John Fielder

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{{Short description|American photographer and conservationist (1950–2023)}}

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{{Infobox person

| name = John Fielder

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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1950|08|02}}

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| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|08|11|1950|08|02}}

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| nationality = american

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| occupation = photographer

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John Fielder (August 2, 1950 – August 11, 2023) was an American landscape photographer, nature writer, the publisher of over 40 books, and a conservationist. He was nationally known for his landscape photography, scenic calendars (which have been published for over 30 years) and for his many coffee table books and travel guides—including Colorado's best-selling Colorado 1870–2000, in which he matched the same scenes of classic photographs taken in the 19th century by photographer William Henry Jackson.

Biography

John Fielder was born on August 2, 1950.{{cite news |last1=Nicholson |first1=Kieran |title=Colorado nature photographer and environmentalist John Fielder dies |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2023/08/12/colorado-nature-photographer-and-environmentalist-john-fielder-dies/ |access-date=August 13, 2023 |publisher=The Denver Post |date=August 12, 2023}} A Washington, DC, native, Fielder moved to Colorado upon graduation from Duke University, where he studied accounting.{{cite news |last1=Boster |first1=Seth |title=Beauty, pain shape life of John Fielder, Colorado's famous nature photographer |url=https://gazette.com/life/beauty-pain-shape-life-of-john-fielder-colorados-famous-nature-photographer/article_06dff024-358d-11eb-a28c-33711bfe7420.html |access-date=August 14, 2023 |agency=The Gazette |date=December 20, 2020}} After working eight years for department stores, he turned his photography hobby into a profession.[http://www.johnfielder.com/bio.php John Fielder: Biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226100700/http://www.johnfielder.com/bio.php |date=December 26, 2008 }}

Fielder married his wife, Virginia, in 1978. The couple became parents of three children.{{cite news |title=John Fielder, famous Colorado photographer, dies at 73 |url=https://denvergazette.com/arts-entertainment/john-fielder-famous-colorado-photographer-dies-at-73/article_7ea9a8b2-3962-11ee-ac17-c308d684eb68.html#1 |access-date=August 14, 2023 |agency=Denver Gazette |date=August 12, 2023}}

Fielder won the Colorado Book Award three times, in 1996, 1997, and 2000.[http://booksense-stores.booksense.com/images/stores/6801/newsletter/colorado.pdf Colorado Book Awards]{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, PDF file. His photos were published in more than 50 books.{{cite news |last1=Tan |first1=Robert |title=Colorado photographer John Fielder, the man with a camera 'always pointed at nature,' remembered by friends, family |url=https://www.summitdaily.com/news/colorado-photographer-john-fielder-the-man-with-a-camera-always-pointed-at-nature-remembered-by-friends-family/ |access-date=August 14, 2023 |agency=Summit Daily |publisher=Swift Communications, Inc. |date=August 14, 2023}}

In January 2023, Fielder released the entirety of his over 5,000 photographs into the public domain, with History Colorado as caretaker.{{cite web |last1=Growcoot |first1=Matt |title=Celebrated Nature Photographer Donates Life's Work to Public Domain |url=https://petapixel.com/2023/01/26/celebrated-nature-photographer-donates-lifes-work-to-public-domain/ |website=PetaPixel |access-date=January 29, 2023 |date=January 26, 2023}}

Fielder worked to promote the protection of Colorado open space and wild lands. His photography influenced people and legislation, including the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993, and earned him recognition, including the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award in 1993, and in 2011, the Aldo Leopold Foundation's first Achievement Award given to an individual. He was an original governor-appointed member of the lottery-related board of Great Outdoors Colorado, and spoke to thousands of people each year to rally support for land use and environmental issues.

John Fielder died from pancreatic cancer on August 11, 2023, at the age of 73.

Exhibitions

Awards

Published works

  • Colorado's Highest: The History of Naming the 14,000-Foot Peaks (coauthored with Jeri L. Norgren), Silverthorne, Colo.: John Fielder Publishing, {{ISBN| 1-73444-292-1}}.
  • Colorado 1870-2000 (2000) Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers {{ISBN|1-56579-347-1}}.
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707233738/http://www.bigearthpublishing.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=345&osCsid=e01de3293b79ecd03c43e2887dd7acc7 Colorado 1870-2000 II] (2005) Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, {{ISBN|1-56579-566-0}}.
  • Colorado 1870-2000 Revisited (2001), coauthored with Thomas J. Noel, Boulder, Colo.: Big Earth Publishing, {{ISBN|1-56579-389-7}}, {{ISBN|978-1-56579-389-7}}.
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707233755/http://www.bigearthpublishing.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=421&osCsid=e01de3293b79ecd03c43e2887dd7acc7 Mountain Ranges of Colorado] Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, {{ISBN|1-56579-496-6}}.
  • [http://www.westcliffepublishers.com/detail.php?id=451 To Walk in Wilderness] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006020114/http://www.westcliffepublishers.com/detail.php?id=451 |date=October 6, 2011 }} (coauthored with T.A. Barron), Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, {{ISBN|1-56579-038-3}}.
  • [http://www.westcliffepublishers.com/detail.php?id=329 Along the Colorado Trail] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006020324/http://www.westcliffepublishers.com/detail.php?id=329 |date=October 6, 2011 }} (coauthored with M. John Fayhee), Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, {{ISBN|1-56579-010-3}}.
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707233743/http://www.bigearthpublishing.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=352&osCsid=e01de3293b79ecd03c43e2887dd7acc7 Colorado: Lost Places and Forgotten Words] Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, {{ISBN|0-942394-88-7}}
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707233749/http://www.bigearthpublishing.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=395&osCsid=e01de3293b79ecd03c43e2887dd7acc7 John Fielder's Best of Colorado] Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, {{ISBN|1-56579-429-X}}.
  • The Complete Guide to Colorado's Wilderness Areas (coauthored with Mark Pearson)
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707233804/http://www.bigearthpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=326&osCsid=e01de3293b79ecd03c43e2887dd7acc7 A Colorado Winter] Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, {{ISBN|1-56579-289-0}}.
  • [http://www.westcliffepublishers.com/detail.php?id=436 Photographing the Landscape] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915020626/http://www.westcliffepublishers.com/detail.php?id=436 |date=September 15, 2012 }} Boulder, Colo.: Westcliffe Publishers, {{ISBN|1-56579-228-9}}.

See also

{{portal|Photography|Environment|Mountains|United States|Colorado|Biography}}

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References

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