Resource for landscape photo locations

[mkirste]

Hey guys,

maybe you are interested in this ressoruce for landscape photo locations: www.naturephotolocations.com

I'm looking forward to hear your feedback

[NancyP]

Nice, for those who are going to those locations.
I ogle Backpacker Magazine, myself, and the regional hiking/camping guides. I don't live near any spectacular landscapes though, so I have to do "pastoral" or "forest".

[Jglaser757]

looks very extensive..I usually use Google Earth myself. its part of the FUn!

[luxborealis]

Paying the ~10€ would be enticing for some, but, so far, I've found all I need online and have seen the best (and many local favourites) of England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Tanzania, South Florida, Canada (East, West and Ontario). Even if I paid the money, I would still do a full online search to ensure I wasn't just seeing the most touristy spots.

Without knowing exactly what I'd get for the price, it's difficult to know if it's money well-spent or things I would see in a good guidebook, which I would buy anyway due to all the additional info (and, in some cases, dis-info!).

Good luck with it though. I've often thought of doing the same thing!

[Jimbo57]

You will find two types of "photographer" on this chatroom:

(a) Those who want GPS co-ordinates for the actual tripod holes used by others.

(b) Those who despise those who fit (a).

Good luck.

[mkirste]

hey thank you a lot for your comments

@luxborealis: I would also always do a personal search ontop of other sources, but i think those packages are a really good starting point. And he ~10€ will save you a lot of time.
@Jimbo57: Yes thats true. probably photographing icons and "own" lesser known locations is the best

[NancyP]

I think that I would be both A and B. I am an amateur, and would take photos at a popular location if I was passing through. I am more interested in the process of exploring and finding my own favorite tripod holes. On a humble note, tons of Missourians have taken photos of some local geologic oddities ("Elephant Rocks"), but it is possible to take photos that have some individuality.

[dreed]

I thought about doing this many years ago with a website that was free and community driven.

But the catch was, how do you get people to share? And how would it be different to panoramio, etc?

I'm afraid there are too many people that want to just copy and not give back or don't want to share because they think that it wasn't cheap or easy to find a location so why make it so for others? So in that sense, maybe charging for photo locations makes it sensible?

The other catch is being in a given location is only part of the challenge. The other is getting the right time of day and the final one is, as we all know, the weather.

[NancyP]

Well, I buy trail guides, so if someone has trail guides with some info on good photo-ops, I would pay. But, it is necessary to have trail map, estimate of difficulty, reference to USGS quad, useful comments about water and weather, and I think nowadays the trail guides could put in whether or not there is cell phone access or good satellite access.

[Lonnie Utah]

Yeah, you've left off like 1,000,000 locations in Utah...

[DeanChriss]

There are not many great photo locations that can't be found with some effort. When such a location is widely publicized many who would not have made the effort to find the place go to it, and the place becomes incredibly crowded. Going to the place then becomes unenjoyable and getting a decent photo becomes far more difficult, especially if you want a different composition than your position in the crowd will allow, or a wide shot without people in it. Depending on the spot, you not only have to beat the sun to the location, you have to arrive hours ahead to get a good spot, which you often can't move from later if you want to. What fun!

Everyone has a right to be anywhere they like and I'd never discourage anyone from going to a particular place. I think that's quite different than the active promotion of every good photo location that can be accumulated. Advertising really works, and there are more than enough photographers and others influenced by it to overwhelm any well advertised location. For example there would commonly be no one at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands at sunrise, even in good weather months like September. Now it's a circus. Delicate Arch became excessively crowded when photos of it first appeared on Utah license plates and in brochures promoting tourism. There are countless similar situations all over the country.

Once upon a time people actually had to find places and wildlife in order to photograph them. That involved time exploring and experiencing the area you wanted to photograph, which in turn provided great connection to the subject. I think that has benefits for photography and beyond. Many want that effort reduced to a website click and a GPS setting so they only need to show up at the right time, which is also usually provided. Similar things are happening in the realm of wildlife photography, where real time sightings are now shared online via smart phones. Big crowds show up amazingly fast, often surrounding the wildlife and scaring it away or making photography impossible without including people.

[NancyP]

There's little fun to landscape photography if you aren't out there discovering your favorite bits of landscape. Ditto for wildlife.

 I do see a role for publicizing habituated wildlife, as an educational experience. Our central city park, 1300 acres (compare with Central Park in Manhattan, 843 acres), has had a great horned owl pair nesting close to the road in large cavities in two trees. You can see the trees, and the owls, from the sidewalk. A hobbyist keeps a website featuring these owls and fun facts about owls in general, is often in the park teaching anyone who ambles up and asks why he is looking at that tree. Often at dusk there would be two or three photographers. I used to have my camera on a tripod, with long lens trained on the nest hole, and swivel LCD at the ready for any young child who wanted to see the owls but might not be able to manage binoculars.

[Alistair]

Interesting. I guess if I was going to one of those locations I would buy it. Why not. But it does remove 70% of the challenge of landscape photography. I would be interested in how deep the locations go; are they just the iconic locations that you see images of everywhere or have you looked for new locations?
well done for the initiative, hope it goes well!

[luxborealis]

Interesting. I guess if I was going to one of those locations I would buy it. Why not. But it does remove 70% of the challenge of landscape photography. I would be interested in how deep the locations go; are they just the iconic locations that you see images of everywhere or have you looked for new locations?
well done for the initiative, hope it goes well!

This was my concern - not knowing what you get for the ~€10. At least with a guide book, one can flip through it before buying.