Poppies of Hewlett Gulch: A Photographic Adventure in Northern Colorado

I had a neighbor (Kim) last year who works at a local nursery. Her back yard was strewn with beautifully unkempt gardens of flourishing fruits, vegetables and flowers. I told Kim I loved the vibe of all this vegetation, and she said it was a perfect time (late May) to visit the poppy fields at Hewlett Gulch Trailhead, about a half hour north of Fort Collins.

I owned a blue 1988 Mercedes 420sel at the time (miss that car), and I drove that beast up Highway 287 the west on CO-14 till I reached the trail.

I don’t know what I was expected, exactly. I guess in my mind I imagined fields of poppies a la “The Wizard of Oz.” I started down the trail and hiked about a mile before I came upon the first flowers.

Poppies, several yet to bloom, gaze out at the foothills in Hewlett Gulch Trail, Colorado.

After the first glorious display, I saw a “madness of poppies” [I love that phrase] every hundred yards. Some stood as solitary blooms in the shade. Others formed groups far off the trail, drenched in the sunshine.

It made for a beautiful day out in the wilderness (or out of the house and the city, at least).

I love photographing flowers, and I had just bought a Sony ACii with a 50mm lens. Both the camera and the focal length were new to me, and this was a wonderful way to test them out.

If you’d like to experience Hewlett Gulch and it’s poppies from afar, I produced this book of the adventure for you to turn through at home :)

Keep heading out to see the beauty of the world!

Best,

Mark

Photographing a Street Festival: The 2025 Wonder Crawl

On July 26, 2025, artists, bakers, crafters, potters, punk rockers and all manner of others strew the streets of the River District for the first-annual Wonder Crawl. Three local photographers produced a book to capture the mayhem.

A costumed performer entertains the crowd in front of Wolverine Farm Publick House

Along with my buddies TJ (@petrichor_collective_) and Chris (@streetwriter_Laika), I roamed the streets of the River District, which runs basically from the Northside Aztlan Center around to Smokestack Pottery. The people, the coffee, the art and the music were just unreal.

Stops included Hello Brew Co., Wolverine Farm Publick House, Petrichor Collective, and the aforementioned Smokestack Pottery, where we got to roam and tour the guild-like grounds and discover all kinds of hidden gems along the way.

@streetwriter_laika stands amid hundreds of hand-crafted pots in various stages of completion

It honestly was one of the wildest, most fun days I’ve ever had as a photographer.

You can purchase your very own Wonder Crawl 2025 commemorative photo book right here.

Check it out and get ready for the 2026 Wonder Crawl, July 18 at Linden and Willow in Old Town Fort Collins!!

Callan and the Grackle: Community through Art

I was sitting at the bar at Equinox Brewing in Old Town Fort Collins one day and noticed this pair of hands wrapped around a pint glass. They looked a little weary, streaked with paint. I asked the man they belonged to if I could take a picture. 

The paint-streaked hands of a muralist.

We talked. I had just bought my first real camera, a used Fujifilm X100V, and was learning the art of photography. The man’s name was Callan Zink, and he had just started his graduate thesis project, a mural of a grackle on the north-facing wall of the brewery. He had just finished setting up scaffolding and putting the first brush strokes, in black, to sketch his design for the bird. 

A muralist paints his initials on the wall.

I asked if I could informally document his progress with the mural through photography, showing up while he was working and snapping shots as he worked. Callan liked the idea, and for the next few weeks I caught him through the camera hundreds of times. 

Callan Zink stands on scaffolding to paint touches on a mural.

Finally, it was done. I met Callan at the brewery to capture him against the finished work. He was happy. Proud. Beaming, deservedly. When he read his thesis project to his professors and fellow grad students he mentioned me and the friendship we’d built during the process. Art through community, he called it. 

The artist leans on the scaffolding to contemplate his work.

Callan admiring his work.

We’re still friends, and I couldn’t be more proud of Callan letting me learn about him and document his art through photography.