Kenneth Stanley Winner, a nature photographer, world traveler and Colorado resident since 1975, died Sept. 13 of cancer at his Broomfield home. He was 77.
A member of the Mile High Wildlife Photography Club, Winner photographed wildlife throughout Colorado and Alaska and in Kenya and Tanzania, Africa. Additional photographic trips took Winner to Alberta and Ontario, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland and Patagonia, Chile. He also traveled and took photos throughout the United States.
A self-professed “dabbler” in photography since his teens, Winner “decided to get serious” about the pursuit in 2007, when he took several classes and joined the Mile High Wildlife Photography Club.
The late-blooming shutterbug flourished behind the lens, becoming an award-winning photographer while meeting new friends and pursuing adventures in far-flung places.
“Ken really is a wildlife photographer. That is what he loved to photograph,” said friend and fellow photographer Larry Matney.
Matney met Winner about five years ago through the club. The two hit it off quickly, Matney said, and they soon took off on photo outings.
“We went on our first trip together to Moab, to the Arches and Canyonlands” national parks, Matney recalled.
In Utah, and later at other locations, the friends tried a variety of disciplines, including landscapes.
“He found (landscapes) interesting,” Matney said.
Winner reflected on landscapes: “How many ways can I shoot a rock?” Matney recalled with a chuckle.
Born on April 21, 1939, in Oreland, Pa., Winner served in the Navy from 1961 to 1969 as an anti-submarine warfare electronic equipment technician. He was a member of the Steamfitters Local No. 420 of Philadelphia and Denver Pipefitters Local No. 208.
Winner moved to Colorado in 1975 and was president of Winner and Associates Inc. in Englewood, a building climate engineering firm, from 1985 to 1992.
Winner was also a member of the North American Nature Photography Association.
He received various awards, locally and nationally, for photographs, including the Audubon Society of Greater Denver Share the View International Photography Contest.
“I hope that you enjoy my pictures half as much as I have enjoyed taking them,” Winner said on his photo website.
Winner’s work was featured at the Lakewood Cultural Center as part of a “Wildlife Experience” exhibition. His art can be viewed at the Argo Gold Mine and Mill in Idaho Springs; and at Kenwinnerphoto.com.
He is survived by his wife, Jeri Gilley Winner; son Ken Winner Jr. of Nebraska; and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mildred, and by a daughter, Karen Winner Luther.
A memorial service is pending.
