Dennis Schoenfelder

Nine years at one refuge

Photographs made at the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge and the flats just east of it, in Colorado's San Luis Valley. Available as signed, limited edition archival prints.

2017–2026  ·  Alamosa, Colorado  ·  7,544 feet

The refuge sits on the floor of the San Luis Valley, with Blanca Peak on the eastern rim. It is the same few square miles every time. The light is never the same twice.

I have been photographing here since 2017, mostly before sunrise and after sunset, mostly alone. Some mornings there is fog on the flats. Some evenings the rays come through and then reappear behind you, on the opposite side of the sky. In October 2024 a comet came, and for a few nights the valley had two kinds of light in it at once.

These are the pictures I have kept.

Comet C/2023 A3 above the San Luis Valley, October 2024

Comet A3 over the Refuge

October 25, 2024  ·  Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered
Print 1 of 25 sold  ·  24 remaining at the opening price

Panoramic sunrise over Blanca Peak from the wildlife refuge

Blanca at Sunrise, Panorama

June 21, 2017  ·  Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

Crepuscular rays over the Alamosa wildlife refuge

Crepuscular Rays

June 11, 2024  ·  Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

Sun rays over the refuge at evening

Sun Rays, Evening

June 11, 2024  ·  Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

Low fog across the refuge flats

Low Fog

September 5, 2021  ·  Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

Sunrise on Blanca Peak seen from the refuge

Blanca at Sunrise

February 8, 2021  ·  Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

Tight view of Blanca Peak at sunrise

Blanca, Close

February 8, 2021  ·  Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

Windmill silhouetted at sunset on the refuge

Windmill at Sunset

January 12, 2018  ·  Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

Tree silhouetted against sunrise at the refuge

Tree at Sunrise

Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

Deer near the wildlife refuge

Deer

April 2, 2017  ·  near the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Edition of 25  ·  archival pigment print  ·  signed and numbered

A well east of the refuge, in color
A well east of the refuge, in black and white

The Well

East of the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Available in color or black and white  ·  separate editions of 25 each

About the prints

Every print is made on archival cotton or baryta paper with pigment inks, rated to last well beyond a hundred years without fading. Each one is signed and numbered on the reverse and comes with a certificate of authenticity carrying a matching security seal.

Editions are limited and permanent

Each image is issued in an edition of 25 at its large size. When the edition sells out, it is finished — no reissue, no second edition, no slightly different version. Smaller sizes are offered as their own separate, smaller-priced editions.

The price rises as the edition sells

Prints 1 through 5 are offered at the opening price. Prints 6 through 15 are higher, and 16 through 25 higher again. Buying early costs less, and it always will.

What arrives

  • The signed and numbered print
  • A certificate of authenticity with a matching serial seal
  • A note of where and when the photograph was made

Prints ship rolled in a tube by default, which is safest for large sizes and keeps shipping affordable. Mounting and framing can be arranged and quoted separately. Shipping is billed at cost.

Custom sizes

Most of this work was made to print large. If you have a specific wall in mind, say so in your message and I will tell you honestly whether the file will hold up at that size.

Contact

Prints are sold directly. Send a note with the title you are interested in and roughly what size you have in mind, and you will get a straight answer on price, timing, and shipping.

prints@dennisschoenfelder.com

Dennis Schoenfelder lives in Alamosa, Colorado. His photographs have appeared in EarthSky's community collection.