VoFLC: Cole Davis

So, I got to Durango back in 2011 when I applied for a job as a rock climbing guide and a mountain bike guide at this camp called Kivu, up near Vyas, Ido, that was 10 years ago. It's hard to believe. But for the last eight years, I've been living here working as a freelance photographer, and it was March 2021 when I shattered my spine. In the hospital, I got a call saying that I got the job as a head photographer for Fort Lewis College. It was a pretty exciting moment because I had been looking for a steady job, and it was definitely the right timing.

Here's my favorite campus story.

It was 6:30 after a long day of classes at Fort Lewis College, the stoke was high to capture that cinematic golden light, and myself, Shan Wells, and my intern Jack, were ready to capture the action on camera for the marketing department. After taking a few obligatory portraits at the top of the hill, the drone was in the air, and the little ski hill was packed on a Wednesday night. Little did we know that our shoot would become a near disaster moments later. I was rapid-firing my Sony A74 as Dylan, Ben, and Chloe scraped the ice with their skis. Their first turns looked great on camera, spraying snow into the air. Then all of a sudden, we heard a loud snap of Ben's boots popping off his skis on a tight turn. I lowered my camera and looked up to see if everyone was okay. When I noticed his skis were headed right toward a large group of kids getting ready to drop in about halfway down the hill.

I held my breath as I imagined those two sharp missiles carving through the children like butter on hot flapjacks and blood covering the white snow in the evening light. It was a terrifying moment because this shoot was my idea, my responsibility. I would have to explain this to the authorities and the parents of those poor kids. Frozen in terror, camera forgotten, I watched in awe as Dylan straight-lined his skis down the icy slope and, by some miracle, cut off both of Ben's skis just a moment before impacting the group of children. It was way too close. But I took a deep breath and sighed with relief. The day was saved, and the shoot was definitely over. And those little kids were okay.

It just goes to show that not everything always works out the way it was planned. It's good to roll with the punches and not stress yourself out when mistakes are made. And in my case, I had a pretty good reason to be stressed with those kids' lives on the line. But in everyday normal situations like an exam that you could have studied a little harder for, it's best not to beat yourself up. Stay thankful for another sunrise or another sunset.

My name is Cole Davis, and I'm the photographer for marketing and communications here for