PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS

Photo Inspiration

Every visitor to our town is struck by the plain fact that Telluride is among the most breathtaking mountain settings we will ever experience.  The San Juan Mountains speak to the photographer in a voice unique from any other range.  Iconic picturescapes, such as Wilson Peak, Bear Creek and the view from Imogene Pass, are so numerous that they obscure the endless secrets of these mountains which unfold for the exploring photographer.  Our mission as a guide service is to reveal both the known and the unknown, to capture moments and places that occur uniquely, to guide photography enthusiasts on an unforgettable journey with knowledge that can come only from living in the mountains themselves.

Telluride through the lens of the beholder

Soaring peaks, alpenglow, waterfalls, wildflowers, aspens, historic ghost towns, rivers, canyons, wildlife and people; Telluride’s appeal encompasses all of Southwest Colorado and an inexhaustible range of subjects.  We tour from downtown Telluride to the highest mountain passes in America, the most famous historic mining camps in Colorado and through forests of aspen and fields of wildflowers.  We also photograph Black Canyon National Park, the San Miguel, Dolores and Uncompahgre Rivers, herds of elk, soaring birds of prey and the trout that swim in our streams.  We tour in the summer, fall, winter and spring, as each season casts unique highlights on the natural features of the land.

Special Tours in a Special Place 

Themes and destinations ~ Each tour is customized to the interests of our clients.  Recommended destinations include:

Telluride Alpina:  Imogene Pass, Wilson Peak from “The Dairy Farm”, Lizard Head Pass, the Sneffles Range from Dallas Divide, Trout Lake, the Wilson and Yellow Mountain ranges

Telluride’s ghost towns: Tomboy and Alta

Wildflower tours to Yankee Boy Basin, Ophir Pass and Black Bear Pass

Waterfalls of Telluride:  Bridal Veil, Ingram and Coronet Creek

Fall Colors tours to Black Mesa, Last Dollar Road, Alta, Ophir and Dunton

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Two guides for the price of one:  On our Telluride-based tours, you will actually have two guides, a local professional photographer and a 4-WD tour guide.  Before and after your photo sessions, you’ll learn about Telluride’s colorful mining and geological history. 

Ride in style:  We travel in Telluride Outside’s customized 4-WD vehicles, which feature a spacious, raised seating area for our guests, configured in a horseshoe so every seat is a “window” seat.  These open-air vehicles have removable canvas canopies that provide protection from the elements without impairing the view.  Each vehicle seats 8 guests comfortably, but we only book a maximum of 6 guests, who ride in the seating area along with our photography guide.

Photography sessions:  On each trip, we stop at length to photograph key elements of the landscape and other points of interest.  Our photographer familiarizes guests with each site and provides coaching for optimizing the photography opportunity.  

Review and critique:  On full day tours, we split the am and pm touring times with a mid-day photo critique session with lunch at Telluride’s Ah Haa School for the Arts. 

Prices and tour times

Half Day am or pm	$225	min. 2 guests
Full Day	$450	min. 2 guests
Half Day Black Canyon	$350	min. 2 guests
Full Day Black Canyon	$450	min. 2 guests
3-Day Photo Workshop	$1,350	min. 2 guests

Half day sunrise or sunset:  $225pp, minimum 2 guests

    Sunrise tour times:      approx. 5:00 am – 10:00 am spring, summer, fall

  approx. 6:00 am – 10:30 am winter months

    Sunset tour times:    approx. 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm spring, summer, fall

  approx. 3:00 pm – 7:30 pm winter

Full day sunrise + sunset tour: $450pp, minimum 2 guests

    Spring, summer and fall:  approx. 5:00 am – 10:00 am + 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Photo critique and lunch: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Black Canyon National Park or Mesa Verde tours

    - Full day tour $450 pp, tour times approximately 1:00 pm – 10:00 pm

    - Half day Black Canyon tour with Montrose airport pick up or drop off

$350 pp, minimum 2 guests, tour time pairs flight arrival or departure with a sunrise or sunset tour in Black Canyon National Park

 2010 3-Day Subject Workshops

June 10-12  Waterfalls:  three days photographing Telluride's magnificent waterfalls during peak snowmelt.  $1,350 pp

July 23-25  Wildflowers:  three-day workshop during peak wildflower season, featuring eye-popping color and sweeping high country vistas and stellar lighting  $1,350 pp

Oct 1-3   Fall Colors:  three-day workshop in the height of Telluride's world-famous fall foliage season.  Photograph aspens, cottonwoods and scrub oak at peak color. $1,350 pp

Meet our photographers

Brett Schreckengost:  An avid outdoorsman, Brett grew up hunting and fishing the forests of western Pennsylvania. He attended college in West Virginia and continued to live a mountain lifestyle that brought him to Telluride in 1992. Brett landed his first job in town building handcrafted fly rods for Scott and later guided fly fishing trips for Telluride Outside.  His interest in photography grew out of his love for the outdoors.  Brett is a professional photographer that specializes in outdoor sports, wildlife and adventure travel. His work is published in magazines like National Geographic Adventure, Ski, Skiing, Sports Afield, and many others.  His accomplishments in four-season photography have made Brett’s name synonymous with Telluride’s mountain imagery.  Brett Schreckengost gallery

Ryan Bonneau: Growing up in rural Vermont, Ryan developed a deep love for wild places at a very early age. His passion for capturing unique imagery with natural light started in college and is now his profession.  Ryan has been privileged to have the beautiful San Juan Mountains for his backyard for the last ten years and it's in their jagged peaks and wildflower meadows that he is most at home. His photography has been featured in National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Sierra Club, Backpacker, the Arizona Tourism Department and a variety of other publications.  In recent years Ryan has focused heavily on creating images to help promote conservation throughout Colorado and Western United States.   Ryan Bonneau gallery   

Brad Foley: Born in Northern California, Brad grew up taking photos of his travels in the High Sierra and life in the Bay Area.  After moving to Telluride for a summer in 1996, Brad’s passion for photography grew with each adventure in the mountains.  Living year-around in Telluride, he spends his time looking for the hidden gems around Telluride and using photography to share those places and experiences with others.  Brad’s images have been published in several local publications as well as the Denver Post, Lotus Designs, and others.  Brad Foley gallery 

Josh Johnson:  Josh Johnson is an adventure minded photographer who resides in Telluride's box canyon. He is an active freelancing photographer who specializes in adventure and architectural imagery. Josh's photojournalistic style and ability to capture expressive detail allow him to compose original images distinguished in composition and character.  His appreciation for light and angle grace his stunning nature photos, inspired by the mountains in which he lives.  In addition to high country photography, Josh is a fishing and rivers specialist (as evidenced by his bio shot, at right). 

Joshua Johnson gallery

What to bring, what to expect

Most of Telluride Outside’s photography tours are “adventure photography” experiences.  We travel to remote areas at high elevation in varying whether conditions through the changing seasons.  The following attire and equipment are recommended for our guests:

Layered clothing, including a warm jacket and hat

Rain jacket

Warm gloves (winter and shoulder seasons)

Solid footwear, such as hiking boots

Sun glasses

Sunscreen

Digital camera and tripod

Extra camera battery

Small backpack or duffel for extra clothes

Bottled water

Telluride Outside provides the following:

Emergency ponchos

Bottled water

Lunch (full day tours only)

Telluride Outside’s photography tours emphasize time and place over technical instruction in the use of cameras.  Each participant should be familiar with the use of his or her camera, as our photographers will not have time to learn the particulars of each camera’s functions.  Inexperienced participants are welcome and advised to bring a point-and-shoot digital camera.  Our tours are highly interactive, so some technical instruction will be provided, but the focus will be on the subject matter rather than the equipment.  In photo critique sessions, our photographers will briefly discuss Photoshop techniques for editing images, but critique sessions will focus on photo content rather than editing methods.

Photos (left to right, top to bottom): Bonneau, Foley, Foley, Bonneau, Bonneau, Johnson, Bonneau, Foley, Schreckengost, Johnson, Bonneau

Telluride Outside
Box 685, 121 W. Colorado Ave.
Telluride CO 81435
800-831-6230
970-728-3895 * 970-728-2062 Fax