Lars Leber is a quiet man, and humble about his ability to capture Coloradoís natural beauty with his camera. He has been photographing Colorado since he moved to the United States 14 years ago.Leber was born and raised in Wuppertal, Germany, where he graduated from high school in 1997. At the time, Germany required that all males serve a year in the military or participate in social service work immediately after high school. ìI couldnít do it right away because I was sick with some weird fever,î Leber said. ìSo they allowed me to go to university first for a year.î He studied surveying and maps at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universit‰t Bonn in Bonn, Germany.In 1998, Leber put his higher education on hold while he served a year in the German Army. He drove various military vehicles as well as surveying and charting maps. ìI donít like working in a uniform,î he said. ìIt was an interesting time and was something different.î After one year of military service, Leber returned to the university, but dropped out shortly after his return to pursue other things.Leber visited the United States in 2000, planning to live in the states temporarily to improve his English, and then return to Germany. ìI thought I knew English pretty well, but it was so fast,î he said. ìI used to watch television with the closed captioning on to help me learn English better.îHe chose to live in Colorado because of the scenery.ìI love the mountains,î he said. ìMy parents love the ocean, but I love the mountains.î He said that Colorado is a common destination for Germans. ìThey like to go skiing here,î he said.This visit was not his first to the U.S. As a teenager, Leber and his parents made three lengthy trips to the states, traveling from coast to coast. In 1996, Leber visited New York City. ìI love big cities,î he said. ìI love people watching.îLeber also loves nature. He and his parents visited Arizonaís Grand Canyon and Californiaís Sequoia National Park. ìI had never seen trees like that,î he said. ìGermany has trees, but not like that.îDuring these family vacations to the U.S. Leber became interested in photography. His parents never photographed their family vacations. ìMy parents always thought you could find better pictures in books, so I started taking photos,î he said. While maintaing photography as a hobby, in August 2001, Leber began taking classes at Colorado Technical University in Colorado Springs. He graduated from CTU with a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Business in 2004.In the spring of 2004, Leber met his future wife, Christine Franzen. He had joined an online forum for outdoor enthusiasts, and met Franzen at a barbecue hosted by the forum. ìI noticed she was drinking a German beer,î he said. ìSo I figured I should probably talk to her.î The two found they had similar interests in both the outdoors and photography. On their first date, they attended an Ansel Adams exhibit at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Leber said. Two years later, the two eloped to Coloradoís Rocky Mountain National Park, and Leber moved to his new wifeís house in Falcon.Not long after they were married, Leber returned to Germany for seven months to finalize the paperwork for his green card. ìThey required more and more paperwork,î he said. ìI got my green card in 2007, and I was not allowed to do any work in between.î Leber filled that time with photography.After receiving his green card, Leber returned to Falcon and worked nights at the Falcon Safeway ó which meant he didnít have much time to spend with his wife. In 2009, Leber began working as a test tech for Tech For Less, a Colorado Springs company that sells new and refurbished computers as well as other electronics. He was promoted to test trainer and eventually worked audit and quality control in the companyís returns department. In 2011, the company was sold; and, a year later, the new owners closed the Springs office, leaving Leber and his coworkers jobless.However, less than a year later, the previous owners bought the company back and reopened the Colorado Springs office in January 2013. Leber went back to work. As much as Leber loves photography, he hesitates to make it his full-time job. ìI tried to get more into weddings and portraits, where you can actually make more money,î he said. ìBut I donít enjoy it as much as landscapes. It kind of took the fun out of it.î His favorite subject to capture in photographs is the sunrise. ìMost people arenít even awake to see the sunrise,î he said. ìI almost get mad because I donít have time to take a photo. I let the dog out, and I see the sky and think, ëI have to go to work now.íîWhile living in Colorado, Leber discovered other hobbies that tie in with his photography. ìIt is nice because I can combine things I like: photography, backpacking and fishing,î he said. He also likes to camp, and a favorite location is the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. ìThere are a lot of lakes, and I can go fishing there, too,î he said. Leber said he also enjoys the solitude. ìThere are not as many people there; sometimes you donít see anyone the whole weekend.îThanks to social media such as Facebook and his website, more people are discovering Leberís work. Some of his individual pieces have received more than 16,000 ìlikes,î and he receives comments and emails from fans across the globe. ìI get messages from people all over the world,î he said. ìIn the beginning, I could say this picture was taken in Falcon. Now, I have to specify Falcon, Colorado.îLeber plans to take his wife to Germany next year, and eventually wants to travel to Argentina, Alaska and Hawaii. He is, however, content with living in Colorado. ìI could be happy here the rest of my life.îFollow Lars Leber Photography on Facebook or visit his website at http://larsleber.net
