Favorite Photo Places: The Black Hills of South Dakota
By Will Keener and Ron Wolfe— There are some great faces in Western South Dakota – the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Abe Lincoln and Sioux warrior Crazy Horse. In addition to these chiseled-in-granite monuments, there are many great places to photograph in this Black Hills region. Consider Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Spearfish Canyon, for example. Finally, there are some...
Favorite Photo Locations: The Oregon Coast
FLASHBACK – Originally posted 2/18 By Laurie Excell Some of the most beautiful coastline in all America is just a short, ninety-minute drive from Portland, Oregon and stretches 363 miles from the Columbia River to the California border. [See “Resources” below for map.] It’s hard to know where to point your camera first when confronted with 80 state park and recreation areas, nine-plus light houses, numerous quaint...
Favorite Photo Places: The Great Smoky Mountains
By Ron Wolfe and Will Keener— To be sure, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a place for all seasons, but autumn is especially spectacular! The park’s allure is particularly strong in the fall, as Mother Nature uncovers yet another set of delights. There’s a reason that photo workshops, pros, and enthusiasts all head for these mountains in the late days of October and early November. It’s also a time when the park sets...
Documenting Maine’s Penobscot River Wilderness. Part 1
By Zac Durant— The fierce intensity of the wind had carried my canoe out to the middle of the huge lake, where white caps were threatening to capsize it. If it were to succumb to the turbulent waters, I would not be in a very favorable situation. The water was cold, and I was at least a half-mile from shore. While I’m a capable swimmer, I didn’t like those odds very much… It all began in August, 2020 after I’d done a...
Favorite Photo Places: Carlsbad Caverns, NM
By Lon Shelton & Ron Wolfe— Beneath the prickly pear and cholla cactus of the Chihuahuan desert in southeast New Mexico lies a spectacular treasure. Carlsbad Caverns National Park – a complex of 117 caves including the largest accessible cave chamber on our continent– dazzles visitors with its magnificence, its cathedral-like silence, and the sheer scope of its reach. On a normal year, roughly half a million visitors come to see...
Ghana: An African Portrait Revisited
By Peter E. Randall— Photographing and producing a book on Ghana was not on my mind when I first visited the West African country in 1984 as a United Nations consultant. I was hired to document an improved method of smoking fish, a vital task in a country with little access to refrigeration to preserve the catch. In 1958, Ghana was the first sub-saharan country to become independent. In 1963, President Kwame Nkrumah invited master...
White Pocket: Millions-of-years-old Fantasy World
By Will Keener and Ron Wolfe— White Pocket is photographer’s dreamland; a remote, other-worldly experience in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona that looks like chef whipped up a colorful concoction from chunks of multi-colored fudge. Writers tend to wax poetic in describing White Pocket, seeing visions of gum drops, ice cream cones, dragon’s eyes, and other objects in this altered version of what was once an ancient...
Favorite Photo Places: Hot Air Balloon Festivals
By Will Keener and Ron Wolfe— It’s hard to imagine an event that could provide more colors, shapes, characters, configurations, and downright joy to photographers than a hot-air balloon festival. The kaleidoscope of color and the interaction of the setting, the viewers, the balloons and their crews make for a stunning variety of possibilities. Living within hours of one of the first and finest balloon festivals, experience has taught...
Photographing the White Horses of the Camargue
By Tony Bonanno— I’ve photographed horses for many years– quarter horses on western ranches, grand prix jumpers, rodeo horses and wild roaming Spanish Mustangs, but none have intrigued me more than the White Horses of the Camargue in the South of France. I’d never heard of them until about five years ago when I was leading a photo workshop in Cuba and one of the participants, Jody Willard, a photojournalist from California...
Take the High Road for Breathtaking Images!
By Albert Chi– There’s a fantastic photo adventure awaiting you, requiring only a vehicle, your camera and some minimal planning for a most exciting trip. And chances are, it’s probably close to where you live and relatively inexpensive to get to so you can take the whole family along. Okay, what’s the catch? There isn’t any. Geotab, a Canadian firm that tracks truck locations has just built a set of coordinates representing...
Favorite Photo Places: An Amazing Wildlife Refuge
By Ron Wolfe and Will Keener– You get to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, south of Socorro, NM, at least a half an hour before sunrise. You position yourself with back to the wind, so the birds will fly over you; your back to the rising sun, even better. In the near dawn, you hear a cacophony of clicks and low calls from the Sandhill Cranes and the higher-pitched squawking of the Snow Geese on the water. Your camera is...
Favorite Photo Locations: Maine’s Lighthouses
by Ron Wolfe and Will Keener– Maine earns its title as the “Lighthouse State,” with more than 60 historic lighthouses, many of which are still active, spread out along 5,000 miles of coastline, inlets and islands. As lighthouses became less essential to navigation in the late 20th Century, these historic structures faced demolition. The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 provided for the transfer of...
Favorite Photo Locations: Arches National Park
By Ron Wolfe– While the 1,450-mile-long Colorado River is best known for winding through the Grand Canyon, it also offers exciting opportunities for photographers as it meanders through Southeastern Utah. Near the town of Moab, one will find Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument and Hovenweep National Monument– just a few of the more significant locales. Also, not to be overlooked, Monument...
Favorite Photo Locations – Southern Utah
by Shelly Katz– Thinking about going to Las Vegas? Forget about the casinos and bright lights of the strip. Instead take a 2-1/2 hour drive to the northeast and check out Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks in southern Utah. Zion National Park is located on State Route 9 in Springdale, Utah – 163 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada. When you’re ready to move on, Bryce Canyon National Park is located approximately 83 miles further....
Favorite Photo Locations – The Wave
By Ron Wolfe– “The Wave” comprises the Navajo Sandstone dunes that have calcified vertically and horizontally, turning into hardened, compacted rocks over time. Photographs of it are widely published and highly desired but it can be a dangerous location for photographers who are not in good physical condition. Located near the Arizona-Utah border in Paria Canyon of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, this sandstone formation is...
Favorite Photo Locations – The Outer Banks: Cape Hatteras
If you want to feel isolated on the crowded U.S. East Coast and spend quality time photographing in a unique location, consider the Outer Banks of North Carolina and specifically the Cape Hatteras area, which is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on this thin strip of barrier islands.Cape Hatteras itself is the southeastern most point along the U.S. eastern seaboard, and it’s a wild and windblown place, also known as the...
Favorite Photo Locations – Maui
Many great photo locations require perservance, and sometimes even hardship, to capture engaging images. But if you’d like to combine vacation relaxation with photo opportunity, a visit to Maui can satisfy both. In addition to bringing your favorite camera for scenics, invest in rugged camera that you can take underwater for snorkeling or exploring waterfalls. I like the Olympus TG-2 compact camera that sells for $379. It can...
Favorite Photo Locations: Mesa Verde National Park
In this edition, Red River Paper Pro Ron Wolfe covers the iconic Mesa Verde in Colorado My most recent trip to Mesa Verde was on the first day of November. Going to a National Park offseason has the advantage of fewer visitors. On the flip side, some attractions may be closed. In this case, several cliff dwellings were closed, but there were still sufficient cliff dwellings open to get a good flavor of the way the Anasazi people...
Favorite Photo Locations – “Heavenly Sea,” Hawaii’s Lanikai
See-your-toes-ocean along mile-long powder sand, it’s easy to see how Lanikai means “heavenly sea” in the Hawaiian language. Tucked away on the Windward side of the island of Oahu, 21 miles from Waikiki, Lanikai is one of the hidden jewels of beach resort Kailua. Locals and tourists call Lanikai “one of the best swimming beaches in Hawaii.” Offshore reefs protect the beach from high surf making Lanikai a favorite. Tourists, that is...
Favorite Photo Locations – Alaska!
1. Lake Clark National Park Located just southwest of Anchorage and accessible by float plane, there are several great sites for Brown Bear photography. My favorite is Crescent Lake. When the Brown Bears are on the Salmon runs, there are lots of opportunities for great action shots. I advise staying focused on a single bear, rather than scanning for action and trying to hit the shutter before it’s too late. Remember, every bear will...
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