“What a photograph is to me? It is a framing of life and the stopping of a moment. It’s a way of looking at life that makes me take a closer look at it,” said Daniel Bayer, a seasoned commercial and editorial photographer who has been covering Aspen Institute events for almost two decades. His artistic philosophy infuses his work, shaping the iconic tapestry of moments at the Institute.
Bayer’s interest in photography started at the early age of eight when he began exploring his dad’s old unused cameras stowed away in their garage. He began taking photos of the moon and the stars, but he soon realized his passion for aviation photography when one day he was tasked with developing eight rolls of film full of aircraft carrier pictures. He joined the Navy after finishing high school as a jet engine mechanic to make his way to photographing the aircraft carriers. A few years later, he moved to Aspen and began working at the Aspen Times to continue his work as a photographer in an inspiring setting.
Impressed by his exceptional work at the newspaper, a staff member at the Aspen Institute contacted Bayer in 2004 to photograph an event, and this was the beginning of his remarkable journey with the Institute.
“20 years later my experience at the Aspen Institute has allowed me to gain incredible perspectives on the world and create a body of work that I hope adds to the amazing legacy of the organization,” Bayer said.
Bayer believes that his work at the Institute has not only inspired him to keep pushing his boundaries as a photographer but also drastically transformed his perspectives toward life, setting him up for pursuits beyond photography.
“I’ve seen that real stuff gets done. People get angry. They get tears in their eyes. They make new friends and acquaintances. They probably meet their wives at this Institute through the years. It’s a real thing,” said Bayer.
He has been on a quest to authentically and respectfully showcase such key moments and experiences. And over the years, he has discovered his hacks for reading the room and discreetly capturing intricate moments of joy, sorrow, warmth, and connection.
“It’s a razor blade of a tightrope walk because you really do need to get these remarkable images, but you’ve got to just stay in the lane of comfort as best as you can. And not your own, but everyone else around you,” he said.“It’s like being a White House press photographer, but over 20 years, because that’s the type of imagery, sensitivity, and decorum you need to have to do this job.”
Bayer is especially fascinated by the Aspen Ideas Festival each year because for him it is like going on an exciting excursion. Bayer shared, “It’s a swimming pool I dive into with the scuba gear on and I don’t come up for air until it’s done. And so I’m living in that undersea world of making images.”
Having closely witnessed the Institute’s gradual evolution over time and its profound impact on him, Bayer looks forward to continue growing along with it.
“I truly believe that the world needs the work the Institute does more than ever, so this inspires me to keep doing the best I can to tell the visual story of the Aspen Institute.”
We asked Daniel to share some of his favorite images and a few works from his years of photographing at Aspen Institute in his own words below.
Jane Goodall signs books, posters, and other memorabilia at the Aspen Ideas Festival 2005. By Daniel Bayer for the Aspen Institute.
“One of my favorite ones was in the 2005 Ideas Festival when Jane Goodall was autographing books and posters. And I just couldn’t help but look down and there’s the hand of the primate touching her hair in this poster, and she’s touching the poster with a pen, and there was this symbiosis in it. So I just held my camera up – call it Hail Mary style – and just photographed it from overhead.”
Bill Clinton kisses the hand of Toni Morrison in Harris Hall at the Aspen Ideas Festival 2005. By Daniel Bayer for the Aspen Institute.
“Bill Clinton spoke at Harris Hall for the 2005 Ideas Festival, and Toni Morrison was in the front row, and as he was concluding what he was doing, he saw her and stopped and kissed her hand and she looked up. And so that image is kind of a White House photographer moment. You got to be there, you got to have access, and you got to be ready for it.”
American opera singer Jessie Norman loses herself in the sound of a recent operatic performance recording while in a panel at the Koch building during Aspen Ideas Festival 2007. By Daniel Bayer for the Aspen Institute.
“Jessie’s under the fluorescent light in the Booz Allen Hamilton room in the Koch building. This is 2007. And she had this little tape deck and they took a break for a moment in the panel discussion about her opera performances, and she shared a performance with the audience, and then she just kind of looked up and lost herself in the moment. And I just couldn’t believe the expression on her face. Portraits like this are just timeless and they add to the collection of what Aspen Institute as a gathering place is like.”
American singer and songwriter Jon Batiste performs for the first time at the Benedict Music Tent in 2014. By Daniel Bayer for the Aspen Institute.
“This was before anybody knew who the heck Jon Batiste was. Walter Paepcke recognized him in New Orleans back in 2014, and he brought that crazy electric harmonica thing and he performed at the music tent during the afternoon of conversation. He’s got this just outward energy that makes people, if nothing else, just stop, watch, and listen. He’s very captivating. He’s just a different dude, man. And he’s always been that way. Knowing who he was then and who he is now, it’s fun to be part of that progression of somebody’s life and to be there making images along the way. It’s pretty remarkable.”
Dancer and actor Charles “Lil Buck” Riley performs a special dance piece in a pond at Anderson Park during the Aspen Ideas Festival. By Daniel Bayer for the Aspen Institute.
“Lil Buck and this other artist had gone ahead and set up these eye panels in the background knowing they were going to do this performance, and I wondered what the heck that was all about. And then I go walking from one panel to the other side of campus, and I see them out there doing this. And so I made that image just on the way to another panel. You would be surprised how little time there is to make that kind of image. He’s like an athletic performer.”
Canadian model Winnie Harlow poses for a photo in the Paepcke Auditorium after a panel discussion at the Aspen Ideas Festival 2022. By Daniel Bayer for the Aspen Institute.
“On the side of Paepcke Auditorium, there are two roll-up doors that allow light and air to come in because it can get a little stuffy in there. So on warmer days, they’ll open those side doors up. And so she’s walking out with the other two models who were on the panel, and I look up and just see this light coming in. And I’m like, “Oh my gosh, can I get a picture of you real quick?” I just took one image, and it is the most spectacular, Vermeer-looking light you could ever want to see on somebody. I think she just looks marvelous in it.”
An in-camera multiple exposures that illustrate the Aspen Institute’s philosophy of the Aspen Idea: the culmination of Mind, Body, and Spirit. By Daniel Bayer for the Aspen Institute.
“In this particular case, I wanted to find ways of symbolizing, through multiple exposures, Walter Paepcke’s idea of Aspen being the convergence of your mind, body, and spirit, and how to elevate all three of them through the calming experience of allowing yourself to be at Aspen. There is a brain sculpture that is no longer there outside of Paepcke, the Aspen trees, and then my hand reaching up towards the sun. I like these types of images a lot because they’re not low-hanging fruit, they’re not hidden, but you’ve got to kind of just explore a bit to reveal them. It’s a departure from the journalistic imagery.”
