The Year in Photos 2019: Helen H. Richardson

Found in southern Colorado is the unique and seemingly out of place Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. These awe-inspiring sand dunes are the tallest dunes in North America. In late spring this year, Medano Creek, which flows through the base of the dunes, experienced a surge flow not seen in years thanks to heavy snowfall. News of this surge flowed like water and drew people from all over the nation just to come see it, swim and surf in the unique flow at the base of the towering dunes. I had a blast photographing this year’s surge flow as the dunes became a beach playground for visitors to the park.

Explosive population growth and development has left many people, this photographer at least, feeling overwhelmed by the loss of our natural habitats. I’ve watched open land being gobbled up by houses and strip malls, increasing the pressures on wildlife. As a photographer, I am intrigued by documenting the natural world that we still do have here in Colorado. Sometimes that world is easily seen from my own backyard, like when I found a beautiful Cooper’s Hawk hunting near bird feeders I had put out in snowy April. A pair of young Bull Moose practiced their sparring skills with their large antlers at the end of the rut almost in the same spot as the hawk at the beginning of November.

Denver Post multimedia producer Amy Brothers long wanted to create a video series highlighting Colorado’s forward-thinkers in the local food industry. That idea became a reality this year as “The Colorado Plate” was born. She found a cheesemaker, Jackie Chang, a local farmer, Eric Skokan, a butcher, Kate Kavanaugh, and chef Duncan Holmes. For print, I was given the opportunity to photograph each of these innovators. Each of them not only cares for their craft but they all deeply care about sustainability within their worlds, creating food that is locally grown and humanely raising animals. As Colorado “grows up” it feels like, through these talented folks we are on the forefront of creating locally sourced, sustainable, environmentally friendly and most importantly- delicious food. We hope this resonates with readers and look forward to continuing the project into next year and learning about more locals creating beautiful Colorado plates.