Nothing inspires photography like travel. If your bored with your photography, one of the best things that you can do is find a new place photograph. Interestingly, I think what inspires us most to take a lot of photos when we travel is not just the "differnt" look of the place, but rather then entire sensory experience of a new place: the sights, yes, but also the smells, the sounds, the weather--and just the fact that we're in the "experience" mode. When you travel you are setting yourself up emotionally and mentally to let yourself experience new things and if you are a visually-oriented person, often that translates into shooting more photos. On this page I'll try to turn you on to some of the more fun places I've been and point you toward some of the highlights of that destination. For even more up-to-date travel info and ideas, visit .
Litchfield, Connecticut Daffodils
Hundreds of Thousands of Daffodils
Spring is a beautiful time in New England (provided you don't come during the "mud" season at the very end of winter) and if you happen to be passing through the northwest hills of Connecticut in
mid to late April there is a fantastic secret garden that you must take
an afternoon to visit. Located on the outskirts of Litchfield
(technically I think it's in the town of Northfield), the
is a public park that literally erupts with what appears to be hundreds
of thousands of daffodils. It's an extraordinary sight to behold.
I'm a little sketchy on the details of how the park and foundation
were started, but as I recall it was begun by a husband and wife around
World War II who began with a few small plantings of daffodils--and
then kept adding and adding and adding! And the daffodils did what
daffodils do: they reproduced themselves with great zest and now they
literally cover acres and acres of rural Connecticut hillside each
spring. (more...)
For
flower photographers this rambling former estate is a paradise. There
are more types of daffodils and other narcissus here than I've ever
seen anywhere--and more of them. When you first come around the corner
through the woods and see these daffodil-covered hills you'll start
grabbing for the camera case before you've put on the brakes--it's that
intense.
Parking here isn't easy: there is no formal lot and you have to find
a place to pull off the road on a narrow winding country road. Crowds
are biggest on weekends, of course, so the best time to visit is either
early or late in the day on a weekday. Lighting is good both early and
late because the displays are on hillsides and so if the lighting is
bad on one hill you can often move to another area and find lighting
that is just great. I personally like working either very late or very
early when the light is low and the petals of the daffodils are nicely
backlit.
Finding this park isn't easy and, trust me, even locals don't know
it's there. It's located on Wigwam Road in the tiny town of Northfield
and I was able to find some
on the web. The maps are crude (the second map is the helpful one) but
they're pretty accurate so "thanks" to whoever drew them. Basically you
take Rte 8 until you get to the exit for Rte 118 and then take Rte 254
until you see Wigwam Road on your right. Go slow, these are windy rural
roads.
The peak is usually between mid and late April, though
it's hard to predict. My advice would be to visit in the first or
second week and then guestimate when the peak might be. In any event
you will find blossoms to photograph, it's just a question of when the
hills will be awash in these beautiful flowers.
The park appears to me to be open all the time--there are no gates
or anything. And downtown Litchfield is only about a 10-minute drive,
so you'll find lots of nice places to eat, shop, etc.
I've found that getting a good overview of the park isn't easy, so
take your time and bring a tripod. My general approach is to just
scount around at midday and wait for the lighting to get better as the
afternoon wears on. There are lots of people here at times, but they
tend to be very respectful of both the flowers and photographers, so
you shouldn't have a problem working.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
.
About an hour's drive due east of Orlando, just off of Rte 1, you'll
find one of the best birding sanctuaries in the country--and certainly
one of the best in Florida. The Merritt Island National Wildlife
Sanctuary in Titusville, Florida is immediately adjacent to the Kennedy
Space Center complex and, in fact, was created when NASA used this
beautiful marsh area to establish a natural buffer around the space
center. The sanctuary is over 140,000 acres in size and is very
accessible via the Black Point Wildlife Drive--a 10 mile dirt road that
follows close by several canals for excellent birding. This is one of
the best and most enjoyable birding locations you'll find and if you
hit it at the right time of year you'll see hundreds, if not thousands
of birds every day. Egerts, ibis, various teals, bald eagle are all
common--as are alligators. I've also seen wild boar and bobcats.
Tragically this sanctuary is open to duck hunting--so beware that if
you visit during hunting season, you'll be locked out for certain
hours. It seems unthinkable to me that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service believes it has to help slaughter the very birds it professes
to protect just to appease hunters. (I am NOT necessarily opposed to
duck hunting, but I AM opposed to it in National Wildlife Sanctuaries.)
Here's the offical link of the .
Hunting aside, this is an extraordinary location and if you're lucky
enough to be there when certain alternate roads are open (and you have
a 4wd) you'll have an extra 10-20 miles to explore. Fantastic! Beware
of eastern diamonback rattlers (quite abundant)--don't even think of
climbing off into the bush to pee! Titusville is a nice town and there
are several motels within a ten-minute drive of the sanctuary. The new
Hampton Inn is the best.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Sanctuary
St. Augustine, Florida: America's Oldest City
St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest city in America (it was founded in 1565) and it is here that some stories say Juan Ponce de León discovered the Fountain of Youth (there is a park on the site of the "fountain" & if it helps keep you young, let me know). St. Augustine is far from a city lost to time, however, it's a fun beach-edged town that offers an extraordinary mix of history, natural
beauty and nice amenities--along with hot sunny weather much of the
year. So if you like history and a fun atmosphere, you'll love the little town of St. Augustine.
Located on the northeast
Atlantic shore of Florida. St. Augustine is one of my favorite
places in Florida because there is just so much to do there and
the town is saturated with a sense of history. One of my favorite things
to do is to leave the touristy shopping areas (which are actually
kind of fun) and just wander the
narrow back streets and alleys--all of them entirely safe and welcoming
and all quite mysterious. Be warned, however, that St. Augustine is in
northern Florida and the best times to visit are spring, summer and
autumn.
Whether or not the Fountain of Youth was really here this is an old city. It
was founded forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown and
fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. And while
much of the town was burned by the British (what town wasn't?) in 1702, even today much of
the "old city" has a very historic and European feeling: the streets
are incredibly narrow, cobblestone streets and paths are common and
many of the buildings date back to the early 18th century and earlier.
In fact, one historic site that you can visit is the Gonzalez-Alvarez
House--the oldest surviving Spanish Colonial dwelling in Florida. The
site has been occupied since the 1600s and the present house dates to
the early 1700s.
In addition to the fun of historic St. Augustine, there are some other
great attractions nearby including a beautiful beach and pier and the world
famous --a
combination zoo and natural
wildlife sanctuary that is the nicest type of facility of its kind I've
seen (and I hate most zoos). There is a terrific boardwalk area at
the farm that takes you into a very natural and native-type environment
that enables you to photograph alligators and birds (egrets, roseate
spoonbills, ibis) at extremely close range.
,
which is about 30 miles south of Philadelphia (and close to Wilmington,
Delaware) is one of the country's premiere formal gardens. There are
more than 1,000 acres of perfectly manicured gardens and countless
fountain displays. There are also more than five acres of indoor
gardens in the conservatories--and the main conservatory has a lake in
it! The gardens themselves are very formal, but the grounds are great
for a long day of rambling and exploring. There are hourly fountain
shows (some of the fountains shoot 200' in the air) and at night there
are fountain shows lit with spectacular lighting effects and
synchronized to classical music. A few times a year they also toss in
an extraordinary fireworks show. To top all of this off there is a
great restaurant in the grounds and a very nice gift shop. Longwood is
worth a trip from anywhere if you're a gardener and it's open 365 days
a year, so if you're looking for a place to hide out on Christmas day,
this would be it :)
Longwood Gardens, Main Conservatory
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park
Tenant House, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park, Cross Creek, Florida
If you've ever read the very moving story of The Yearling
(or if you've seen the movie) you will find the Marjorie Kinnan
Rawlings Historic State Park near Ocala, Florida a pretty and
interesting little side trip. It also makes a good "destination" if
you're just looking for an interesting off-the-beaten-path location in
Florida. Rawlings won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939 for The Yearling and also wrote several other novels including South Moon Under, and Golden Apples, and her memoir, Cross
Creek. Rawlings was elected to the National Academy of Arts and Letters. Her house is a National Historic Landmark.
The house site itself is small--you can see it in an hour--but the site
is a part of a very pretty lakefront park this is a terrific place to
enjoy a picnic and watch bass fisherman coming and going from the small
boat launch. Relatively small as it is though, this is a fascinating
look at a 1930's era Florida farm. There is a restored "tenant" shack
(see photo) near the house and rangers in 1930's attire provide tours
of her house and the tentant house (October through July).
The site is located in Cross Creek off County Road 325--which is
generally in the area between Ocala and Gainsville. The rural areas
surrounding Ocala area are a very interesting and scenic area and there
are more quarter horse farms there than any place outsite of Kentucky! There's
lots of development in this part of Florida and it's nice to be able to
dip back in time to "old Florida" and leave the hideous Home Depot sprawl
behind for a few hours. Bring a lunch, some cool drinks, some bug spray
and a copy of The Yearling to read while you're having
your picnic and you'll have a great time. There's a small general store
just down the road from the state park that sells her books--a
fantastic selection, you'll be surprised to find it in this little
store!
I'm starting to really love Florida, I hope some of these gems remain forever.
Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park
. If you're traveling to Las Vegas and want to escape from the fun of the Strip for a day to do some landscape photography, this is the place to head. Valley of Fire State Park is less than 60 miles north of Las Vegas (on Interstate 15 at Exit 75) and is one of the most visually different and beautiful state parks in the southwest. The park is very accessible (you don't need 4wd, the roads are almost all nicely paved) and yet you get the feeling when you're there that you've arrived on the surface of the moon. Much of the park is aglow with the red sandstone rock formations that the park is named for and when the rising or setting sun hits them they virtually ignite. My favorite sections: the area known as the "Beehives" and also the road up to the White Domes area. You can easily spend a day or more shooting here and there is camping. An easy drive from Las Vegas and well worth it.
