Colorado lost a legendary artist Friday. Fortunately, John Fielder’s lifetime of work will live on for future generations to enjoy.

Fielder’s awe-inspiring Colorado photography moves the soul, but his legacy provides a model all should ponder. He wasn’t afraid to dream. He fearlessly pursued the career of his dreams by doing what he loved, gifting humanity with beauty almost every day he worked.

Fielder died Friday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 73.

A native of Washington, D.C., Fielder graduated from Duke University in 1972 and moved to Colorado for the love of our state’s world-renown natural environment. Like so many who migrate west with big dreams of outdoor lifestyles, Fielder worked eight years in corporate real estate and retail jobs.

In Fielder’s free time, he photographed everything in which he found majesty. As he honed his skills, he flipped the hobby into a full-time job. Only when people see Fielder’s photos do they understand the value. The photos inspire, uplift and elicit feelings of peace. A career move that risked leaving Fielder destitute instead struck gold by earning a niche in the marketplace.

By the 1990s, Fielder was a household name in Colorado and among collectors and nature lovers everywhere.

Fielder’s “work” involved routine trips that took him to every one of Colorado’s 104,094 square miles. He encountered lions, bears, blizzards, avalanches and everything else nature dished up over decades. He photographed mountains, plains, wildlife and people enjoying the outdoors. Fielder’s prints and coffee table books were so popular consumers found them in standalone “John Fielder” stores in shopping malls.

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As the artist battled cancer in January, he donated 6,000 of his favorite photos to History Colorado. He chose the 6,000 from more than 20,000 negatives and prints he had created since 1973. Fielder said his photos belong to the people.

By capturing nature’s beauty, Fielder inspired federal and state politicians to preserve the great outdoors. His photos led to the state’s 1992 Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund Initiative, the federal Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 and more.

“Humanity will not survive without the preservation of biodiversity on Earth, and I have been honored to use my photography to influence people and legislation to protect our natural and rural environments,” Fielder wrote in January, announcing the donation of his “life’s work” to the public.

Fielder’s photos speak for themselves. They tell the good, the bad and the ugly.

Inadvertently, perhaps, Fielder’s book “Colorado 1870-2000” allayed concerns that human activities had ruined much of Colorado’s best landscape. Fielder collected photos from 1870 and replicated the shots from the exact same perspective. Those expecting scenes of ruination among depleted flora and fauna were surprised. The book reveals a modern environment that appears cleaner, better cared for and more alive with vegetation.

Fielder understood the importance of beauty and conservation. He respected nature. He trusted himself, his passion and his ability. He dared to make his passion his career. In doing so, he made our world more joyful.

While enjoying Fielder’s photos, know they result from a life lived with passion, effort, vision and respect for nature and the people who love it.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board