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Thread: Two years in the US. Top locations?

  1. #21
    Scott Davis
    Join Date
    May 2002
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    Washington DC
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    1,875

    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    Welcome to the DC area, from a fellow Washingtonian. There are so many neat, interesting things and places to see and photograph around here. Drop me a line when you get settled in and I'll be glad to play photo tourguide to the area. Many highlights have already been mentioned, but there are tons of cool off-the-beaten-track places that can yield hours and hours of shooting time.

    Much of DC is accessible by public transit, but there are lots of places worth the visit that are not, so having a car locally would be a good idea. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is a prime example of someplace you don't want to go without your own transportation. It's one of the hidden gems of DC, a little wilderness oasis and wildlife sanctuary tucked between the Anacostia River and a major freeway.

    Baltimore is rife with opportunities, but MOST of them you don't want to explore without personal transportation, and ideally, not alone. Not that Baltimore is per-se dangerous, but if you're not from there, you can easily miss the transition point between an ok and not-so-ok area, especially when your head is buried under a focusing cloth. Rawlins Conservatory and Cylburn Arboretum are two great spots for nature/landscape photography there, and the Mount Vernon neighborhood has lots of great architecture.

    There are some rental darkrooms available such as at Glen Echo park in Maryland (just outside DC), VisArts in Rockville (a little further out in Maryland) or at the Smithsonian Institute (they have a darkroom for both color and black-and-white printing in their education center, and it is quite nice). Chrome lab in DC will do custom printing, but not on fiber paper that I'm aware of. I'm sure there are some small independents still around (you might try up in Baltimore as well, they have a very active photo scene there). To find some of these kinds of services, sign up for things like ArtDC.org, which has a bulletin board for artists' services.

    Join the Smithsonian Resident Associates program, because they offer a tremendous variety of cultural programs from lectures to seminars to full-blown week-long excursions, and the programs are significantly discounted for members.

  2. #22

    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Posts
    1,789

    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    Since Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway will be in your back yard...

    http://www.amazon.com/Best-Blue-Ridg...7499388&sr=1-1

    I'd suggest the Skyline, the BRP, and nearby areas as your primary "hunting grounds" as they will be accessible on weekends, especially long ones.

    If you want to travel by air, you can get just about anywhere from DC including the famous locations in the Western US.

    Cheers, Steve

  3. #23

    Join Date
    Dec 1997
    Location
    Baraboo, Wisconsin
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    7,697

    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    Before you do anything in D.C. itself, talk with some people who know the area and make sure you understand the places you can't safely go. I grew up in D.C. and love the city but there are places where you can be perfectly safe on one block and then risk getting mugged or worse if you venture into the next block. A few years ago I was staying in a hotel on Connecticut Avenue. Connecticut Avenue itself is an upscale street but when I walked about two blocks from the hotel early one evening I had a knife pulled on me as I waited for a stop light.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  4. #24

    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    One very cool placenear DC that is off the beaten path (at least in photographic circles) is Calvert Cliffs State Park in Maryland. The cliffs are located on the Chesapeake Bay and it is wide enough there that unless it is a very clear day you can't see the other side. To get there requires a nice long walk/short hike from where you part until you get to the beach. Along the way you will walk through nice woods and then along a very large swamp with lilly pads both of which provide very nice photo ops.

    The cliffs are right next to the water and depending on the tides will be a beach area from 1-5 meters wide that you can walk along and setup great photos. The cliffs are also full of fossils inlcuding large shark teeth. This area gets quite crowded on summer weekends due to the fossil hunters, but you will be the only one there during the spring, fall, and winter. Even during the summer on a weekend if you get there at first light not only will you have good light but there will be no crowds.

    Just outside of DC on the Potomac river is Great Falls. There is a National Park on both sides of the falls/river (one in Maryland the other in Virginia)

    You will also be only a few hours away from Blackwater Falls near Davis West Virginia which has many, many waterfalls and vistas.

    If you want to explore the Shenandoah Valley/Blue Ridge Mountain but stay away from the crowds skip Skyline Drive and the Shenandoah National Park and explore RT 33 west out of Harrisonburg or RT 250 west out of Staunton. Both routes provide nice vistas with pulloffs from the road and travel along very nice boulder filled streams. You will have much nicer (higher) water levels in the spring no matter where you go in the Shenandoah mountains.

  5. #25

    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Carmel Valley, CA
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    1,048

    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    Our three day weekends may prove a challenge to deep explorations; travel may be a lot slower and the distances much longer than you're used to. If possible arrange to get time off somewhere during the month of May and again October. Much of the country, these are the best times for not only photography but for travel. From the Mid-Atlantic States, peak spring and autumn color will vary a couple of weeks either way around the beginning of those months, depending on how far north or south you go (happily, there are any number of websites to alert you to peak foliage).

    If you can only get time for holiday in August as too many in the US are accustomed, try the higher elevations of the Rockies and the Sierra. These can still be good then, particularly in years of high snowpack (El Nino is coming!). The tundra of far northern Alaska can also peak by late August/ early Sept.

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Montreal
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    1,439

    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    That about sums it up!
    The US is so unbelievably geographically diverse, you have to slowly try and visit every corner!

    If you get the chance, Newfoundland, a distinct society and geographically, a wonder.


    Quote Originally Posted by eddie View Post
    everywhere! i suggest you do not go to work and spend the 2 years on a photo trip. you can hit most of the hot spots for sure..............

    have fun.

    eddie

  7. #27

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
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    143

    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    Quote Originally Posted by al olson View Post
    As far as local interests are concerned KMACK named of a number of good ones to occupy your weekends. There are the wildlife refuges around the bay, the old towns on the Eastern Shore, the Atlantic beaches, Civil War battlefields (Antietam is my favorite), etc. There is an incredible wealth of subject matter.

    If I wanted to do some photography at the Mall or at Baltimore's Inner Harbor I would get to my destination an hour before sunrise to avoid the tourist crowds. During the summer months you can have almost uninterrupted shooting from predawn until about 8 or 8:30 when the tourists begin arriving. Huntington Meadows in a nice nature preserve in Alexandria, but you will want to quit the area around 9:30 or 10 when all the noisy little anklebiters arrive to spook the wild life.

    The DC area has some excellent camera clubs which schedule field trips to areas of interest. This is a good way to get out and shoot with people who know the area. It is also a way to get tripod permits for places like Dumbarton Oaks and the Botanic Gardens. It is an opportunity to get acquainted with places that you would like to return to.

    If you are to be dwelling on the Maryland side I would recommend the Bethesda Camera Club and the Northern Virginia Photographic Society for the Virginia side. These would be starting points you can pick out other good ones that are convenient. I belonged to four different clubs when I resided in Virginia and I was field trip chairman for a couple of them.

    As far as traveling the rest of the country on long vacations much of your time can be eaten up if you are traveling any distances by car, even if you initially traveled by air. You will have difficulty avoiding crowds at our national parks and monuments, even in the off season. Autumn leaves also attract crowds and cause motels to be booked up way in advance. A lot of areas are so popular that you must obtain permits in advance, i.e. Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Green River.

    In the west there is a lot of photogenic scenery (plus ghost towns, old mines, etc.) not in the parks and popular areas that you can find by following the backroads, some of which require four wheeling. If you plan to do this, pick out some areas and get some good USGS topo maps or DeLorme Gazeteers to seek out these trails. I just found an exciting new forest road yesterday when I was up in the mountains photographing Summitville.

    It can be pretty isolated so it is not a good idea to be traveling alone (and you won't have cell phone coverage). At least let people know where you are going.

    If you happen to get out this way, send me a PM. I would be happy to show you around the area.
    Cheers for the tips Al. Great photos on your website. The infrared stuff is magic.

  8. #28
    Wayne venchka's Avatar
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    May 2007
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    Texas
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    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    Barely mentioned. Overlooked. Uncrowded. Wild. Close.

    West Virginia.
    Wayne
    Deep in the darkest heart of the North Carolina rainforest.

    Wayne's Blog

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  9. #29
    Abuser of God's Sunlight
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    Aug 2004
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    brooklyn, nyc
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    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    In general I'd say just live your life here, and photograph what you discover and find interesting.

    But as far as travel destinations, without knowing the imortant things (like what you like to photograph) I'd say be sure to spend some time in the Southwest. Not because it's so photogenic (it is ... but that's a strike against it in my mind). Because it's one of the few places with landscape that's unique to the U.S.

    Europe has mountains, ocean, big cities, small towns, etc. etc... But no one has anything like Southern Utah.

    Similarly (and less often photographed) are the great plains.

  10. #30
    westernlens al olson's Avatar
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    Sep 2006
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    Southwest Mountains of Colorado
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    Re: Two years in the US. Top locations?

    Thank you for the kind compliment, Riverman.

    As long as you are on the North American Continent I would also consider photography in our Canadian neighbor. I believe the Maritime Provinces have already been mentioned. There is also some great photogenic scenery around Banff, Lake Louise, Waterton Lakes, ... and on west into British Columbia. There are also a lot fewer people to get in your way.

    Paul makes a good point about photography on the Great Plains. I plan to go into the eastern Dakotas this September to photograph old barns that have fallen into a state of disrepair. Sometimes I go on photo excursions and simply enjoy the scenery because I know that it will never look any better in a photograph. Enjoy your travels above all else!
    al

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