Rays of Freedom

Birds flying off branches

Gould was the owner of the well known Camera Obscura gallery, which closed in 2011. He was also one of the founders of Colorado Photographic Arts Center and the Upper Level Gallery. His work is featured at the Denver Public Library, The Denver Art Museum, Western History / Genealogy, along with many other locations.

"Hal Gould, one of CPAC’s co-founders and a regional photography giant, passed away June 25, at the age of 95. A memorial service attended by more than 100 of his friends and colleagues took place Tuesday, July 7 at the Holiday Event Center in Denver.
As an artist, commercial photographer, and longtime owner of Denver’s Camera Obscura Gallery, Hal was an inspiration to countless photographers and visitors. In 2013, CPAC initiated the
Hal Gould Vision in Photography Award, with the objective of honoring people and institutions that have raised awareness, value, and appreciation of photography in the Mountain West region.” Gould shared the first award with Mark Sink, founder of Denver’s Month of Photography. He was able to attend the 2015 award dinner and remained an avid viewer of photography until his death in Boulder, CO."
Westword obituary by Michael Paglia

“Hal Gould, who helped give photography a home in Denver after arriving in 1955, died on June 25. He was 95.
Gould first showcased images in makeshift spaces in the city at a time when most contested its value as a fine art form. The photographer later became one of the region’s most-important figures working in the medium.
“Hal dedicated his life to establishing photography in the region,” Colorado Photographic Arts Center director Rupert Jenkins said. “I’ve never really known anybody that has that degree of almost zealotry about appreciating photography.”
Gould was born in Wyoming and grew up on a ranch in New Mexico. That setting would become the focus of his earliest photographs. But the medium wasn’t his first true love.
After serving in the army during World War II and then working a number of odd jobs, Gould attended the Art Institute of Chicago to pursue painting.
“Then I gave up painting and changed to photography because I thought it was the most dynamic medium for artistic expression of the 20th century,” Gould told CPR News in 2009. “And people laughed at me then back in 1949 when I said that, but now they’re beginning to believe it.”
As much as his photography embodied the American West, he also looked the part -- often donning a bolo tie and cowboy hat. But Gould also captured scenes outside the region, traveling to all seven continents. During his career, he photographed the Great Wall of China, penguins in Antarctica and African giraffes.”
From the article “Hal Gould Remembered As Ambassador For Denver, Western Photography” written by Corey H. Jones on July 7, 2015 on cpr.org