COLORADO PICTURE PERFECT

[Music] Rocky Mountain High. Rocky Mountain High. >> I'll see you guys at the lift. >> Boy, that was great. Hi folks, I'm John Denver and this Well, this of course is Colorado. You know, the emotions I feel up here, I've expressed many times in music and song, but you can't always carry a guitar. That's why I bring one of these. For me, pictures are a kind of visual music. >> Rocky Mountain, >> a place, a moment, >> a feeling captured in a photograph. [Music] Art painted with a lens. >> Magic to make a split second of time suddenly timeless. >> Rocky Mountain. >> Recently, three extraordinary photographers teamed together to tell a timeless story in pictures. >> The story of Colorado in winter. It's picture perfect. >> Rocky Mountain. [Music] >> These wonderful portraits of Colorado are the work of three artists with a lens. Their pictures will win your admiration and their personalities will win your friendship. I know you've seen the work of Jeffrey Aronson. His photographs have livened the pages of Life, Time, Newsweek, Geo, Esquire, and USA Today. He's probably best known for his spaces of Asia. During the past 5 years, Jeffrey has traveled to China nine times on assignment. You know, he mastered in biochemistry, but his real specialty is the chemistry between faces and film. Her photographs are headlines. Powerful images on the front pages of the Daily Paper. Judy Grezedic, now a staff photographer for the San Jose Mercury News, has won photographer of the year honors in both Connecticut and California. In 1988, she was a finalist for American journalism's most cherished honor, a Pulitzer Prize. Now, she aims to capture the spirit of Colorado in its scenery. Norm Clayson's been a friend of mine since I came to Colorado. 20 years ago, advertising agencies were already grabbing up his stunning sports action photography. You may have one of his posters or calendars on your wall. And I know everyone in America and much of the rest of the world has seen his fabulous Marlboro ads. But Norm's favorite passion is skiing in the powder. Woohoo! Woo! Look at that snowfly >> powder. That's the ultimate skiing experience. It's like floating. It's a state of mind because Colorado's powder is so light and fun. >> There's lots of places to get those high energy shots of people having fun. >> Right in there, Troy. I let the environment set the moods for my photograph. I try to shoot honest images that capture the feeling of fun. Maybe that's why I like to work as much as I can in Colorado. >> There it is. >> One thing's for certain, I don't have to yell smile very often. >> There's your shot, guys. There's >> It's hard sometimes getting people to stop or even slow down so I can reload and change locations. >> Even people who ski every day in Veil's back bowls can hardly stand still when conditions are like this. >> Beautiful. >> The problem is it seems like they're always like this. >> Well, Norm, no sympathy for me. You know, getting down the slopes is great fun, but in Colorado, getting to the slopes can also be fun. Judy Grezedic came to Tell Ride to photograph the glorious San Juan Mountains. While taking pictures here, I was reminded of why crosscountry skiing is so enjoyable. Just look around you. Scenery like this is an inspiration to just keep shooting. >> I'm cheating. So if you can really he's trying not to get too far apart. >> Exhilaration of crosscountry skiing. Easy trails to backcountry beauty. No experience necessary. [Applause] In Colorado, you're surrounded by the beauty of the mountains. But scenics photographer Judy Griezed found that the best way for her to capture this on film was with a flight of fancy. Life in the city can make you crazy. The sound of the sand in the sea. >> Life in a highrise will make you hungry. The things that you can't even see. Fly away. Colorado has more peaks over 14,000 ft than any other state. Now I know why John wrote Rocky Mountain High >> and also why I love to fly. But you know, you don't need an airplane to experience, enjoy, and photograph Colorado's magnificent mountains. Everywhere you look, there's a photo opportunity. From Crested But to Beaver Creek, from Aspen Highlands to Snow Mass to Purgatory, shots like these by Norm Clayson are yours for the taking. There's lots of ways to get into Colorado Scenic Wonder. This has got to be one of the best right in there. That's beautiful. Beautiful light. Well, while Norm was out working hard, Jeff was over at Buttermilk kiding around. [Music] Out here, I see families, grandmas and grandpas, moms and dads, and kids everywhere. There's no other sport like skiing for families to have fun. And it shows in these kids' faces. The great thing about photographing children is their spontaneity and their honesty. you when they want to cry, they cry. When they're having an incredibly great time, they don't hide it. They don't mask it. And it's a great thing to be able to photograph. [Music] >> There'll [Music] catch you guys at the picnic. >> Okay. [Music] >> You better save some for me. You know, I wish I'd started skiing at age five instead of at 21, but that's one of the nice things about skiing. It's never too late to begin. But you don't have to ski to glide over mountain trails. As Norm discovered, you don't even have to stand up. [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] on. [Music] Now, if you prefer to go a little faster and to have more of your friends around, [Music] you guys are hot. What I love about shooting bumps here at Copper is not just the crazy excitement and fun the skiers are having. It's that wild perspective of getting directly below these great skiers and shooting up against that gorgeous Colorado blue sky. Now that's like a fantasy. I hit it from this lower angle. Sailing right off into those mountains. All ready. Here we go. >> 1 2 3. >> Woohoo. >> All right. You okay down there? [Music] >> Oh, awesome. Awesome. Awesome. [Applause] All right, everybody survived. I love it. [Music] Yeah, [Applause] >> I suppose several million pictures are taken in Colorado every winter by pros like Jeff, Norm, and Judy, and and amateurs like you and me, too. And I believe that every one of those pictures captures part of what of what makes Colorado such a magnificent place. But all the photographs you could take in a lifetime still wouldn't be enough to reveal all of Colorado's majesty, tell all her tales, know all her people. Colorado and winter. Whether you remember it in a photograph or a song or just in your heart, it is picture perfect. [Music] [Applause] He was born in the summer of his 27th year. coming home to a place he'd never been before. He left yesterday behind him. You might say he was born again. You might say he found the key for every door. When he first came to the mountains, his life was far away. on the road hanging by a song. But the strings already broken and he doesn't really care. It keeps changing fast and it don't last long. The Colorado Rocky Mountain high. I've seen it rain and fire in the sky. The shadow from the starlight [Music]