!["Nature's Window"--one of Ken Papaleo's hand-colored photographs. More at highcountry coloring.com](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_lightbox/hash/03/34/0334386b034467cefa821bb8161c93fc.jpg ""Nature's Window"--one of Ken Papaleo's hand-colored photographs. More at highcountry coloring.com")
Ken Papaleo was one of the veteran photographers at the now defunct Rocky Mountain News. As a staff photographer, he shared in the Rocky's two Pulitzer Prizes for photography, awarded for coverage of the Columbine High School massacre and also Colorado wildfires.
In addition to keen photojournalistic instincts, Ken is an artist. Left to his own devices, he chooses to focus on beauty in the natural world. He brings to bear technical excellence with an eye for Mother Nature's elegance. Ken also is an alpinist. A skier and a hiker, he's able to capture shots that most people never will have the experience of seeing first hand: mountain goats and sheep in their natural habitat, alpenglow on summits, misty dawns in the mountains, a comet soaring over a jagged range of peaks.
Ken produces stunningly beautiful color photography, as well as artfully hand-colored photographs. You can view his hand-colored shots at www.highcountrycoloring.com.
Now Ken has a new blog titled "X Marks the Shot." The blog includes shots and also some information about the whereabouts and the technical aspects of the shoots.
Click here to see some of Colorado's high country wildflowers on Ken's blog.
Click here to see Ken Papaleo's artful, hand-colored photographs on his website highcountrycoloring.com
If you're an alpinist, a photography afficianado, a skier, or a nature-lover, you'll get your eye's full: These images will take your breath away. (By the way, both sites were designed by Ken's son Jordan Papaleo.)
Keep in mind that the hand-colored photos, for sale on the website, would make exceptional gifts for the holiday season. Whether the people on your list live in Colorado or elsewhere, they'll appreciate the beauty and the artistry of these images. One size fits all, and you can be pretty sure this is one present that will not be re-gifted.
Colleen Smith gardens in and writes from central Denver, and is currently publishing her first novel, Glass Halo.
• To learn more about Glass Halo and Friday Jones Publishing
visit fridayjonespublishing.com and post a comment on the blog.
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Comments
Thanks for this glimpse into Papleo's work.....beautiful
Ken shows us Colorado in a way that only a mountaineer can. For me, seeing the animals he "shoots" is a special treat.
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