Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Landscape Photography Locations => Topic started by: annbeaumont on March 12, 2014, 01:25:09 pm
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I've moved to West Virginia during my senior year in photography at Savannah College of Art and Design and have taken to shooting landscapes. The reason I have come to West Virginia in the first place is because it seems like a great place to get away from everything and at the same time it has a bad rep from shows such as Buck Wild and other negative stereotypes, but it is dense in natural resources and sparsely populated areas. It's wild and wonderful here, more or less. I want to shoot the good and the bad here, and definitely more of the good, rather than merely focusing on the trashy aspects of West Virginia. I know there are trashy places anywhere and there are also nice places.
That being the case, I am not sure how to market my photographs, which is one conundrum I'm having. Are there any specific areas to shoot that will help? Should I only shoot tourist destinations in order to get more attention? Does that even help or is it overdone? I've had a variety of answers considering the New River Gorge Bridge because it seems to be the main thing photographed here in Southern West Virginia, along with the Grist Mill at Babcock State Park.
I know I put in all the work and I think the quality is great, which you can decide for your own by glancing through some here, www.annbeaumont.com. You'll see many in the landscapes section and all in the West Virginia gallery of the Travel collection.
So, I guess I have a couple questions.
1. Where should I go in West Virginia to photograph, and what season(s), for anyone who photographs in West Virginia?
2. How can I make a living as a landscape photographer, or a photographer who doesn't shoot portraits? Should it expand into travel photography? If so, how? Those are my specialties....
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Welcome to LuLa! Plan on putting a lot of miles on your car and your feet. You get to become the expert. Contact the local hiking club and kayak club for leads. Study your state's conservation department materials.
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Awesome, thanks Nancy.
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https://www.facebook.com/josephrossbachphotography/photos/a.122650088960.94689.122416378960/10152196986688961/?type=1&theater
He seems pretty successful and shoots quite a bit in WV
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Ann,
I live in the Charleston area and I know what you mean about the NRG and Grist Mill! Our-WV.com (http://our-wv.com) has a website that promotes WV photographers as well as other artisans. You might have a look at the various galleries there to see what people are shooting. They also have a Facebook page with the same name where anyone can post pictures. A few other FB groups that you might look at are Spotlight West Virginia, West Virginia Waterfalls, and West Virginia Scenic Photography. Hopefully you will get some ideas from some of these. BTW, my favorite area to photograph is the Blackwater Falls State Park area to include Dolly Sods. Good luck!