PHOTOGRAPHER MATT NUÑEZ PACKS HIS CAMERA AND TRIPOD WHEREVER HE GOES TO TAKE IN COLORADO’S LANDSCAPES.
ON A LARK IN 2020, MATT NUÑEZ, a fifth-generation Coloradan who shoots images around the state as a side hustle (mattnunezphotos.com), decided to submit some of his landscape photographs to a contest Gov. Jared Polis had just announced. The winning image would be featured on Colorado’s new driver’s license. “It seemed like a unique opportunity to showcase my work,” says Nuñez, who submitted three images: Mount Sneffels, the Maroon Bells and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. In early 2021, he got a call from the Department of Revenue saying that, in fact, all three of his photos were chosen as the three finalists. “Obviously, I was pretty delighted,” he says. “Those photos were all special moments for me.”
The state opened up the final selection to the public via social media, and the Mount Sneffels photo came out on top. When the final design was unveiled in February, Nuñez had the honor of being one of the first people to renew his license. “I went after the governor, of course,” he says.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY MATT NUÑEZ
“This photo was taken in summer 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. I was driving through the Roaring Fork Valley when I saw this crazy lighting in my rearview mirror. I pulled off 82, found a dirt road and captured this incredible double rainbow. Sopris is magnificent anytime, but the scene was just so striking. The mountains felt dwarfed by the storm and the rainbows. I used my telephoto lens to capture some of that texture and color in the foreground. It was a little bright spot in a tough year.”
PHOTOGRAPHED BY MATT NUÑEZ
“Whenever I have a free weekend, I’ll just drive out to the mountains and not really have any destination in mind. This was one of those days. It was February, and I was passing through the San Luis Valley northeast of Alamosa, a spectacular area of Colorado, when I found this scene on the side of the road. In my eye, the flora in the foreground, the massive stature of Blanca Peak and the pristine winter sunset created the perfect mixture of compositional elements.”
PHOTOGRAPHED BY MATT NUÑEZ
“This photo of 14,157-foot Mount Sneffels was taken on my first solo road trip through the San Juans. October is the best time of year for photos—it’s when all the colors are at their peak. I spent hours exploring the back roads and eventually found this scene. Anybody who drives south on CO-550 will notice that Mount Sneffels looms larger and larger on the approach to Ridgway. I was struck by this particular scene and the contrast of remarkable colors against the snow-covered mountain.”
“I WAS READING LORD OF THE RINGS AT THE TIME, AND IT JUST REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING OUT OF TOLKIEN.”–PHOTOGRAPHER MATT NUÑEZ
PHOTOGRAPHED BY MATT NUÑEZ
“I woke up early to try and catch the sunrise over Loveland Pass, but it was so cloudy. When the sun came up, the lighting was really pretty and led to this surreal ethereal scene. I was reading Lord of the Rings at the time, and the scene just reminded me of something out of Tolkien with the fall colors and the misty mountains.”
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