Kim Todd’s photo “Fall Aspens and Wilson Peak near Telluride Colorado” is the colorful introduction to the Colorado Weather Calendar 2014, apparently marking the first time a Durango photographer has been featured on the cover.

“I have been in (the calendar) for several years now,” Todd said. “One reason I choose this calendar is that it is a very prominent calendar, and another is that it picks a benefit to support. This is a way I can use my work as a donation.”

Proceeds from this year’s calendar go to the American Red Cross disaster relief programs in Colorado.

Weather Calendars feature weather- and climate-related information, such as sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset times, moon phases and astronomical events, record high and low temps, as well as averages from 1981-2010.

The calendar limited the photo submissions to 20 images per photographer. One of Todd’s goals was to put as much variety in his photo submissions as possible. He selected the photo on the cover because the morning light really emphasized the colors of the fall aspen and the mountain peak against the sky.

Todd’s photographs have been used on the city of Durango website, Durango Magazine and the cover for Directory Plus phone books, in addition to many other calendars and publications. He worked for six years with the calendar company Thayer Publishing as the sole photographer for steam trains, one of his focuses for his photography.

“The editor and publisher of the calendar liked the fact I did steam trains,” Todd said, and his pictures of trains have been featured accordingly. November features his image of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad as it plows its way through an early October snow.

A third month, July, features Todd’s small accent photo of a mother moose nursing her calf.

“The picture was taken by Lake City, Colorado, where moose are plentiful,” Todd said. “I hiked away from the road a little ways and came upon her in a clearing. I spent anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour taking pictures of her with a telescopic lens. Toward the end of the session, she was relaxed enough to allow her calf to nurse in front of me.”

The calendar can be found at http://weather-calendar.com/ under the Colorado link.

Hannah Robertson is a Durango High School senior who is spending several hours a week studying media in The Durango Herald newsroom.