Wednesday 14 May 2014

Five Top Photographic Locations

In real estate terms we speak of LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

The same can probably be said about photography. If you simply  sit in your lounge chair watching travel programs or play Photoshop four hours a day there is a good chance your body will rust out before your camera does.

A new location means fresh sensual stimuli - sights, sounds and smells. We usually experience a new location when we go on holidays, leaving behind the daily work grind, family chores and everyday problems. Mentally, we become more attuned to everything around us and often with a more positive outlook.

A remedy for those same old boring images is to pack your camera bags, passport and passion and head off to a new photographic location.

Here are five of my favourite photographic locations:


1.     Terraced padi fields, Ubud, Bali
Just a  four hour flight from Australia, Bali has been a favourite holiday destination for Aussies for more than thirty years. Ubud is an hour's drive into the mountains where the air is cleaner and cooler. On the back roads between Ubud and Candi Desa the narrow roads wind between lush green padi fields which are best shot at sunset or sunrise.

The Bundestag, Berlin. Fuji X100 23mm fixed prime, 1/800s@f8, 1000ISO
2.     Boranup Forest, Margaret River, Western Australia
Ancient. towering Tuart trees, winding roads, quiet unsealed bush tracks make for idyllic forest landscapes. Here is one place where you have a chance of being the only person for miles. Tripods, overcast skies and maximum depth of field promise extraordinary forestscapes.  

3.     Sand dunes, Siwa, Great Sea of Sand, Egypt
Siwa is one of the most impressive dune locations in the world. Siwa is a small oasis on the edge of the Great Sea of Sand near the Libyan border. Its best to travel by 4WD into the dunes an hour before sunsrise and set-up. Tripods are essential and warm clothing recommended as it can be down to sub-zero temperatures.

4.     Aerial landscapes from hot air balloon, Cappadoccia, Turkey
The landforms and geomorphology of Cappadoccia are breathtaking and unique. The giant fairy chimneys are home to dwellings, boutique hotels as well as ancient hospitals and churches. This magnificent landscape is best viewed from a hot air balloon at sunrise. It is difficult not to get a stunning photograph. (Tip: Make sure you squeeze your body into one of the four corners of teh basket to ensure a 270 degree view).
Brandenberg Gate: 1/1250@f2.8, 800ISO

5.     Architecture, Bundestag, Berlin, Germany
The Bundestag is the House of Parliament for the German Government. An impressive illustration of modern artistic architecture the building is home to an innovative sytem of rotating and cascading lenses which redirect light into the parliamentry chamber.
No visit to Berlin wouldn't be complete without a walk to the historic Brandenberg Gate which has become a symbol for a united Germany.

Check out my Travel and Street Photography workshop at UWA Extension.



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