Seeing these shots makes me want to dump my gear

All I know is I am extremely happy you provided that link. There's some amazing shots there, it's very inspiring. Makes me want to get out and shoot right now!

Slitherjef, I live in Denver, too, and since I don't have a car, either, last summer I took the Greyhound up to Frisco and hiked in the White River National Forest. I checked the weather out the day before, bought a ticket online, and got on the first bus west the next morning.

If you're in Denver, there are plenty of places to get away to when it's warm enough, even just a day trip if you're not into camping.

Have you ever been up to Mt. Evans? See if you can interest someone in driving up and going for a hike with you up there after it warms up a bit and re-opens next month. It's about 40 minutes from Denver, and totally worth it. I showed a friend of mine my pictures from the morning I went up there in August, and she said, "Wow, you took all those on one outing??" There were some decent shots, yes, but there's just a lot up there that will keep your camera rolling, from mountain goats, to elk, to high alpine lakes, to 14,000 foot vistas, to 1,500-year-old bristlecone pines.

I feel fortunate having lived in both the San Juan Islands (http://photos.danestro​m.com/sanjuans2010/), which is where the photos you linked to were taken, as well as Colorado. And soon, Mexico.

Also, LoDo has some photographic opportunities, if you can stand shooting city stuff. Denver was recently named one of the top cities for photographers by one of the photo mags.

To be honest, looking at most of the stunning work posted on POTN makes me want to dump my gear.

Find your own style and don't loath to imitate photographs that have already been taken and can be considered rather cliche`. Create something instead of follow the old.

The most beautiful sunset I've ever had the pleasure to photograph was in Death Valley, so while location can is always important in landcape photography, you can certainly develop an eye for your own locale and strive to create great images from what is around you there.

WaltA wrote in post #9965881
I live just up the beach (across the border) from there and we get awesome sunrise and sunset shots here.

However, I gotta say I lived in the prairies for 20 years (Calgary Alberta) and saw the sun going down over the Rockies every night and thats pretty damn awesome too.

Not much water there!

Ain't that the truth!

I feel the same way as the OP, living in suburban hell in a large city doesn't give me the opportunity of shooting beautiful sunsets and large bodies of water. The Rockies are only 90 mins west but I dont currently drive. I guess being mobile and living in an area that is interesting can create fantastic images, but it's also thinking outside of the box and using your environment to create images that really move people and make them unique.

Don't take this the wrong way, but you need to stop complaining and get out and about. There are plenty of scenic areas in and around the Denver area...it is what you make of it. Don't be fooled by the pictures you see on those blogs either...I'm not saying they're not great images, but a lot of those images were not captured on the very first foray to that area. Most, if not all, landscape shooters study the areas and plan well enough in advance, track the weather, not to mention re-visit most places numerous times until they get the 'right' shot. Its extremely rare to get out of the car, set up the tripod, snap a shot, and get a world-class image...there's much more to it than that. You get lemons, make lemonade...

Also, look into several magazine subscriptions...they can provide lots of good info for shooting opportunities/location​s. I get Texas Highways and Arizona Highways...maybe there's a Colorado version of the same.

If what you want to take is stunning landscapes that involve very large bodies of water then living anywhere except along a major coastline is going to lead to disappointment. If you want to capture the soul of the open plains then living along the edges of the Pacific Ocean is going to hamper you. If you want snow and you live in the south, you're probably stuck. If you want deserts and you live in the urban north-east, tough luck.

What it comes down to is that you need to decide what kinds of pictures you want to take, and then find a way to make it happen. If you're lucky then you'll have the money, ability and opportunity to travel (I wish I did). If you can't afford to travel then maybe picking what you want the most and then moving there is the way to accomplish your aims (that's what I did). If you can't travel and you can't move, look for what exists in your own—figurative—backyar​d, and take pictures of that (what I did before we moved).

This world is a beautiful place and there exists an incredible variety of scenes and environments you can capture. Even living in Northeastern Ohio for all of my youth up until six years ago I still managed to find numerous things that were worth shooting. Living where you do, with the close availability of the Rocky Mountains, you have many possibilities if you're willing to pursue them. One thing that comes instantly to mind is using a site like meetup.com to find a photography group near to you. If you can, then maybe you'll be able to carpool with other photographers to get to the places you can't reach on your own.

Hope this helps.