How to you scout a new location?

[trevorjchapman]

Hey everyone, how do you go about scouting for a location to shoot?  One of the things I struggle with is trying to think of places to go and photograph.  I live in Southern Ontario, Canada, which is not well know for stunning landscapes.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Trevor

[luxborealis]

Hi Trevor,

I live in southern, Ontario, too and know just what you mean, particularly if you're in the flatlands of the southwest.. If you are looking for dramatic landscapes, Ontario is rather vertically challenged. However, if you pay a visit to the Niagara Escarpment, I think you'll be amazed at the potential. Try these places, for starters...
   • Spencer Gorge Wilderness Area, Dundas with Tews Falls and Webster's Falls.
   • While you're in the area, stop by Tiffany Falls and Sherman Falls, Ancaster and take a hike around Dundas Valley
   • If you are further east, try Balls Falls near Grimsby and have a look at some of the vineyards a little further east, on the Bench
   • In the Burlington-Milton area, try Mt. Nemo, Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Rattlesnake Point and Hilton Falls CA
   • In the Mississauga area, stop by the Cheltenham Badlands, Limehouse, Terra Cotta and the Forks of the Credit up towards Caledonia
   • Further north there are some great 'scapes in the Mono Cliffs area of Dufferin County, the great topography of Airport Road and then there's the Beaver Valley area of Grey County - beautiful!
   • Further north still, you'll come to the Bruce Peninsula whose east coast along Georgian Bay is spectacular
You can find all of these places and the trails to get you there in the Bruce Trail Guidebook (www.brucetrail.org)

Have a look at the websites:
   • http://waterfallsofontario.com and
   • http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/maps/ontario.shtml
   • http://www.ontarioparks.com/park-locator
   • as well as the websites of local conservation authorities

Also, there is great potential east of Toronto along the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Peterborough Drumlin Field. Further east you'll find the Rideau Lakes and the Frontenac Arch.

Of course, there are also the myriad subtle landscapes of rural countryside, quiet streams and meadows scattered throughout southern Ontario. For them, (and all the others, frankly), I try to get out before sunrise and get driving, sometimes with a destination in mind, other times not. I tend to look for topography - river valleys, moraines, etc - something higher I can shoot from or shoot up towards.

Don't forget the amazing Great Lakes that surround us with beaches and wetlands and the odd shore bluff.

Try making a project of your local county. If you like nature, visit each of the natural areas at times when the lighting is best. If you like rural countryside, just get out driving. You'd be amazed at what places look like in the golden hours or just before/after a storm - completely different. Get out in the winter, too for a complete change of view!

Good luck and happy shooting. There is no end to the landscapes around here, subtle as they may, at times, seem.

[framah]

Here's a possibility...

Right along the roadside are little streams and runoff. If you close in on them and shoot past or around the garbage strewn around, it looks like a pretty, idilic spot.
It's all in the perspective of what is right on front of you.

Not everything has to be a vast panoramic vista.

[NancyP]

Michael Reichman is a fellow Ontarian. I don't know much about specifics in Ontario, but living in the Midwest (and yes, parts of southern Ontario are just like Ohio     ), weather, specifically, rotten weather, can be your friend. See a post labeled "Holy $%$(&$#" in the "about this site" subforum, and this example from the Michael's phlog ( www.luminous-endowment.org/pages/phlog6.html )  for examples.  No mountains, heck, we can beat measly mountains, just look at our 50,000 foot thunderclouds. Currently I am in Missouri (St. Louis), so hills, forests with a great-looking tree in the foreground, tiny seasonal creek waterfalls, river bluffs, the rivers themselves, and of course, great clouds are all on the to-watch-for lists.

[maddogmurph]

Pick an obscure location and be prepared.  Expect nothing.  Determination & an artistic eye will reveal to you truths others have not seen, and allow you to communicate them through your photographs.  Trudge the lonely path into the uncharted, ungoogled, unrecommended nooks and crannies of your domain.  There you'll find the greatest secrets.

Most photographers don't talk much of their failures, the days they go out expecting gold and get nothing.  I'm not proud of these days, but I'm learning to go back to my roots.  As a nature lover who's passion has turned to photography, I sometimes forget the reason for my passion.  It's simply that I've experienced such profound and beautiful events in my life that I felt compelled to share with others.  Unfortunately for me I'm realizing that's turned into an obsession with IQ, gear, locations to capture the best shot, and I have felt myself disconnect somewhat with my original pre-photographic self, where I didn't need to share with anyone to be satisfied with an outing.  Back to the roots for me.  Maybe I'll go on a trip without my camera... (I'm not sure that will ever happen again)...

[PhotoEcosse]

Pick an obscure location and be prepared.  Expect nothing.  Determination & an artistic eye will reveal to you truths others have not seen, and allow you to communicate them through your photographs.  Trudge the lonely path into the uncharted, ungoogled, unrecommended nooks and crannies of your domain.  There you'll find the greatest secrets.

Very well put.

On a more general slant, my "scouting" tends to be done in the middle of the day. As many of the best landscape photographs will be taken around dawn or dusk, there is usually time to scout a new area in the hours in-between. But still carry a camera - you never know what you may encounter.

[trevorjchapman]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback!

Hi Trevor,

I live in southern, Ontario, too and know just what you mean, particularly if you're in the flatlands of the southwest.. If you are looking for dramatic landscapes, Ontario is rather vertically challenged. However, if you pay a visit to the Niagara Escarpment, I think you'll be amazed at the potential. Try these places, for starters...
   • Spencer Gorge Wilderness Area, Dundas with Tews Falls and Webster's Falls.
   • While you're in the area, stop by Tiffany Falls and Sherman Falls, Ancaster and take a hike around Dundas Valley
   • If you are further east, try Balls Falls near Grimsby and have a look at some of the vineyards a little further east, on the Bench
   • In the Burlington-Milton area, try Mt. Nemo, Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Rattlesnake Point and Hilton Falls CA
   • In the Mississauga area, stop by the Cheltenham Badlands, Limehouse, Terra Cotta and the Forks of the Credit up towards Caledonia
   • Further north there are some great 'scapes in the Mono Cliffs area of Dufferin County, the great topography of Airport Road and then there's the Beaver Valley area of Grey County - beautiful!
   • Further north still, you'll come to the Bruce Peninsula whose east coast along Georgian Bay is spectacular

luxborealis, I also live in southern Ontario, Hamilton in fact, so I know those areas very well.  Living in Hamilton, I tend to focus on the waterfalls and I feel my portfolio is lacking the diversity I am looking for.  Now that fall is around the corner I might head to Mt Nemo or the Forks of the Credit for a little bit of a change.

[luxborealis]

Particularly now with warm days and cool nights, the ground fog in the morning out in the rural areas is spectacular. I would imagine locations along Jerseyville Road out of Ancaster or Governor's Road out of Dundas would be beautiful at first light.