Exposure: Images of 2022

exp sure

PHOTOGRAPHERS

From Estes Park to Fruita and back to Colorado Springs, The Gazette photo staff spent 2022 traveling Colorado and the West to bring you compelling images that tell stories about local communities and the great state we call home. In this magazine are some of our favorite pictures. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have enjoyed bringing them to you.

Jerilee Bennett grew up in southeast Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri. She’s lived in Colorado Springs since 1983 and joined The Gazette in 1986.

Timothy Hurst grew up in Colorado Springs and graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Based in the Denver metro area, he joined The Gazette in 2021.

Christian Murdock grew up in Seattle and graduated from the University of Montana. He joined The Gazette in 1998 and became director of photography in 2017.

Parker Seibold grew up in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Montana. She was a summer intern in 2019 and joined The Gazette in 2022.

A gosling grazes for food with its parents in Monument Valley Park. Goslings start walking within 24 hours of hatching and begin to fly in less than two months.

Christian Murdock, director of photography

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

EXOTIC

Animals, wild and domestic, help define state of Colorado

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE Inzi and Tagi are the two East African crowned cranes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE Horses look through the frosted landscape on Colorado 105 north of Palmer Lake.

Omo, a baby hippo, chases off one of the peafowls that crashed his birthday party at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE Bull elk battle in Lake Estes during the seasonal elk rut in Estes Park.

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

A squirrel pokes its head out of a pumpkin on a porch in Denver.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Dexter, a 6-year-old Brittany spaniel, walks through Ouray with his owner, Kentee Pasek. Dexter lost one front leg and the use of the other after being hit by a truck when he was less than a year old.

TIMOTHY HURST, THE GAZETTE

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Female lions survey their 60-acre enclosure in Colorado after a trip halfway around the world from the war-torn Odesa Zoo in Ukraine.

TIMOTHY HURST, THE GAZETTE

Vehicle headlights illuminate a male tarantula crossing a dirt road in Heartland Ranch Nature Preserve near Lamar.

EXCEPTIONAL

First responders and service members make region proud

PARKER SEIBOLD, THE GAZETTE

Lt. Col. James Harvey, 98, one of the last living Tuskegee Airmen, sits in front of a wreath honoring Tuskegee Airmen following a ceremony at the Air Force Academy.

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Air Force Academy cadets throw their hats into the air as the Thunderbirds fly over at the end of graduation.

Alexander Thompson, 1, looks up to Aurora Fire Dept. Capt. Joe Hill as Hill hugs Alexander’s mother, Sharon Thompson, following a presentation of the Phoenix Award to first responders and to Sharon Thompson herself for their life-saving work when Alexander was found unconscious and not breathing.

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Kindergartener David Haan Jr. gets a kiss on the cheek from his dad, Staff Sgt. David Haan, before going into Wildflower Elementary for his first day of school.

TIMOTHY HURST, THE GAZETTE

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

A line of skaters, including Air Force foward Blake Bride (8), push Air Force defenseman Luke Rowe (4) as he sits on the lap of forward Jacob Marti during the Skate with the Falcons event in downtown Colorado Springs.

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

World War II veteran Sergeant First Class Harold Nelson salutes back to Maj. Gen. Charles Costanza, Commanding General of the 3rd Infantry Division, after receiving the Silver Star during a ceremony at Fort Carson.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE Cavalry scouts exit Blackhawk helicopters piloted by the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade during an air assault manuever as part of the Operation Steel Eagle training exercise at Fort Carson.

EXQUISITE

Landscape of the Rocky Mountain region ranks second to none

PARKER SEIBOLD, THE GAZETTE

A rainbow forms over the Colorado River as the sun rises near Moab, Utah.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE Visitors watch the sun rise from the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Independence Monument is framed by a Utah juniper tree in Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Gary Lake, center, and other cowboys round up the longhorn cattle on the Silverado Ranch east of Colorado Springs.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE Chimney Rock is seen through aspen trees on Owl Creek Pass outside Ridgway.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

The setting sun paints the sky red as a storm hits the San Juan Mountains near Telluride.

Large swaths of shoreline on Lake Powell that were under water just a few years ago can be seen from the air.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

A pond downstream from Lake Haiyaha in Rocky Mountain National Park. A rockslide on the south shoulder of Hallet Peak changed the color of the water from a deep blue to a milky green.

PARKER SEIBOLD, THE GAZETTE

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

A vehicle crosses Red Cliff Bridge on Tennessee Pass near Minturn.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Fishhook cactus bloom along Monument Canyon Trail outside Fruita.

EXPERIENCES

Each day offers the possibility of a one-of-a-kind memory

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE Ashlee Warren watches as her shoulder-length hair falls to the ground during the 15th annual Bald 4 Bucks fundraiser at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

An overflowing crowd fills Civic Center Park in Denver to celebrate the Stanley Cup championship won by the Colorado Avalanche.

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Members of the Pikes Peak Rangerettes enjoy pancakes at the annual Western Street Breakfast in downtown Colorado Springs.

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

A balloon dips near Prospect Lake on the second day of the Labor Day Lift Off in Colorado Springs.

PARKER SEIBOLD, THE GAZETTE

Brandon Quinn — flanked by his two sons, River, left, and Ryland — and his father, Joe Quinn, look up during a show at the Air Force Academy Planetarium and STEM Center.

TIMOTHY HURST, THE GAZETTE

Linnea Landeskog shows her father, Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, a photo cutout of his own face during Colorado’s championship parade in Denver.

Miss Colorado Springs Ashley Main, center, jumps into the water with Madison Marsh, left, and Ellie Swift during the Special Olympics Colorado Polar Plunge outside the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Fans gather around Palmer Lake to watch a pond hockey game between Lewis-Palmer High School and Cheyenne Mountain High School.

EXHILARATING

Adventure awaits at nearly every turn in Centennial State

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog celebrates with the Stanley Cup after Colorado defeated Tampa Bay at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

PARKER SEIBOLD, THE GAZETTE

Air Force football players celebrate their 41-10 win against Colorado at Falcon Stadium.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Basalt resident Hanna Faulhaber rides to a third-place finish in the Women’s Ski SuperPipe final on the first day of the X Games at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson enters Lumen Field in Seattle before the start of the season opener against his former team.

Runners compete in the Class 2A boys’ state cross country championship at Norris-Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

Ouray resident Sarah Haubert climbs the Scottish Gullies in Ouray Ice Park as she practices for the annual Ouray Ice Festival.

PARKER SEIBOLD, THE GAZETTE

Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson and Blackhawks center Sam Lafferty exchange punches during the third period at Ball Arena in Denver.

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE

CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE GAZETTE Thomas Pearman takes the plunge during the pond skim on closing weekend at Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Broncos running back Javonte Williams leaps over Texans defensive back Jonathan Owens during the second quarter of their game at Empower Field at Mile High.