Does your neighborhood (or region) offer too few landscape opportunities?

[Jmarmck]

The Suwannee River Basin (Okefenokee Swamp) covers a very large part of S. and SE Georgia. The land use and land cover is split on a north-south line with ag and timber in the west half and timber and swamp in the eastern half. I have never been there but I have spent weeks with Google Earth mapping objects in that region. There are very few roads in the WLR area. There are areas that are permanent water and areas that are temporarily inundated. Most all of it is tree covered. Getting around would be difficult and would probably require some personal knowledge to safely navigate regardless of mode of transportation. Also, you don't want to become gator fodder.

As for Cumberland, I have never been. I planned to go and did look into access. The only way there is by ferry. There is no motorized vehicle access. Bicycles are allowed and available for rent.
If you miss the last ferry you are on the island for the night. I am not sure about camping. If you go I would suggest a cool season. The humidity would be down and the gnats will been gone. That may sound like a small thing but the gnats can be really unbearable.....unless you enjoy eating and breathing them. I want to go in late November or in early March either side of winter and well ahead of humidity and bug season. There is lodging available on the island at the Carnegie house/castle but I have heard that it is pretty rustic and non-private for the large fees.

[Corran]

Okefenokee is vast yes and as Marty mentioned a guide (and a boat of course) is needed. I was told that shooting handheld from said boat was de rigueur - not optimal for LF landscape work. I have been to the "gates" so to speak and the surrounding area, but it's not great. The Suwannee River area is more interesting. Swampland gets tiresome.

Cumberland is on my list. I want to go for several days. Camping is a must, the ferry leaves long before golden hour is even a thought.

Peak shooting down here is usually the winter time when it's not oppressively hot and humid. I imagine even some seasoned outdoorsmen on the forum would be a bit overwhelmed by it.

I just finished a video from chest-mounted GoPro footage of some backwoods Florida areas. I will post to YouTube soon and maybe share a link.

[Heroique]

Alas, sounds like two unique wilderness areas that deserve greater attention here, but with significant limitations on access and getting around for the LFer.

I'd love to devote some film to a southern swamp (or Golden Isle) that might otherwise go to PNW mountains.

I'd even endure the gnats and gators for a few good images.

[Jmarmck]

I would gladly endure some rain, fog, and chill to experience the Washington coast and explore the Olympia Peninsula.
I endured the inter-mountain west in January and thoroughly enjoyed it despite damaging one Zone VI, loosing three cable releases, and getting chased out of a couple places due to weather. Well worth the hassles.

[jp]

Almost no grand landscapes here.
It's a goldmine of intimate landscapes here though. Eliot Porter books turned me on to that. If you're into intimate landscapes, there are no excuses here, except maybe when it's a blizzard out or pouring rain.
I visit the same places over and over mostly and have done so for years. I often see something new (that isn't really new) and I get excited and re-energized by the idea that I'm still seeing new things after years of regular visit.

[David Aimone]

Nice work Greg!

It strikes that the entire question is faulty (assuming this question is specific to landscape photography). We don't photograph objects, we photograph light on objects. If beautiful photographs relied on beautiful objects, most photographs would not exist. A mediocre subject in great light makes for a much more compelling photo than a great photo in mediocre light.

We don't need a wealth of beautiful landscapes, we just need to see the light falling upon the landscape that we have. Was/is Herandez always a great subject? I think not. Only in the right light did it make for a great subject. Here is one of my favorite personal photos . Its a boring subject in a boring location. I took the same photo about 5 minutes later (just for demo purposes) after the light changed and its an awful photo.

[Jmarmck]

Almost no grand landscapes here.
It's a goldmine of intimate landscapes here though. Eliot Porter books turned me on to that. If you're into intimate landscapes, there are no excuses here, except maybe when it's a blizzard out or pouring rain.
I visit the same places over and over mostly and have done so for years. I often see something new (that isn't really new) and I get excited and re-energized by the idea that I'm still seeing new things after years of regular visit.

I have a brother in Lubec. He works at Roosevelt Campobello Park. I keep pushing him to get a better camera because the photos he posts are outstanding. The shoreline and all the elements that go with it are very tantalizing from my perspective.

[Corran]

I'd love to devote some film to a southern swamp (or Golden Isle) that might otherwise go to PNW mountains.

I would gladly endure some rain, fog, and chill to experience the Washington coast and explore the Olympia Peninsula.

I think the constant here is the wish to explore something "different" from the typical landscape one experiences on a regular basis.

It reminds me of something I hate about not the south or the local landscape, but instead my circumstances - a few times a year here the weather does something funny, where the entire area is coated with "fog" but instead of being along the ground it's higher in the air, but only a few dozen feet over the ground. It's very interesting and it's like everything glows. I'm sure this isn't a rare thing (probably caused by humidity and such) but anyway the point is, after many years, it's never been something I could capture simply because it happens so infrequently and lasts only 30 minutes, maybe an hour or two at best, and every time it happens I'm usually on my way to work rather than a photo outing! Frustrating.

[Vaughn]

Well, my county was ranked #2 in "natural amenities" in the USA http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/w...atural-beauty/

But most of my photography was been along the same stretch of creek for the past 45 years -- but it is nice to get out of the county and hit a few other nice places in the state.

One of the early photos along Prairie Creek -- from cropped 4x5 negative from 1980 (scanned silver gelatin print).

[Jmarmck]

Down the street there is a yard with large pines. Early in the morning the sun beams through the trees highlighting the mist and shadows. I have seen this countless times on the way to work but never took the time to capture the scene. Another was on a trip to Atlanta. I was about 20 miles north of town going up 300. There to the east the sun was just coming up. in the foreground was a field of wheat ready for harvest. It was covered in dew. Very nice with the sun playing off each wheat head. I have yet to see that again.