Colorado mountain landscape by Chris Heaton
"It is my intention to present — through the medium of photography — intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators."

— Ansel Adams

My Story

My name is Chris Heaton and I'm a Colorado native and landscape photographer. I currently live in Wheat Ridge with my wife, Kayla, and our three kids, Berkley, Brooks and Beck. I've had an interest in photography since I was a child.

I remember the first good picture I ever took, in 5th grade, using a disposable camera during our school's Outdoor Lab program. We had just climbed a hill on Mount Evans and the valley opened up as a winter storm began dropping snowflakes. I framed the scene between a couple of pine branches and snapped the picture — I hung it in my room for years afterward.

That interest never faded. I took photography classes in high school and worked at Best Buy right as digital cameras were coming to market. Since then I've explored Colorado more and more — hiking 14ers, camping, kayaking — and used photography to capture those moments and memories along the way. Today, I try to adventure into the outdoors at least once a week, and photography has taken me places I would have never gone otherwise!

See my favorite hikes and activities →
Curious how I get these shots? Learn landscape photography basics →

Chris Heaton in the field

How I work

Most of what's on this site was taken in the first hour of light. I pick a spot the night before from the forecast, drive or hike in while it's still dark, set up, and wait to see what the sky does. Plenty of mornings it does nothing at all. Thundersnow has sent me back down a trail more than once. The mornings it works are the ones that end up on a wall.

My equipment
  • Sony A7RV
  • Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD
  • 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2
  • Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD
  • Tamron 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD
  • Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO
  • Helios 44-2 58mm F2 Russian Vintage Lens
  • Lensbaby Twist 60 Optic
  • 7Artisans 10mm f2.8 Full frame fish-eye lens
  • Tamron SP Adaptall-2 500mm f/8 Tele-Macro
  • Vivitar Series 1 "Bokina" (Tokina) 90mm F2.5 Macro
  • Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro
  • Super Takumar 50mm F1.4
  • Vivitar 100mm f/2.8 (Kiron made) 1:1 Macro
  • Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro Pack
  • DJI Mini 4 Pro

In the Field

Chris Heaton standing on a frozen alpine lake, looking up at a snow-covered peakChris Heaton in the field near a frozen alpine lake and dramatic rock spire

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