Meet Mark Nobles | Photographer/ retired airline pilot

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark Nobles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark, how does your business help the community?
I’m lucky to be a part of the longest running CO-OP gallery along the front range of Colorado. Shadow Mountain Gallery, in the heart of historic downtown Evergreen, has been in business for over thirty five years and we continue to gain momentum. Our continued success can be attributed to the hard work of all of our local artists. As a group we participate in, and are supportive of, local downtown events.
For the past twenty plus years our gallery has hosted “The Don Fairchild Student Art Show” for the entire month of March. We convert the center of our gallery to show off the kids art. This show enables six different local schools to display their work in our gallery and it’s a big deal for these kids. Our hope is that the show will inspire them to continue to be creative as they grow older. For these young kids to be able to have their work displayed in a local art gallery means everything to them and we take great pride in providing them this oppurtunity. Unfortunately, Don recently passed away but we will continue the show he spearheaded over twenty years ago in the hope that one of these kids will join us as a member artist when they’re older.
Shadow Mountain Gallery has visitors from all over the world and it’s always a thrill to know that some artwork from our gallery will be heading home overseas.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Colorado continues to provide a “target rich” environment for photographers like myself.. I strive to capture images that excite and inspire me and over the years I’ve been validated by the response from clients who admire my work. The flip side of that is sometimes I bring back an image that I think people will go crazy over and it totally flops. If I’ve learned anything from my years as a photographer it’s this, don’t take it personally and don’t get emotionally attached to any image. My goal is to technically capture the best image possible in the field because it’s a myth that everything can be fixed in Photoshop. I have thousands of images that prove this point.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Evergreen is a historic mountain town nestled in the foothills above Denver. In the summer our temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees cooler than Denver which provides welcome relief. Our downtown is centered around Evergreen Lake. The lake is a 55 acre reservoir that has a wonderful walking path around the entire perimeter and is a popular fishing spot in the summer as well as ice fishing in the winter. In the winter a good portion of the lake turns into a huge 8 acre ice skating rink that includes 11 open air hockey rinks for pickup games. In the summer you can rent paddle boards and kayaks to enjoy the lake.
Along the western edge of the lake is the Evergreen Golf Course. This 18 hole course has rolling hills and pine lined fairways. Don’t be surprised if your game is delayed because of the elk herd in the area. On the eastern side of the lake is the beautiful Evergreen Dam which spills into Bear Creek. Not far from the dam is a local haunt called Cactus Jacks. It has a wonderful patio that over looks the creek and the staff is super friendly and the food is great.
You can’t think about Evergreen without mentioning the Little Bear Saloon. It’s a historic and iconic live music venue located in downtown Evergreen. Famous artists that have played at the Little Bear include Count Bassie, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich, former Evergreen resident Willie Nelson, and Joe Walsh. You have to stop by for a beer.
We have some great hiking areas to choose from in Evergreen. Elk Meadow is an open space park that sports over 16 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Three Sisters is another popular recreational area featuring diverse trails and beautiful rock outcroppings and vistas.
I strongly suggest the “Everything Evergreen” app for anyone visiting our town. It’s free and it has information on anything that you could possibly want to do or see or eat in Evergreen. If you want to hike you simply choose which hike you want to go on and the app will reverse engineer a map from wherever you are to the trailhead. it also provides technical info on difficulty , distance, etc.
I always recommend Red Rocks concert venue to new visitors. Red Rocks is about a twenty minute drive from Evergreen to the town of Morrison. This is the premier concert venue in North America. It’s a world renowned, naturally formed outdoor venue that you have to see. It’s open to the public year round and don’t miss the museum which features the entire history of Red Rocks. Willie Nelson once said that he’s played Red Rocks in the sun, the rain, and the snow…and that was all the same concert!
There is so much to do and see in Evergreen and we invite everyone to experience our slice of paradise.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
What I like most about Shadow Mountain Gallery are the close relationships that I’ve developed working with these great artists. The only way that we’ve made it all of these years is the dedication and commitment to our gallery by the collective members. I’m only one of 25 or so artists that keep or gallery running. We take great pride in being an approachable gallery with a wide range of price points. Our gallery features paintings, pottery, photography, fused and painted glass, jewelry, wood, fabric arts, wire sculptures, and much more.
Personally, my biggest supporter is my wife Brenda. She is with me on all of our photo adventures and once saved me from being walked over by an enormous buffalo. I was busy looking through my camera attempting to create something interesting and somehow failed to hear this buffalo walking directly at me. After the fifth time yelling my name from afar I looked up and quickly gathered up my tripod and got out of there. She’s been there with me freezing in the field waiting for the sun to come up and patiently waiting for the sun to set at the end of a long day. When I get to the editing phase she’s also not afraid to tell me if she doesn’t like an image.

Website: shadowmountaingalleryevergreen@gmail.com

Image Credits
Mark Nobles- Photography
Beverley Harper Tinsley- Painting, Wildlife and Landscape
Paul Thisted- Painting, Cowboys and western scenes