Peter Lik thinks it's America And to be honest, for diversity in landscape, I think you'd be hard pressed to beat it.
But really.. I think it's whatever country you happen to live in. Because in the end, your best images are always from the places you know most intimately and can spend the most time in.
Posted by David Bostedo on March 22, 2011 at 2:10 PM
Because in the end, your best images are always from the places you know most intimately and can spend the most time in.
I disagree a little with that depending on the photographer. Subject matter, matters.
An good photographer working in, say, Utah (Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, etc.) will likely come away with better images than a great photographer working in Iowa. OTOH, a great photographer working in Iowa will still have some killer stuff, but it might be that much better if he had a chance to visit Utah.
I'm definitely a poor example compared to you guys, but a couple of my favorite (and probably best) images are from Mount Rainier, where I spent a total of about 24 hours.
Posted by Lon Overacker on March 22, 2011 at 2:19 PM
I agree with Floris, with one additional caveat. You can send a photographer all over the planet to the most amazing places and with unlimited time and budget will most certainly be able to capture some phenomenal images after spending a year in the field. On the other hand, you can take the same photographer and let him spend 5 long weekends in one beautiful location and get images just as striking, although perhaps not necessarily as recognized icons. You can capture the great icons and locations of the worlds, and/or you can become intimately familiar with a single or few locations.
But from a sheer diversity of locations and possibilities, I can't see beating the US.
These are the places that come to mind immediately:
America is clearly near the top of the list for it's diversity and scale of pristine landscapes. The amazing Southwest, Yosemite, the redwoods, the Pacific Coast, the volcanoes of Hawaii, the tundra of Alaska, it's all incredible.
Venezuela has a stunning caribbean coastline with idyllic islands, glacier flanked Andean peaks, the surreal Gran Sabana and Angel Falls, the rainforests of the Amazon and the Orinoco lowlands and Los Llanos.
Nepal has the most spectacular mountains on earth, beautiful midlevel forests of Rhodedendrons that bloom red in the spring, rhinos, tigers and elephants in the Terai lowlands and parts of the Dali like Tibetan plateau.
China/Tibet has the Himalaya and the turquise lakes of the Tibetan plateau, Mt Everest and K2, the Huangshan mountains, the surreal Gobi desert, the karst towers of Guilin, the Wulingyuan towers (the landscape of 'Avatar') and an extensive coastline.
Peru has a deserted coastline, pristine amazon rainforest, the rugged sacred valley including Machu Picchu, the most spectacular peaks of the Andes, Lake Titicaca and the altiplano.
Argentina has Iguazu Falls, the redrock deserts of the Northwest, the Falkland Islands, and Patagonia.
New Zealand has the Southern Andes, the fjords of Milford Sound, stunning bays and white sand beaches and the volcanic Rotorua.
Those are the places that come to mind immediately.
Other places to consider would be Pakistan's Karakorum mountains, the islands of the Seychelles, the Serengeti and Masai Mara of East Africa, the Simian mountains and Omu valley of Ethiopia, the waterfalls and coastline of Iceland, the underwater world of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, the Salar de Uyuni and Amazon basin of Bolivia, and the endless diversity of Brazil or India.
As Michael points out, there is a long list of countries and regions where one can make beautiful landscape photographs. Singling out one country, to me, is admitting to personal bias. That being said, some countries do benefit from a more diverse landscape than others (America being a good example). One thing for certain, there are enough places on this beautiful planet to keep us busy for the rest of our lives!
Posted by Bill Chambers on March 22, 2011 at 4:26 PM
Amen to that Jason, or two or three lifetimes if you believe in reincarnation!
I'd say that New Zealand has the most variety within the smallest area, so in that sense I'd say it's the best. The US & Canada have more variety overall, but it's spread out over a much, much larger area.
I learn from photography, a place is like human, has birth, character, mood, and a story of life that can be told & shared with others...you will not know someone well until you spend good time with her or him, in Arab culture we say if you want to know someone well, you need to travel with him in a long trip. Therefore, I am a strong believer that your best images are those which you took for your environment. But in some places (like my country Saudi Arabia) where you have a flat land, featureless, constant light, surrounded by sand & desert from all directions, below, left, and right, and for the past years I found that Sand is covering even the vast sky, falling from the heaven like a heavy guest so its from the top also.
If I bring a master and give him state-of-the-art photo equipments and let him live in a country with single landscape theme, will he continuously produce "fine images"? Remember that part of nature/landscape photography is the joy of discovery, take that joy out, and our images will become average in quality. I believe it is the joy of discovery that pushes most of us nature and landscape photographers to go to edges and bring those hidden treasures to our public.
Mike, I know you travel to perform photography (from your web) and you choose your destinations carefully so thank you so much for your list, which I am sure it will stay in this forum for many people to benefit from.
For those who just started nature photography, I advice them to excel first in their near field and for those who spend years (15 years or more like me), I think it is a must to escape..to the far places!
The best palces are also often most-photographed. Take USA - it has amazing diversity and truly spectacular landscapes, but you see those photos again and again. But then, there are many places even in US, which may not be as spectacular, but less photographed and offer some special opportunity for those who seek beyond the obvious.
Mike's list is a good one - but there are many other places - Turkey, France, Switzerland, Austria in Europe come to mind, India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand in Asia, Bolivia and Chile in Latin America..on and on. It can take many lifetimes for anyone to explore these all.
One great example is work of Art Wolfe - he is just not a landscape photographer, but a well rounded cultural, humanitarian photographer....and man, he has travelled a lot. If you watch his episodes of "Travels to the edge" and also check his work from any particular area, and if you have personally visted the place, you will notice that he is only "scratching the surface". There is still so much to photograph that even Art has not been able to get to...
I like the "escape" and "joy of discovery" concept - though I live in US, and I love photographing here, what most attracts me are far away, remote places. Now many of those "remote" places are even in US - but US, unfortunately, does not have a deep route in history and culture and so it's hard to photograph evocative images beyond landscapes. I like places where nature, human history, and culture mixes up with each other (think Africa, Peru, Alps, Himalayas or India) - just my preference.
I realize that the question asked was about landscapes, but there is more to the photographic experience than the land. My first contact to a new land are its people. The people lead me to where I want to go in the land, and these people are the anchor within my landscapes. They know this place. They live this place. I am an outsider. I may be wrong but without an intimate interaction with people you will never find or photograph a true sense of place. They are my doorway.
Moshen- I deal with many of the same things. I live in Arizona. Months without a single cloud. I pray for some weather front to come but they rarely do. Brown hills and little water- few lakes and rivers. Dust and more dust. Over 100f nearly 6 months of the year. I know how you feel.
As for the best I think it would be an area that changes constantly from day to day. I lived in Alaska, (Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Kodiak, Kenai. Anchorage, Bethel,Kotzibue, Nome, Barrow) for 2 years and it was that way. Not a country but you get the idea. BTW I spent the winters in Fairbanks. Norm avg temp -30f.
Bob
Posted by David Edwards on March 23, 2011 at 10:49 PM
I guess the best country to produce landscape work would be the one with which you make the strongest bond, usually your homeland I would think. However, travel is very inspiring and a fresh eye over a landscape can often reveal it's hidden beauty. I know when I visit new locations for the first time there is a newness and an inspiration that comes with the viewing something for the first time, like when I visited Arizona in 2002. I certainly think America has stunning diversity of grand beauty and lends itself to the grand scenic style of photography, but unless you make a connection with it, I doubt you will produce good work. There are so many beautiful places with rich cultures, like throughout Asia. More intimate images from photographers like Michael Kenna (for example) reveal a hidden beauty in things that represent balance in life and have nothing to do with grand scenic styles. It's what you connect with that makes it work for each individual imho.
Posted by Scott Fricke on March 23, 2011 at 11:17 PM
I haven't been out of the country much, but Iceland was an amazing place. I was there for 3 weeks camping, hiking, and taking photos. It's got volcano's, fjords, thousands of waterfalls, great coastline, geysers and other geothermal features, glaciers, and some other very unique landscapes, all in a very small geographic area. And off the beaten path as well...
I would add to the locations mentioned Namibia and Italy. Certainly the US have amazing places and I have enjoyed Death Valley, Antelope Canyon, Bryce, Canyon Lands and Arches, etc. In Italy I have explored especially Abruzzo, Tuscany and the Dolomites and find these areas to be quite amazing and so different from the US.
If you like you can browse my landscape folder here http://www.pbase.com/hkruse/my_best_landscape_pictures where most of the pictures have a location description. Be sure to watch them in original format as Pbase loose the ICC profile in smaller sizes and loose detail and sharpness downsized.
Posted by Kent Staubus on April 3, 2011 at 1:58 PM
This is an easy question. I am fairly "well traveled" and the only place I really look forward to is.........Island. Island has everything going for it. There are thousands, maybe tens of thousands of waterfalls. The largest waterfall in Europe is in Island. Since it's so far north, the light is always very gentle. It's the most perfect light I've ever seen! The people are very friendly and almost all speak English. Island has many terrific fishing villages with black harbors full of small boats, and quaint houses. The interior is a volcanic desert with stunning views. Island has five mighty glaciers, but most of the land is green and it's actually pretty warm there. In winter there are fantastic displays of Northern Lights, and despite being nearly on the Arctic Circle it's much warmer there than where I live. The food is good and you can eat some cool things like puffin (birds,) horse, reindeer, and whale. I have been to Hawaii five times in the past 15 years but may never go again. The time there is wasted compared to what there is in Island. Gud blessi Island!
The land is even more beautiful than their national anthem.
Kent in SD
"You can learn a lot from traveling around Iceland with a photographer. He talks about Light. He's constantly preoccupied with Light."
--Unnur Jokulsdottir
I heard some people have mentioned homeland or the places you make bond with would be the best place for the landscape photography.
You must have passion for photography. You must have passion for the subject matter you are shooting. Maybe one person loves mountain but the other love plane. Or someone loves glacier or some other love desert. I strongly believe that you must love the subject matter to photograph, then that image will reflect your passion and love to viewers. Isn't an image a reflection of the photographer?? I think it is.
I heard some people have mentioned homeland or the places you make bond with would be the best place for the landscape photography.
You must have passion for photography. You must have passion for the subject matter you are shooting. Maybe one person loves mountain but the other love plane. Or someone loves glacier or some other love desert. I strongly believe that you must love the subject matter to photograph, then that image will reflect your passion and love to viewers. Isn't an image a reflection of the photographer?? I think it is.
Posted by Joseph Campisi on September 9, 2011 at 12:37 PM
"But from a sheer diversity of locations and possibilities, I can't see beating the US."
I agree with Lon on this one, at least on subject matter. You have just about every type of environment on the planet represented here...from the tropics to the arctic, and everything in between. Especially if you include Alaska and Hawaii!
But as far as creating compelling images, it all comes down to passion and seeing. Some of the images that have moved me the most were taken in relatively unremarkable locations.
Living in the PNW, I'm priviledged to have access to arguably some of the most stunning scenery on the planet. The funny thing is though, the more I shoot, the less it is about subject matter. It's all about light and capturing a "moment", something that will live in my memory long after I clicked that shutter. Light and atmosphere can transform the most mundane and ordinary scene into pure magic!
Posted by Ian Downey on October 10, 2011 at 12:45 PM
It`s hard to beat Ireland, Scotland plus Wales for some very nice scenic and moody landscapes. You only have to wait about 10-20mins for a different season allowing you to capture a lot in one day.
Discussion
22 repliesWhat is the best country on our planet to go to exercise landscape photography to its maximum? New Zealand?
But really.. I think it's whatever country you happen to live in. Because in the end, your best images are always from the places you know most intimately and can spend the most time in.
I disagree a little with that depending on the photographer. Subject matter, matters.
An good photographer working in, say, Utah (Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, etc.) will likely come away with better images than a great photographer working in Iowa. OTOH, a great photographer working in Iowa will still have some killer stuff, but it might be that much better if he had a chance to visit Utah.
I'm definitely a poor example compared to you guys, but a couple of my favorite (and probably best) images are from Mount Rainier, where I spent a total of about 24 hours.
But from a sheer diversity of locations and possibilities, I can't see beating the US.
Lon
America is clearly near the top of the list for it's diversity and scale of pristine landscapes. The amazing Southwest, Yosemite, the redwoods, the Pacific Coast, the volcanoes of Hawaii, the tundra of Alaska, it's all incredible.
Venezuela has a stunning caribbean coastline with idyllic islands, glacier flanked Andean peaks, the surreal Gran Sabana and Angel Falls, the rainforests of the Amazon and the Orinoco lowlands and Los Llanos.
Nepal has the most spectacular mountains on earth, beautiful midlevel forests of Rhodedendrons that bloom red in the spring, rhinos, tigers and elephants in the Terai lowlands and parts of the Dali like Tibetan plateau.
China/Tibet has the Himalaya and the turquise lakes of the Tibetan plateau, Mt Everest and K2, the Huangshan mountains, the surreal Gobi desert, the karst towers of Guilin, the Wulingyuan towers (the landscape of 'Avatar') and an extensive coastline.
Peru has a deserted coastline, pristine amazon rainforest, the rugged sacred valley including Machu Picchu, the most spectacular peaks of the Andes, Lake Titicaca and the altiplano.
Argentina has Iguazu Falls, the redrock deserts of the Northwest, the Falkland Islands, and Patagonia.
New Zealand has the Southern Andes, the fjords of Milford Sound, stunning bays and white sand beaches and the volcanic Rotorua.
Those are the places that come to mind immediately.
Other places to consider would be Pakistan's Karakorum mountains, the islands of the Seychelles, the Serengeti and Masai Mara of East Africa, the Simian mountains and Omu valley of Ethiopia, the waterfalls and coastline of Iceland, the underwater world of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, the Salar de Uyuni and Amazon basin of Bolivia, and the endless diversity of Brazil or India.
The country I happen to be in when making photographs.
Right now, it's U.S.A., in Northern CA, in particular. When I was in Peru, many beers ago, it was the best.
--P
If I bring a master and give him state-of-the-art photo equipments and let him live in a country with single landscape theme, will he continuously produce "fine images"? Remember that part of nature/landscape photography is the joy of discovery, take that joy out, and our images will become average in quality. I believe it is the joy of discovery that pushes most of us nature and landscape photographers to go to edges and bring those hidden treasures to our public.
Mike, I know you travel to perform photography (from your web) and you choose your destinations carefully so thank you so much for your list, which I am sure it will stay in this forum for many people to benefit from.
For those who just started nature photography, I advice them to excel first in their near field and for those who spend years (15 years or more like me), I think it is a must to escape..to the far places!
Mike's list is a good one - but there are many other places - Turkey, France, Switzerland, Austria in Europe come to mind, India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand in Asia, Bolivia and Chile in Latin America..on and on. It can take many lifetimes for anyone to explore these all.
One great example is work of Art Wolfe - he is just not a landscape photographer, but a well rounded cultural, humanitarian photographer....and man, he has travelled a lot. If you watch his episodes of "Travels to the edge" and also check his work from any particular area, and if you have personally visted the place, you will notice that he is only "scratching the surface". There is still so much to photograph that even Art has not been able to get to...
I like the "escape" and "joy of discovery" concept - though I live in US, and I love photographing here, what most attracts me are far away, remote places. Now many of those "remote" places are even in US - but US, unfortunately, does not have a deep route in history and culture and so it's hard to photograph evocative images beyond landscapes. I like places where nature, human history, and culture mixes up with each other (think Africa, Peru, Alps, Himalayas or India) - just my preference.
I realize that the question asked was about landscapes, but there is more to the photographic experience than the land. My first contact to a new land are its people. The people lead me to where I want to go in the land, and these people are the anchor within my landscapes. They know this place. They live this place. I am an outsider. I may be wrong but without an intimate interaction with people you will never find or photograph a true sense of place. They are my doorway.
Moshen- I deal with many of the same things. I live in Arizona. Months without a single cloud. I pray for some weather front to come but they rarely do. Brown hills and little water- few lakes and rivers. Dust and more dust. Over 100f nearly 6 months of the year. I know how you feel.
As for the best I think it would be an area that changes constantly from day to day. I lived in Alaska, (Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Kodiak, Kenai. Anchorage, Bethel,Kotzibue, Nome, Barrow) for 2 years and it was that way. Not a country but you get the idea. BTW I spent the winters in Fairbanks. Norm avg temp -30f.
Bob
If you like you can browse my landscape folder here http://www.pbase.com/hkruse/my_best_landscape_pictures where most of the pictures have a location description. Be sure to watch them in original format as Pbase loose the ICC profile in smaller sizes and loose detail and sharpness downsized.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDKy-vf0JDc&feature=related
The land is even more beautiful than their national anthem.
Kent in SD
"You can learn a lot from traveling around Iceland with a photographer. He talks about Light. He's constantly preoccupied with Light."
--Unnur Jokulsdottir
You must have passion for photography. You must have passion for the subject matter you are shooting. Maybe one person loves mountain but the other love plane. Or someone loves glacier or some other love desert. I strongly believe that you must love the subject matter to photograph, then that image will reflect your passion and love to viewers. Isn't an image a reflection of the photographer?? I think it is.
You must have passion for photography. You must have passion for the subject matter you are shooting. Maybe one person loves mountain but the other love plane. Or someone loves glacier or some other love desert. I strongly believe that you must love the subject matter to photograph, then that image will reflect your passion and love to viewers. Isn't an image a reflection of the photographer?? I think it is.
I agree with Lon on this one, at least on subject matter. You have just about every type of environment on the planet represented here...from the tropics to the arctic, and everything in between. Especially if you include Alaska and Hawaii!
But as far as creating compelling images, it all comes down to passion and seeing. Some of the images that have moved me the most were taken in relatively unremarkable locations.
Living in the PNW, I'm priviledged to have access to arguably some of the most stunning scenery on the planet. The funny thing is though, the more I shoot, the less it is about subject matter. It's all about light and capturing a "moment", something that will live in my memory long after I clicked that shutter. Light and atmosphere can transform the most mundane and ordinary scene into pure magic!