Street Photography in Denver

16th Street is the pedestrian spine of downtown, about a mile long, with free shuttle buses stopping on every corner. It closed for a long rebuild, and Denver street photographer Jeff Tidwell told Rocky Mountain PBS the crowds came back when it reopened. Come at the weekday lunch hour for office workers, or in the evening when the buildings light up. Stand at a corner and use the shuttle as a moving frame edge, waiting for a walker to fill the gap in front of it. Tidwell shoots a lot through windows here, so try reflections in the shop glass. Watch for the shuttles, which run often and quietly.

Union Station is a 1914 Beaux Arts station at the end of 16th Street, with a stone clock tower and a huge hall that now holds restaurants and a hotel lobby as well as train and bus traffic. It is free to walk in. The hall is the draw: tall windows throw pools of light onto people waiting at tables. I'd come mid morning on a sunny day and wait for someone to cross one of those patches of light. Outside, the plaza fountains fill with kids in summer. The building is private property open to the public, so security can set rules on tripods and shoots. Keep it handheld and low key.

Larimer Square is a single block of Victorian buildings between 14th and 15th Streets, full of shops and restaurants, with lights strung across the street. Visit Denver calls it a good street photo spot because there is always something going on. Photographer Kevin Mohatt has a frame here of a pedestrian reading a menu, reflected across several windows. That is the idea to steal. Go at dusk, when the lights come on and the sky still has color, and work the reflections in the restaurant glass. Patios are busy in summer, so shoot the street, not into people's plates.

The Dairy Block is a converted warehouse block in LoDo with an alley running through it, lined with small shops, seating, lights and street art. The alley is narrow, which gives you strong lines and a natural frame. A local blogger at Volumes and Voyages says it is busy in the evening with events and nearly empty around 10:00, when only a few people are getting coffee. For street work, the busier evening is better. Stand at one end and wait for one figure to walk under the lights. In winter the alley is decorated for the holidays. It is private property, so a guard may ask about a big setup.

Denver was founded where Cherry Creek meets the South Platte River, and Confluence Park marks the spot. Two long bike trails meet here, and Visit Denver notes kayakers often run the small rapids with the skyline behind them. The park is busiest on summer evenings. Afternoon is best if you want the skyline lit behind your subject. Get low on the river steps and frame people on the bank against the water, or pan with a cyclist on the trail at a slow shutter speed. The concrete steps get wet and slick. Give the kayakers room when they launch.

Colfax Avenue runs straight across the city, and the stretch east of the gold domed State Capitol has theaters, diners, dive bars and a street life downtown lacks. Jeff Tidwell says he shoots Colfax from Aurora to West Colfax, and that he gets more street portrait chances there because people have time to talk. I'd start at the Capitol steps, where one step is marked as exactly one mile high, then walk east past the Ogden and Bluebird theaters toward evening. Neon and marquees make good light after dark. Some people here are having a hard time. Ask first, and take no for an answer.

RiNo, short for River North, is an old warehouse area northeast of downtown that is now covered in murals, with breweries and food halls between them. Visit Denver calls it the heart of the city's street art. The walls are the backdrop, not the subject. Find a big mural with a clear color field, then wait for a passerby whose clothes or gesture echoes it. Larimer Street and the alleys near Denver Central Market are dense with painted walls. Late afternoon light rakes along the east west streets. The area is spread out and some blocks are empty, so plan a loop rather than wandering.

Santa Fe Drive, between about 5th and 12th Avenues, is a strip of galleries and murals in the La Alma Lincoln Park area. It is quiet most days. On the first Friday of each month it hosts an art walk, when galleries stay open late and the sidewalks fill. Kevin Mohatt shot a man carrying a cat walking past a man in a chicken suit here during First Friday. Come at dusk and work the crowd in the light spilling from gallery doors. Check the district's calendar before you go, since the event can change.