Name: Jamie Rogers

Nickname: Captain Colorado

Hometown: Denver, CO

Burrito or sushi: Sushi

Camera equipment: Nikon Z7 II and several DJI Drones

Is your photography a full-time gig: It is a full time gig these days! 

Favorite time of day for photos: I’m a morning person so I love the solitude of a good sunrise!

Last book you read: Currently reading Men To Match My Mountains – Irving Stone

Hidden talent: I’m a damn good ping pong player but never have anyone to play with!

Every photographer should have: A polarizer filter for landscape photography and a tripod for pretty much everything!

Words to live by: Well as photography is concerned this is my favorite quote, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” – Ansel Adams

Best part of Denver: I’d say RiNo is my favorite geographic location for all of the street art and the awesome vibe that it creates but we all know that Red Rocks is the best concert venue on the planet so don’t forget about that!

Your photos are amazing. What goes into capturing a great photo? I’d say planning and preparation. Most amazing photos you don’t stumble upon. You usually have to visit a place multiple times to come up with a composition and then return even more often to get the right lighting. It’s not as easy as most people would like to believe!

 

What is it about a photograph that connects with so many people? I think it’s how easily it transports you to that exact location. If it draws you in and makes you feel a part of that scene or story, then we have done our job as a photographer.

Give us some backstory. When did you know you wanted to be a photographer and when did it first click, no pun intended? I’m not sure if there was an exact moment but I had been spending a lot of time in the mountains and traveling to beautiful places all over the world so I decided I should learn how to document it better. I then got a DSLR camera and started my journey from there. Now, many years later, I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of it!

Do you prefer nature or metropolitan subject matter? I started out as a landscape photographer and then added the city/street stuff to my portfolio and now I think I prefer the latter more. I feel like it allows me much more creativity and I’m able to create original and unique images no one has ever seen before!

With so much subject matter, where do you draw inspiration and how do you pick your subjects? For landscape photography that’s easy as I live in Colorado and the mountains we have here are all of the inspiration I need. For night and street photography, I honestly rely heavily on what I see from other photographers on social media for example. I’ll stumble upon an image I really like and then find ways to take that and put my spin on it to hopefully make it unique and my own.

Do you think iPhones allowing everyone to be a “photographer” has undermined the industry at all? Not at all! I think it is very encouraging that almost anyone can now create imagery by simply pulling out their phone. I also think that the more “competition” that is out there it helps 

drive us creators to do our best work all of the time! I still think as a creator you have more creative control with a DSLR or mirrorless camera even though camera phones have come a long way.

You’ve illuminated the beauty of Colorado, especially Denver. What’s next for your work? Thanks for the kind words as I certainly have tried to promote the beauty of our wonderful city and state through my imagery. I’ve managed to shoot all over the world for my personal work but hope to expand my clientele into the international market as well. Fingers crossed…

Anything exciting is coming down the pipeline in 2025? I have one new partnership that I am really excited about but will have to share more about that after the new year unfortunately. Otherwise, my client list is always evolving and growing but I’m hoping to start providing more video content for some of the brand partnerships I currently have so we shall see…

Shameless plug/anything you’d like to say or promote: Obviously I’d like everyone to give me a follow on Instagram (or Facebook) @captaincoloradophotography and go check out my website at captaincolo.com and then tell all of your friends and family about my work!