My Bucket List Photo Locations
This one is almost a little but self indulgent, but I suppose this is also some kind of accountability post for me to try and get my backside into gear. It also goes without saying that because this is my current bucket-list of my landscape photography locations, that none of the images that appear in here are mine, they have all been taken from the free SquareSpace stock library, which uses Unsplash - I have credited all of the photographers at the end of this entry, so go and check out their Unsplash profiles!
I don’t have a timeline, or any definite plans in place to shoot any of these places as it stands, and a lot of them are out of the country so that adds another layer of complexity. These are places I have either discovered since I started my landscape photography journey, or are places that I have always wanted to visit and shoot - some of them aren’t even landscape locations but park back to my days as an urban and street photographer. Let’s get into it…
Moraine Lake
When I first started photography (of any kind!), someone who was a huge influence on me, and who taught me a lot, was, you guessed it, Peter McKinnon.
This first selection seems like a bit of a cop out, seeing as this is PM’s original ‘bucket shot’, but when I first clapped eyes on this place, I immediately understood why. The still, blue tinged water lined with trees and the mirror reflections are the stuff of landscape photography dreams and I am determined, that one day, I will have my own print, of my own shot from here.
2. Skogafoss Waterfall - Iceland
I think this image speaks for itself, in fact, I expect a lot of them do as we move through the list. I’m a huge fan of long exposure photography (definitely a hangover from my low light days in city), and waterfalls make great long exposure subjects.
Not only does the long exposure appeal to me, but the opportunities to show the scale and play with the colours, especially the greens which flank it on either side mean that I find the prospect of shooting this location really exciting, and with all of that foreground texture and interest, I think this is going to be an incredible place to shoot.
3. Tokyo - Japan
One of my favourite things to shoot has always been neon lights, not that I get much chance to do it anymore, (they’re not so common in the countryside) and one my favourite photobooks is TO:KY:OO, by Liam Wong. If you haven’t read this, then you must - it is simply incredible.
I think that this will be an amazing experience, playing with the light, the colour and the different spaces, the night time moods that can be captured are incredible and I am yearning for a little taste of city photography again, it’s been a few years since I flexed that particular photography muscle and I feel like a trip here is long overdue.
4. Route 66 - USA
This is something I have wanted to do since before I was a photographer; I love to drive and see new things and when I got into photography a few years ago, I realised quite quickly that this would be an incredible combination of photography and driving some insane hire car across The States.
Not only would this trip combine driving and photography, but having watched waaaaay too much YouTube on this topic, it’s clear to see that this a journey would allow for a whole gamut of photography genres,styles and compositions; long leading lines, huge
sunsets, architectural and low light photography, not to mention more landscapes than you can shake a stick at, as well as, more than likely, some awesome food as well!
5. The Scottish Highlands
I only visited Scotland for the first time within the last 12 months, and the tiny section I have already seen, as well hours spent poring through phonebooks have made this one a firm fixture on this list, and one that is likely to happen more quickly than some of the others.
It’s got it all from the tallest mountain in the UK (others are available!) as well as huge bodies of water, stunning coastlines and wildlife, castles and (allegedly!) and monster.
6. New York
I told you some of these wouldn’t be solely landscape focused. Having lived and shot London for a number of years, The Big Apple, for me is an absolute must.
I feel like I know this city really well from having seen so much of it on TV and online (thanks Casey Neistat) and have an immense shot list that I want to tick off whilst I am there, as well as having a bash at some NYC street photography; endless compositions, people, landmarks and panoramic views. What’s not to love from a photography perspective? Might even get ambushed by Bruce Gilden!
7. Lofoten - Norway
I have watched countless photographers photographing Lofoten on the North Western coast of Norway. Every time I have watched them, I have been so incredibly jealous. So much so, that Lofoten has made this list.
There’s so much in this location from snow covered mountains, to brightly coloured wooden buildings, and if you’re there at the right time, the Northern Lights can be a common sight here, and who doesn’t love seeing and photographing these?
I’m also a massive fan of not being too hot (or “‘ot” as we tend to say here), it’s another one of the amazing things about living where I do (though this summer the North West has often felt like the centre of the sun), and Lofoten isn’t known for being hot in the winter.
Warm clothes and warm drinks are the order of the day here and I can’t think of many better places to feel “just right” in terms of temperature!
The compositions in this place feel like they will be endless and to spend a day shooting them and then going back to relax in front of a roaring fire makes the idea of shooting here all the more appealing.
8. Patagonia - Arentina/Chile
I mean, just look at those lenticular clouds above the mountain. Look at the colour. Look at the mountains.
I’m sorry to say, that this is another one that I have seen done by a YouTuber (Thomas Heaton) and from the second I saw the landscape, the chances to tell stories and watch the landscape and the light evolving in front of you, I made a promise to myself that one day, I would make it to this part of the world to grab my own images.
9. Arctic/Antarctica
I know that there is a theme emerging here in that many of the places I have chosen are cold and these must be the two coldest places on the planet, and they’re pretty far apart from one another.
My main inspiration for wanting to visit here (aside from the very cute looking, but often dangerous animals) which are some of the ‘obvious’ reasons for wanting to go.
I also want to go because I think that photographically, despite the grandness of some of the landscapes, it will be a really challenging place to photograph. The lack of obvious features means that compositions are going to be more difficult to hunt down and figure out and the absence of many other colours other than blue or white, means that finding interest is going to take on a whole different level of difficulty.
For me, this is a challenge which is about using texture and a limited colour palette to be able to create interesting stories and to capture images of some of the most amazing wildlife that we have on earth.
I’m also hoping that the long daylight and vast amounts of reflected light are going to help me to keep those shutter speeds fast for when I am being chased down by a polar bear!
10. Ireland
Finally, Ireland. I've chosen a picture of The Giant’s Causeway for this, as I’d love to see and shoot it. Not just this, but everything else that’s I have chosen to shoot in this part of the world and have pinned on Google “My Maps”.
One thing we lack in The Lake District, is coastline, let alone the dramatic coastlines this place has to offer.
If manage to shoot here with the right conditions then I could well be in for some seriously amazing photogenic coastal photography opportunities.
This was a difficult list to write/compile, I could have a list of 200+ places I want to go and shoot. I have kept this list short so that you are able to digest the whole thing quickly. I know that speed isn’t going to be something that is possible when it comes to working my way through this list, it’s going to mean saving a lot of money to do it, but the memories and the images, I really hope, are going to be more than worth it.
I hope to share some images of one or many of these places when I've ticked some of them off.
Image Credits:
Moraine Lake: @john_artifexfilm on Unsplash.com; Skogafoss Waterfall: @dnevozhai on Unsplash.com; Tokyo: @agk42 on Unsplash.com; Route 66: @gerardag on Unsplash.com; Scottish Highlands: @connormollison on Unsplash.com; New York: @_miltiadis_ on Unsplash.com; Lofoten: @withluke on Unsplash.com; Patagonia: cyrus_smith on Unsplash.com; Artica/Antartica: @eadesstudio on Unsplash.com; Ireland: @katkelley on Unsplash.com