I do not like crowds. But if you want to see something famous, there is little choice sometimes.
I visited ‘Orsay in 2015, and while it was busy then it was not so bad. But the crowds of tourists from one particular country in the Mona Lisa room at the Louvre, and the hall of mirrors at Versailles were intolerable. It was the era of the selfie stick, and I grew to hate the things. These folks would slide right in front of me just for their selfie.
This week at Yosemite I took a popular trail to Sentinel Dome, and even there I had to give up on certain shots because other tourists were in the way.
As for the Mona Lisa, if you really want to see the Mona Lisa–A Mona Lisa by Leonardo–go see the one in the Prado. No lines. No crowds. You can go right up to it and look. Of course the one in the Louvre is a zoo and the barrier forces you to stand at least 12-15 M away. Although…in a way it is good because it is such a magnet that many of the other rooms are essentially empty. I wonder how many people go to the Louvre just for the Mona Lisa and then leave…
OH, and just for fun–there’s this I overheard in the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona:
DUDE 1: Uhhhh dude man, like, what’s a Gaudi? DUDE 2: Uhhhh, well, like, I think it’s an architect or something (?)
For me, at my age, I now take photos mainly for a record. A record of trips/days out as a visual diary of places we visited. And a record of the architecture & the old ‘furniture’ in our old churches here in the UK. Every time we stay away I check out those that have interesting features for me, and I work out an itinerie to visit them. Of course some of them are closed & I cant get in to photo inside. But so many are open & because there are hundreds of small & isolated rural chapels & village churches I find I’m there alone & can take as much time as I want with my tripod. I don’t ever use flash - just the natural light or the larger ones sometimes have lights on, - & some are so dark, (no electrity). It’s my hobby & I dont end up with fantastic I wish I was there shots - just record shots. I’ve so far photographed 1700 different churches in UK and have 7000 images of our (mainly) old treasures. It’s taken us on so many adventures to small out of the way forgotten places throughout UK - rural villages & hamlets as well as our larger towns. I now have all my records filed in area/counties order & alphabetically so I can find them easily. It also gives me a date so I can know when we were in that particular area. I also have a few landscape/urban shots of the places we visited & anything other that took my fancy, rarely people. Then each Springtime I get a photobook printed of our times we had. It’s surprising how after a couple of years one forgets these things & places. I also have photobooks of the churches I’ve recorded. A few by their County, but recently a few grouped by their treasures - ie glass/monuments/screens/wall paintings/ceilings/fonts etc.
So, this w/e I am planning to head off to West Wales. The Ancient Monuments people here in Wales (CADW) have an open doors month & they will open a few very small, rural churches that would otherwise be closed. So - I’d better get my skates on & check my batteries are charged!
ps - I’d be interested to hear from anyone else who has a similar hobby.
Wow! That is a very impressive statistic. I’d love to see some highlights.
I have done a bit of plane-spotting over the years, I have ~60 distinct aircraft types, but that’s counting an A320-neo distinct from an A320, also A319 and A321 types. I’ve not put much effort into getting to find some of the rarer types. There are some folks in local clubs who make a point of going out to catch unusual types, but I’ve been more of an opportunist.
@lphilpot I’m coming to the conversation a bit late. I am a road-tripper and have logged 100,000+ miles across the US. I have some thoughts.
You said that on your road-tripping “seeing the countryside is a big part of the enjoyment. Although we want to visit beautiful outdoor / natural places and I definitely want to do landscape photography if at all possible, this is not about exclusively photography-dedicated trips.”
This is good to know, because phto destination trips, and photos-while-traveling are two different beasts, IMO.
You said that you were “wondering about how others plan trips, not as much specifically where” and you referenced “online photographic location recommendations (especially landscape).” I believe that how you plan for a trip is tied to where you plan on going. So forgive me for asking the following questions, but the answers aren’t for me, there for you. On these trips, what will be the aim of the “landscape photography” images…why will you be taking the photos you take? Who is/will be the audience? What are you going to do with them in their final form? What is/will be the medium? Etc. I ask because the end result can probably inform the location finding, subject matter, condition requirements, etc.
I’ve lived in the western US for 40+ years and I now live on the coast of North Carolina - two vastly different geological and climatological landscapes to plan around. I love taking photos of seascapes with soaring cliffs, and waves crashing on rocks…a trip to Oregon’s coast or South Carolina’s coast. Combine that subject matter, with those two locations, and there’s only one of those locations I could go to. So something has to give - my pocketbook, or my expectations.
It took me decades to find beauty in the sagebrush-riddled deserts of the Basin and Range area between the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky Mountains, but once I understood them, and spent years in them, I came to love it, and my photography changed. Coming to know a place, intimately, takes time and dedication. But when we are visitors, we don’t have that luxury. But we do have the seeing-it-for-the-first-time awe of it all, which can capture another type of image, just as impactful to the photographer as the intimate can be.
So, a couple of ideas for planning tips for me. These are more brainstomring thoughts rather than cohesive advice paragraphs—feel free to ask any questions on specifics.
As much as possible I like to get to know a place before I get there - what’s the geography, climate, plant and animal life like? Where is the running water (I’m a fly fisherman, so many of my trips combine the two)? What’s the watershed? Where are the high points? Etc. After reading about this information, I look online for photos of the places I am traveling through to see what it looks like (especially during the season I’ll be traveling there)—it’s one thing to read about it, and another to see it. I’m not looking for spots to photograph, necessarily, but rather what the terrain will look like when I get there so I’m prepared for what I see.
When possible, have a four-wheel drive vehicle—it’s amazing how close you can get to a lot of places and reduce your walking (I just had a whole knee replacement a couple of weeks ago, so this is on my mind a lot).
When/if possible, camp. The west is an entirely different experience that the east: there are exceptionally few days I would even think about camping in the south and east because of humidity. However, in the west, I camped. a lot! And coupled with a four wheel drive, it’s amazing the amount of room there is to roam in beautiful country seeing few-to-no people (if you’re into this kind of thing, be prepared, and a satellite phone is strongly recommended). For the west, get to know US Forest Service and BLM land—you can drive thousands of miles on lonely dirt roads through beautiful country where you can literally stop wherever you want and camp for free. I have spent countless days doing that.
Get lists/maps of public lands wherever you travel.
Look for bird/animal refuges.
Get a National Parks Pass - based on your age, you probably qualify for the lifetime pass at $80.
Look at public land surrounding the national parks—there are often places abutting national parks that are just as beautiful, but free, and, more importantly from what you said, people-free. Download OSM maps of those adjacent areas and see how to access them. A few years ago I spent three days outside Zion National Park (I had a park pass and could have gone in, but it was spring break) and explored people-free beauty all three days.
Don’t sleep on state parks. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, used to be a state park. When it was a state park, there was no entry fee, and hardly any people. Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, still a state park, but not as many people as other redrock national parks (granted it is much smaller than a national park).
Use the “near me” feature in Google maps. Last year when i was in the Smoky Mountains, I simply typed in, “waterfalls near me” and was given a bunch of waterfalls, and then drove to a few.
When road tripping, if you have time, use the “blue highways” (William Least Heat Moon wrote a boox, Blue Highways of traveling the backroads of America using just the blue roads on his map—i.e., stay off the freeways and stick to as many two lane roads as possible). Stop and smell the roses, and take photos, along the way—some of my best photos have been on the way to or from the main photo destination.
Talk to locals. I spent two months traveling the UK by car one summer. I took only off-the-beaten-path routes. I showed up in small places, and would often be asked what I was doing there. I said I was on holiday and traveling. They would say, “I mean, why here in our village?” They would ask because it wasn’t a tourist location. But I would strike up conversations and often get great information about places to photograph nearby. When you stop for gas, ask. When you stop for groceries, ask. Etc. Not to age shame the younger folk, but I usually get better info from older locals than younger. And be specific when possible; “Is there a remote location with good views of that mountain I see over there?” “Do you know of any public acess to that forest down the road?” Etc
Absolutely. If I were going by myself, exclusively for photography, I would have more flexibility. But my wife is going with me. As mentioned I want to shoot some, best I can, but I don’t have 100% flexibility.
Because I enjoy it and want to capture the landscape for my own purposes. If I come back with zero (decent) photos, then in a very real way the trip has been mostly a waste of time, once it’s over. Trips are good only while they last and memories thereafter are basically worthless. Only images persist.
Me, mostly. I’ll post them on Flickr and maybe a few on other social media. But other than me (and a few places like here) it’s limited to mostly, “Oh that’s nice”…
They’ll remain on my network until I’m gone (neither my wife nor my daughter have any idea where / how to find them, nor any interest in preserving any of them when I’m gone).
I don’t own a printer and living in Louisiana, it would be a fool’s errand to buy one for landscape photography. I’ve toyed with the idea of sending a few images to Whitewall, but honestly the hassle of getting all the variables nailed down by trial and error hardly seems worth it considering the ‘quality’ of my photography. Yeah, I know there are soft profiles, etc., etc., but basically the only way to know what all the service bureau options do is to print a series of images with each of them enabled (only). Even at a proof level that can get $$$ pretty quickly.
And there’s no way I ever want to sell any images.
Digital only, almost certainly.
I’m there, too, except it applies to any shots I want to take (travel requirement, that is).
My truck is RWD only so that’s unlikely. It wouldn’t make much sense to take my vehicle, only to rent another one when I got there. I totally understand the advantages and if this was a photo-dedicated trip…
Unfortunately, not a possibility given the context. Again if this was a photo-only trip… But I have to admit at 67 I find getting up off the ground not as much fun as it used to be. Plus, getting all kitted-out for camping – once – and then not using it again seem a little… whatever.
I’ve had one for five years.
Yeah, we do that when it makes sense. Our last trip “by” the Smokies (en route from Elkins, WV, via Knoxville area, to southern AL) we went through rural Georgia as much as possible. Two lane roads, in the rain, behind semi trucks… yay. On that occasion, I-85 looked pretty good by the time we got there.
Wow, that’s very impressive. Quite a record you have amassed there–I would think it has great historical value. I would enjoy seeing some of your work!
I read this last year and greatly enjoyed it. He discusses some very interesting out of the way places in Britain, focusing a fair amount on country churches.
My wife and I may be headed to London again next year. It has been many years! I am a megalithomanic and want to find some interesting ancient stone monuments (not named Stonehenge) near London. Will also likely go to see Canterbury and the cathedral. However, we are not renting a car!
I noted about your book mentioned. I’ll try to get round to it sometime.
There’s not many henges near London, at least that I’m aware of; most were levelled years ago when history meant less. Avoid touristy Stonehenge. You need to go to the Scottish Isles or Ireland for the best examples. But there are still lesser examples all over the UK.
Our old churches are a wonderful museum of architecture, furnishings & art in them from the last 1,000+ yrs. with examples from all the centuries. Here’s a few of my images, all from Wales, except two. There is a living yew tree near us, in Defynnog Churchyard, that is reputed from carbon dating to be about 5,000 yrs old! That’s the same age as Stonehenge, (!) - but I do find it hard to believe. There are, however, plenty of yews that are at least 2 to 3,000yrs old.
Thanks for the insights and beautiful photos and interesting captions! I can imagine there is an enormous wealth of fascinating art, sculpture, stained glass, stonework and the like to see in old English churches–aside from the larger and more famous cathedrals. I am especially fascinated by the abundant pagan and apocryphal motifs in some early churches–things that would be anathema today: Zodiac symbols, labyrinths (e.g., Chartres), little demons, monsters and the like, including the mermaid you included (seems to have a bit of Viking influence, also as seen in some Irish art–notably the Cross of Cong)
My wife and I did see Stonehenge in the 90s when we were last in England together. It was wonderful to see it, and the crowds were not all that bad. Today, I suppose it is worse! We are not all that motivated to return…
We have seen a few megaliths in Ireland–Newgrange (controversial I know!), Kenmare stone circle (my favorite), Poulnabrone dolmen, as well as the alignments in Carnac (Brittany).
(I am an Irish citizen myself, although we have only been there once, sadly. May retire there in a decade or so.)
Orkney and the rest of Scotland are definitely on our list! Some day!
Sláinte!
EDIT: I included a few of mine Poulanbrone Dolmen and the Alignments at Carnac
Uups I kind of missed this discussion although I have experience with this.
But in a lot of things I think I agree with @Tamas_Papp. I have a big collection of hiking books. I think this is different in different cultures, but in the German speaking area and also in Hungary there is a lot of good hiking literature. But I think this is a bit different in the US. My experience is that you dont find really good info on websites, they are mostly only good to check if a specific trail is closed.
You are not too old under 70 to start hiking at all. In an book or maybe also on websites you can find easy trails, too. Even easy trails/Walks with awesome views.
If I go abroad, I usually do research and inform myself about the most important destinations but meanwhile I do not have the time to do very detailed research. So a lot of things I decide when I am on spot.
Also my experience and thats also why my pixelfed account has more than 4000 followers is that i like to document the region where i live. This way I can also find beautiful but less crowded or even loney places. So my recommendation is go somewhere and stay there for at least one month, if thats possible.
To me it depends a bit where I’m heading to…
A family holiday trip… being on the road and I see on the map there’s a village or city with a funny name, I can’t resist doing a detour.
This way, a couple of years ago I visited ‘Bitche’ in France.
" Bitche has long been a highly contested border stronghold, strategically situated in northeastern France near the German border. Originally part of the Holy Roman Empire, it officially became French in 1766. Its military significance peaked when the legendary royal architect Vauban transformed its medieval castle into a massive pink sandstone citadel. The fortress achieved legendary status during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), when the French garrison withstood a brutal German siege for 230 days, only surrendering well after the rest of the nation had already capitulated.
Following a period of German annexation, the town returned to France after WWI, only to face severe destruction during World War II due to its position along the heavily fortified Maginot Line. After months of fierce winter combat, the US Army’s 100th Infantry Division broke through the German defenses and officially liberated the town on March 16, 1945. The American soldiers proudly raised a secretly hand-sewn US flag over the town center, a historic feat that earned the division their famous, affectionate military nickname: the “Sons of Bitche”."
Did you visit the Citadelle de Bitche as well? Highly recommended! When I was visiting, an audio guide was included which was well made and provided in some areas an immersion into the history of this site.
Alas no, we arrived after a whole day driving, just before dinner. And the next day we left early for another day driving home.
Our room had a wonderful view towards the citadelle. It was a beautiful place and apart from that, there were a couple of old houses/buildings I saw along the route in that village that were interesting to photograph, they looked a bit abandoned, it smelled like urban exploring to me but my company didn’t want to take some time to stop for that anymore.
If I were alone, I could spend another day over there…
Interesting…a lot of the material in this thread, which led to the creation of the new category, would not fit within the guidelines in the About the Travel and Trip Planning Category thread. I’d like to see the category also be open to discussion of tools, web sites, and other sources of trip planning information
I have two points to contribute, both of questionable value to others I imagine - but I believe in them firmly.
I think there are few things more rewarding in landscape photography than your own “backyard”. Especially if the primary audience is the photographer. I much rather see an interesting photos of a “plain” location than a 100th photo of the same spot.
Light is essential. If bringing back photos from the trip is the objective, I would plan my days to get up an hour or two before sunrise to get the best light. And probably have a nap around lunchtime.
For me, the trouble is I’ve done 100 photos of the same “plain” locationS, many times over. It’s now time for something legit.
That’s a given.
Again for me the biggest obstacle I face, planning-wise, is to learn the real facts / truth about multiple locations, so I can ferret-out the actual good (i.e., exact) spots. I need to come up with a workable plan – including contingencies – months / years in advance and 1000s of miles away. It’s daunting and can be somewhat overwhelming.
I guess there’s just no substitute for the hard work of plowing through the online “noise” of reviews, tourist sites, blogs, etc to compile reliable info.
