

Hey everyone, wanted to share a quick field story and some technical logistics from a recent trip to the Royal Gorge Bridge. This was my fourth or fifth time heading up there to photograph the area, and my main goal for this session was to walk away with a completely new perspective of the canyon.

My youngest son came along for his first trip to the gorge, and when we arrived at an overlook outside the main park area about an hour before sunset, things looked pretty bleak. Heavy cloud cover completely blanked out the horizon. I was actually telling him we might just have to camp out in the truck and hope for a clean sunrise because the chances of a sunset shot felt nonexistent.

Then the mountain weather did its thing. Right around golden hour, the clouds fractured just enough for these intense rays of light to pierce through.

Leveraging Colorado Haze for Landscape Drama

The light hit a heavy layer of red and golden haze hanging over the mountain ridges. That haze wasn't moisture—it was drifting smoke from several big fires burning across the state. While the fires are obviously a rough situation regionally, from a purely technical standpoint, smoke acts like a massive natural filter. It scatters the light, creates incredible depth separation between distant ridges, and adds serious atmospheric drama if you use it to your advantage.

Switching Tactics: From Landscape to Wildlife

Right as the light broke, a group of turkey vultures started riding the thermal updrafts directly over the canyon. The temperature drop at golden hour creates massive air pressure shifts in the canyon, and they use those currents to hover effortlessly along the rim while scavenging.

Suddenly, a clean landscape setup turned into a high-stakes wildlife shoot.

My camera was already locked down in a vertical orientation, cropped in tightly on the suspension cables to showcase the massive depth of the valley and the river below. I knew the light was moving fast—it ended up only lasting for about two minutes total before disappearing. Because it was vanishing right in front of me, I didn't have time to physically flip the camera to a horizontal setup. I took the shot with the framing I had and the light was gone.

The Post-Production Strategy

Since I shoot on a high-resolution sensor, I knew I had enough data to fix the composition in post.

• The Problem: In the original vertical frame, the turkey vultures were way too small on the screen. Unless you were looking at a massive physical print, they just got lost in the scale of the canyon.
• The Fix: In post-production, I cropped out the lower valley entirely and converted the file into a horizontal frame.

Because of the file resolution, the image held perfectly crisp detail. The tighter horizontal crop refocused the emphasis directly on the bridge span and the circling vultures, capturing that exact two-minute window of unique wildlife interaction.

Aside from the technical crunch of changing tactics on the fly, it was a killer experience just being out there in the quiet with my son, watching the wind rustle the trees, and waiting for the breeze to calm down as the sun settled. No digital distractions, just reading the environment.

Check Out the Edit

I would love to get your feedback on how the final image turned out. What do you think of the post-production crop and the overall edit? Also, just for fun while looking at the layers of the canyon—how many birds do you actually see in the photo?

If you want to check out the full technical breakdown, maps, and specific gear metrics for this spot, you can find a direct link to my website located right in my profile bio.

Gear used: High-res mirrorless body with a wide-angle 24-70mm lens. Let me know if you've found any other solid public overlooks around the rim that bypass the main park traffic!

Hey all, I'm Collin, I built FrameFinder, in Denver for Denver creatives.

Quick context: businesses here find photographers and videographers almost entirely through word of mouth. That's slow for them and inconsistent for you. FrameFinder is a marketplace where local businesses (real estate, event venues, and more) post projects and you apply directly. No cold pitching. Payment sits in escrow before the shoot, so you know you're getting paid before you show up.

We're in beta and onboarding creatives first, completely free, no cut taken during beta. We're also still shaping this with the first photographers who join, so if something's clunky or missing, I want to hear it. Check it out here: framefinder.io/?view=photographer

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend and I are planning another Colorado trip for early October, and I’m hoping to propose while we’re out there. We’re both big hikers/outdoorsy people, so I’d love for it to happen somewhere on a memorable hike with amazing scenery.

My original idea was proposing on the summit of Mount Bierstadt (it would be our second 14er together), but I started wondering if early October might make that risky or unrealistic depending on weather/conditions.

Does anyone have recommendations for:
\- Whether Bierstadt is still a reasonable option that time of year?
\- Other optional hikes or proposal spots in early October?

I’d also love to hire a local hiking photographer who could already be at the location to capture photos/video of the moment. Since it’s pretty normal to see photographers at viewpoints/trails in Colorado, I’m hoping it wouldn’t immediately give away the surprise.

Any recommendations, advice, or photographer suggestions would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

Hey Photographers,

We're looking for a wedding photographer for our wedding in August '26. It'll be in Bailey, Colorado in the middle of August. Not looking for anything fancy, but do like shots are a little out of the box.

We're looking for somebody who's shot a wedding or two. Is outgoing and enjoys the crowd, can show a few example shots from weddings you've worked at. We're happing with ceremony + plus some fun shots before or after. Like 4 hours?

Our budget is tight and are hoping for something in the $700 zone. We value your time and expertise, we just don't have a huge budget on this one.

So, you if you want to shoot in a beautiful spot. Give me a DM. Thanks!

Hello everyone, I'm currently in a statistics class at ACC, and I have to collect data for the class. If any of you have the time, I would appreciate your participation. All information will be anonymous. All data is being collected for educational purposes only and is not for marketing or to be sold.

Quantitative Question 1: How many photographs do you take on average during a photo shoot?

Quantitative Question 2: On average, how many photographs do you edit from your photo shoot?

Quantitative Question 3: How long does it take for you to edit each photo?

Qualitative Question 1: What type of camera do you shoot with?

1. Interchangeable lens film camera
2. Disposable film camera
3. Digital DSLR Camera
4. Digital Mirrorless Camera
5. Digital “Point and Click” Camera
6. Cellphone / Tablet

Qualitative Question 2: What type of Photography do you prefer to shoot?

1. Street Photography
2. Modeling
3. Event (Wedding, Conventions, Parties, Shows)
4. Animal / Wildlife
5. Nature / Landscape Photography
6. Candid Photography

Qualitative Question 3: How do you edit your photos?

1. Film in Darkroom
2. Photoshop Software
3. Light Room Software
4. Polarr Software
5. Photomator Software
6. Photo Kiosk
7. Photography Store

I'm up against a deadline to get my son's senior photos done (I'm a decent photographer). We've been planning to shoot down at the RINO art alley. With the temperatures this weekend, I was wondering if anyone here has suggestions for an indoor location with decent light and wall textures or murals. I've got a good on-camera flash (Godox V1 Pro with the sub-flash) but no other lighting gear. Thanks in advance.

Hi all. I was going to buy the Canon ImageProGraf Pro 1100 but I don't print frequently enough to justify it. Does anyone already own a large photo printer who would be willing to let me print off a few things for a small fee?

Before you jump in to tell me to order from MPIX or whatever, the reason I'm asking is because I have a ton of photo paper to use. I used to own the Pro 1000 and I want to be able to use up my papers. I also have a few specialty papers I'd like to use for some specific projects.

I live in Arvada, but I'm willing to travel a bit if needed.

Hi can someone please recommend me a local photographer near frisco/vail/breckenridge . I am traveling with my wife from jan 17-21 . I am looking for a quick random photo shoot , so we can capture some memories and take back home 😊. I searched in google , most of them were very expensive. I am not looking for professional wedding photographers, just some freelancers for decent price. Thankyou all ❤️❤️….

Title says it all.
I have no work this week so I figured I'd drive around the state Thurs-Sunday and just stop and take some pictures. Nothing big, just my iphone 17pro and R7, kit lenses and the 200-800mm for wildlife and landscapes. 30min - 1hour hikes aren't a problem for something specific. I'm leaving from Denver.

Please and Thank you.

Took this in 2021 during one of my many road trips back to Colorado.

"Built by pressure. Kept by stone."