Do U Have A Favorite Area To Photograph/paint?

If you have a discussion around each image posted please

The Washington state capitol building and grounds! I am obsessed. I live close enough to walk there (well, it's a bit of a hike, really). I'm starting to feel like the capitol stalker or something. I need to branch out.

Davidson Mill Pond and the surrounding park (there are 6 images of it in my Jersey Scenes gallery) and any diner I come across.

The marsh and barrier islands off the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi.

I think I once read that Louisiana was the best birding area in the world (at least before the oil spills).

Not really - I am where I am - but if i had my 'druthers' I'd be out in the desert southwest. the world is my oyster - I'm still looking for the pearl.

Absolutely! I do have several places that I just cannot get enough of. Top of the list are the beaches of Florida--easy for me to get to and always beautiful. Specifically I prefer the west coast of the state since that's where I grew up, but the east coast will do in a pinch. ; ) My other favorite subject is my children...not in a snapshot kind of way, but more to capture the general innocence and beauty of childhood overall.

I find peace of mind when I walk around Lake Michigan either in Chicago or Wisconsin (Door county). So, I hope to make Lake Michigan my home base as a photographer for the next xxx amount of years.

I move around too much to become known for the local area - I think. Maybe my "studio". But I do have a couple favorite spots that I return to over and over. One is a lot next to an auto repair shop that has a bunch of old car carcasses.



I revisit it in every season. Helps that its across the street from a thrift shop where I donate stuff and look for props.

Badger Mountain in near my home. I never leave home without my camera, and I'll hike it everyday this summer.

There's a swamp/nature preserve/wildlife sanctuary a mile from my house. I go over there if I have the time and I'm in the mood but I don't want to spend a lot of money on gas to go farther afield. I've also, on many occasions, jumped in the car on a moment's notice and rushed over there when the weather/atmosphere is especially interesting and I want a good foreground against which to frame images.

Miami Beach...a photographer's haven...





I also love shooting in "The Everglades!

Yes :)

I have the beach of Francavilla al Mare, in Abruzzi, Italy


and the castle of Rocca Calascio, a very small town in Abruzzi, near L'Aquila

When I am at Montrose Harbor Lake Michigan (Chicago)...
I feel like Melville's character in Moby Dick......
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world."

Justifying text follows: :)



I'm very found of the Prairie. I lived in western Nebraska for several years, and that's where I started doing a lot of photography. Some places there's almost too much to photograph. There you have a look a bit more, but when you start seeing things, you really start to see the beauty all around.

Texas is both my home and my favorite place to photograph. Since Texas is ranked #1 out of all 50 U.S. states in diversity of species of birds and reptiles, and #2 in plants and mammals, (and you thought we just had tumbleweeds and rattlesnakes!) there is a limitless supply of subjects to be found here.

On a more focused sphere, I never grow tired of photographing my little town. It is tiny, but it is a photographer's paradise. Also, even though most of the country is (thankfully) oblivious to its existence, the place has some significant historical importance--it was a young man from this town who captured Santa Ana during the Battle of San Jacinto, the winning of which led to the Mexican War. This in turn resulted in the acquisition by the United States of the States of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma--almost one-third of the present area of the American nation, nearly a million square miles of territory, changed sovereignty. So the actions of one of our town's citizens had quite an impact on American history.

The great thing is, the town's appearance is largely unchanged from that time period, which only adds to its charm and mystique.

I enjoy going on "field trips" to find interesting photo ops; it offers me the chance to explore and enjoy different environments while working. But my favourite and most comfortable place to shoot is actually in my home gym(!), where I have plenty of space, nice diffused light from skylights, and further lighting control through blinds on opposite walls. I like to put objects on the black rubber gym mats, and sit there myself to work. The mats don't reflect much light so they work well as a backround, if needed, and they provide a comfortable place to contort myself for the perfect shot. Basically, if an object is portable, that's where I go with it. I also took photos of some of the gym equipment while in there, and found I had enough of those images for their own gallery. So at least I can brag that I've been spending a lot of time in the gym!

Without a doubt, The Everglades and the adjacent Big Cypress National Preserve

The Everglades is the black sheep of all National Parks and the most under appreciated until about 20 years ago. It is the only park in the US with 4 designations: a National Park, an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. My port is full of images of those areas and I am in the process of writing an educational coffee table book with pictures obviously and I tell something about each ecosystem in the Everglades. Most tourists race through the park without really looking and then they say it's boring. This book will proof them otherwise if they would just take the time.

Whereever I happen to be with a camera. However it may have to be the UW Arboretum in Madison, seeing as we're only 3 blocks from it.

It really is hard to say. I suppose the Adirondaks but Colorado and Utah were great, as was Arizona. Houston is has its pluses and minuses but theres still lots to discover

Rudy, did you capture that with the rx100? Great shot!..and editing!

Not only do I get to photograph sailboats, seagulls, fish, birds, flowers, etc..., but also people doing what people do best....which is every type of activity...including this rather amusing scene.

Judy - As a matter of fact I did. Just don't tell anybody. I used lightroom 5.0 for editing. I looks like I used some preset filter, but I didn't

Thank you very much btw. :)

Robert,

I have a fascination to photograph medieval European castles in Germany, Scotland, and elsewhere. Have only visited one thus far, but would like to plan a long Scotland trip, perhaps 45 days in length, as I've located about 90 castles across the country. I've calculated it would coast about $15k to complete the trip but, I have much more homework to do in order to secure property rights, if available.

My second favorite "haunt" is Uptown in Chicago. On my way to Montrose Harbor, I ride thru this area and from my car I use my 100-400 zoom lens to take urban images of people and whatever else catches my eye. Uptown is a scruffy, jazz-inflected neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. Just in the last week or so I've managed to capture quite a few interesting characters. I then present them on "Flickr" which even has a group for "Uptown."

I don't show these images here because they would have very little appeal to "art" lovers. And I don't mean this unkindly either. It just is what it is.

However, maybe some time later in this year I may show the Art Deco buildings which Uptown has to offer, albeit in varying stages of preservation or neglect.

Over the years I have posted my images from my favorite places only to have them overrun with photographers. I can actually trace some of the popularity of these back to me and some of the very popular online camera sites I belonged to. Places I had to myself are now photo tour destinations for groups from as far away as Germany. I could write a book and have been featured in some. I don't go there anymore. So rather than invite the world to my current personal places I will show one of my old ones that has been discovered. This is Viera Wetlands near Melbourne. I was one of the first to post images from here on the net.
Florida. Thanks to AnnaJo for her humorous take on it.