Land agent doubles as professional photographer

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

When Larimer County hired Charlie Johnson as a land agent in 2000, it got a bonus: Johnson is also a professional photographer, and he has donated countless pieces of his work to the county for use in a wide variety of projects.

The most obvious public project is the county courthouse office building at 200 W. Oak St. in Fort Collins. When the building was completed in 2003, facilities planner Babette Cornell, in charge of decorating the new facility, contacted Johnson about using some of his photos on the walls. The county wanted a good representation of agriculture, landscapes and wildlife, elements that depict northern Colorado.

Johnson agreed and let Cornell make the selections, with one provision: He wanted to include his photo of a mountain lion in a tree, taken at Chimney Hollow Open Space west of Loveland. The shot was taken only 20 feet from the cat, and it was a day Johnson remembers well.

He was hiking with Jasmine, his golden retriever, with the dog a little ahead of him. All of a sudden Johnson looked up and saw Jasmine pursuing the cat, which took off and jumped into a tree. In subsequent adrenaline rushes, Johnson feared first for his dog, then for himself. He tied Jasmine to a tree, where she continued to bark furiously, then gradually approached the big cougar.

"The cat just froze," Johnson said, and never took its eye off the photographer. He shot one and one-half rolls of film. "Then I backed away, got my dog and left," he said. "That was close enough."

Now, the cat hangs in the first-floor hallway of the courthouse office building, along with Johnson's photos of horses, a Wellington-area farm and several open space landscapes. A blue heron, which he captured in flight at Fossil Creek Reservoir, is displayed in the commissioners' hearing room. The original slides were taken with a 35-mm camera, but the county was able to enlarge them to 40-inches-by-60-inches by hiring Digigraphics to do laser scans. "They are able to get a super-fine resolution with this drum scanner process," Johnson said.

Johnson is not the only one who donates top-quality work to the county. He's one of a talented pool of volunteer photographers whose work is featured in such places as the parks and open lands calendar, annual reports and master plans. Framed photos are also given to landowners who donate conservation easements.

Johnson first became interested in photography when he took a college class in 1977. He went back to school in 1984, studying fine art photography and photojournalism at the University of Colorado for two years. In 1986, he went professional, working as a news photographer for the Colorado Daily in Boulder for 11 years and also free-lancing for various newspapers.

"I miss doing news, being in a situation you don't have control over," Johnson said.

He learned about that on his very first news assignment, when he was knocked unconscious by a competitor in a bike race. He still enjoys the rush of capturing a moment, whether it's with people or wildlife, and the cat in the tree was one such moment.

Johnson gained experience in real estate after college, when he worked in the oil and gas industry for eight years. That's what landed him in his present career with the county, where he works halftime for the county engineering department and halftime for parks and open lands.

In engineering, he negotiates right-of-way purchases for roads and drainage projects. When he's wearing the open lands hat, he takes care of real estate transactions such as conservation easements and open space purchases. He often takes his camera along when he's out in the field.

"I get to do the preservation and also photograph it. It's a wonderful position to be in," Johnson commented.

Johnson was likely one of the last holdouts when it came to switching from film to digital photography. He made the change last July and has found that working with digital images is a lot more work.

"The possibilities are there, so you have to use them," he noted.

Now that he's immersed in the newer technology, however, he's excited by how photos can be improved on the computer screen. "Digital photography has made everyone a better photographer," he said, "because the cameras are smart and accurate."

As to advice for camera buffs, Johnson tells people to "break every rule" they can in terms of composition. Shooting with a wide-angle lens makes the photo more dynamic, he said, and getting really close to the subject is key to a good photo. "Fill up the frame with what you want," he recommends.

Johnson also advises people to follow their passions. "Shoot a lot and shoot what you like - go where your emotions tell you to go," he said.

Along with his wife, Char, Johnson operates a photography business in his spare time. They shoot high school seniors, families, weddings and other special occasions.