Deepest Thoughts: the photography of Erik Stensland

photo by Erik Stensland

by Cindy Elkins
​photos by Erik Stensland

As a self-proclaimed hermit, the insightful photographer and naturalist Erik Stensland is the entrepreneur behind the Images of Rocky Mountain National Park Gallery in downtown Estes Park, Colorado. He is drawn by the natural world and has a deep passion for wilderness education and preservation. As an author, photographer and program developer, his unlikely path to RMNP was filled with adventure. In 1992 he married the love of his life, Joanna. Together, they set out on a path of service in the Balkan Peninsula of Europe which included living in Austria, Bulgaria, the most remote part of Albania and eventually, Kosovo.
 
For more than ten years he partnered with churches and other organizations to “develop job creation programs.” His efforts to build opportunities for others included developing eco-tourism, a small air service into a remote area, selling local art , and dozens of other things. When the Kosovo war hit, they started a refugee agency and when the war finished, the Stenslands moved into Kosovo to help bring cohesion and communication between over a hundred smaller agencies that were working to help the area recover from the devastation.” During this turbulent time, the Stenslands witness gun violence almost daily; so much so that Erik carried a letter in his back pocket for his wife should he be killed. One can only imagine that burn out and exhaustion would ultimately lead him to ask God for change.

photo by Erik Stensland

In prayer, he specifically asked if it could be on a mountain, have a hiking trail nearby, and much needed solitude. Two days later, a friend asked if he knew of anyone who might want to take an extended break from Kosovo and move to Allenspark, Colorado to live in the basement of their cousin's soon to be built house. Erik said yes; shortly thereafter he and wife Joanna were headed stateside. Erik recognized that he had hit bottom, needed change and his prayers were answered with a new life opportunity. He began an online master's program in organizational development and the family grew to include a son. A few years later, the Stenslands returned to Albania only to find that he was no longer needed there. Returning to the Colorado Rockies they have called Estes Park area home for over 18 years.

photo by Erik Stensland

Once settled in, Erik knew he needed a job and would have to reinvent himself. He was open to what that might be. As an observant person and avid hiker, he noticed beautiful photographic images of nature and wondered, “How do I get paid to hike?” In a conversation with a local gallery owner and wife of a successful photographer, Erik shared that he was considering becoming a professional landscape photographer. Their response was the challenge he needed to spark his next adventure. He was told it was “impossible to make a living with just photography here.”

photo by Erik Stensland

That was all it took to launch his imagination into action. This year, Erik celebrates 17 years of photographing the amazing landscapes of RMNP and the American southwest. Currently Erik has two galleries, one in Estes Park and another in Abiquiu, New Mexico near Georgia O'Keeffe's former residence.
Unfortunately, the East Troublesome Fire of October 2020 in Grand Lake, Colorado destroyed the home of those running his gallery space there resulting in them moving and the gallery closing. A new Grand Lake gallery may emerge in spring of 2023.
 
With all of his work, Erik strives to educate photographers and outdoor enthusiasts in the ethics that are needed to truly preserve our wilderness. His foundation The Alliance for Responsible Nature Photography , (Nature First Photography) ​leads the way in helping others understand the importance of caring for wilderness and respecting the natural environment. “Leading by example and not pointing fingers.” Erik upholds strong values when hiking, or taking photographs.

He lives up to and professes seven principles listed on the Nature First website as:

1. Prioritize the well-being of nature over photography.
2. Educate yourself about the places you photograph.
3. Reflect on the possible impact of your actions.
4. Use discretion if sharing locations.
5. Know and follow rules and regulations.
6. Always follow Leave No Trace principles and strive to leave places better than you found them.
7. Actively promote and educate others about these principles.

Integrity has three parts to the definition: knowing the difference between right and wrong; acting on doing what is right; and, being willing to speak up, even in the face of adversity, to educate others on what is right.

photo by Erik Stensland

Erik Stensland lives a life that nurtures integrity and helps others to know how to pursue an innate passion of being in the wilderness while standing shoulder-to- shoulder with integrity. He hopes that everyone who enters into RMNP will take the time to understand the fragility of this amazingly strong place.
 
A park ranger friend of his said that Rocky Mountain National Park is experiencing “the urbanization of the wilderness”, referring to how many visitors come and go that do not know how to behave in the wilderness. Let's face it – there are many ways to visit Rocky: a quick drive across the Park including a jaunt around a lake or visitor center and exit through one side or the other; an extended-day visit with lunch somewhere; or, you can take a deep dive into Rocky. Erik wants everyone who visits to abide by a simple understanding of respect. Respect of impact and respect of realizing where you are includes recognizing how many others will come and go beyond your visit.

photo by Erik Stensland

​He welcomes others and hopes they leave the land, animals, and beauty for all to enjoy. Take a risk and turn off your phone, your music, listen to the silence and find your inner creative self. Erik's own quest for silence and solitude takes him deep into the Park as he captures each hike on maps. Every adventure, often beginning way before sunrise, each cliff and breathtaking waterfall are captured and categorized in his records so he can continue to find places that he has not been before. Erik strives to climb a new horizon with each mountainous adventure in Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky has an allure for him; Erik said he suffers from a self-proclaimed “illness when it comes to what's said to be impossible”. He overcame the challenge of “that's impossible” to create his dream job of being paid to hike. His passion to educate others in what is needed to preserve our wilderness areas leads him to write and develop opportunities for others to explore our favorite national park. Erik hopes that his photography will be seen in a way that allows the viewer to “step back and look with fresh eyes, recognizing that nature is a gift.”

​​When asked what some of his favorite areas or subjects within RMNP to photograph are and why? Erik responded with, “I can get as excited as a child at Christmas if I'm at a calm mountain lake with dramatic lighting illuminating jagged peaks surrounded by low clouds. Yet, I can also get very excited to find a simple scene in a forest such as aspen leaves that have fallen into an artistic pattern on a lichen covered rock. In the silence there is an opportunity to slow down, to pay attention, to forget all the other responsibilities and expectations of life. For me that opens the door to really begin to see the wonder of the natural world both big and small.”

photo by Erik Stensland

Currently, Erik is the author of seven books, has a successful online educational program and strives to work with local organizations to assist every visitor to RMNP understand where they are visiting. Erik says:
 
“I hope that this generation and future generations will see the value of wilderness for its own sake. As humans we have this tendency to judge everything by what it does for us, the value it can give to us. That may be viewing a forest for the lumber it can provide, the minerals, water, food, or other that it may contain. Yet we as nature lovers can also do the same and see that same forest only for the recreational opportunities, views, and restoration it can provide us. I would hope that we would all come to view the natural world as having a right to exist apart from ourselves and what we get out of it. I would love it if my photographs could help us recognize its intrinsic value apart from us.”
 
Stop by the Images of Rocky Mountain National Park Gallery; maybe he will tell you about a mountain lion encounter, hikers unknowingly sitting on a frozen elk, or about his adventures into the depths of the Park at night. Listen with both your eyes and ears as he shares photographs, reminds you to walk in the middle of the trail and educates you as to why.

Born in the mountains of West Virginia, Cindy Elkins has called Colorado home since 1981. As a professional artist and teacher, hiking and the outdoors provide inspiration and keep her active.
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The publication of this story was made possible by the Country Market in Estes Park. Please visit them and say "thank you" for supporting local journalism!

This story was made possible by Rambo's Longhorn Liquor of Estes Park, please visit them and say "thank you" for supporting local journalism!