Karen Voepel Photography

Karen Voepel, proprietor, is a dedicated photographer, spending much of her time photographing prairie life and ranching activities. ABOUT KAREN VOEPEL: “The light can be harsh on the plains, but there’s inspiration in the clouds, the long sunrises and sunsets, the starkness and, yes, even the wind.” Karen Voepel lives in southeast Colorado and enjoys the simplicity of photography on the desert

plains. Metal prints are intriguing, Karen will say, for brilliant color and whimsy, but old, abandoned windows add a dramatic and poignant touch enhancing the spirit of a photograph. A multi-dimensional artist, Karen sometimes adds her poetry to photo books she’s created. Embracing the wild mustang and her love of horses, her latest trip to South Dakota in the spring of 2016 found Karen traveling with her 92 year-old mother, Audrey. The photos Karen composed represent the gentleness of the horse and the woman who received her first soft nuzzle from a wild mustang. Curiosity was not lost on horse nor woman. And curiosity is what Karen loves to say sparks her passion for photography. Karen and her husband, Bill Broyles, own and operate the historic Prowers Ranch on the Arkansas River. They have restored numerous buildings, including an1860s mercantile that Karen christened “Amache Studio” after the Cheyenne Indian Princess who married John Prowers, one of the first owners of Prowers Ranch. The building hosts fundraisers, celebrations, and Karen’s yoga and photography workshops. The co-founder of “Share the Spirit Foundation,” whose mission includes providing new shoes and socks to deserving children of every age, Karen often finds herself driving the “Shoe Cruizer” to rural communities. Along the way, she looks for abandoned cars, forsaken cemeteries, long dirt roads, livestock, horses and people of every type. “It’s in the simplicity of the moment that makes me want to grab my camera.”

For information on Share the Spirit Foundation, go to sharethespirit.info.