In the era before blogs really hit the mainstream, it was very unpopular in photography circles to share thoughts, techniques and insights about the craft as well as the industry/trade. It was taboo. Well, the monopoly on information has obviously crumbled and, while it upset a handful of ivory-towered folks in the photo, film and video industries, we’ve broken out of that paradigm to a new era of more democratized creativity.
Let’s consider doing the same thing with photo and video locations around the world.
It occurred to me some time ago that I’m in the remarkably lucky position of getting to shoot in some of the best photo and video locations in the world: the beaches of the South Pacific, the peaks of European Alps, the deserts of the Middle East, the markets of South America, the warehouses in Brooklyn, the streets of Paris and countless others. It’s a perk of the job, for sure. It also occurred to me that, it would be really cool to share the privilege of the knowledge of these locations with the world and, perhaps in return, get to learn about dozens, hundreds, even thousands of new locations that I’d never known of otherwise.
I’m admittedly in the very early stages of this idea, but I’d love to see if there’s an initial interest from this community such to spark–or help me motivate–a sort of crowd sourced aggregator of cool places to shoot images. If you have an interest, please take a few seconds and list a location or two you love that you’d like to share in the comments below. Whether it’s beautiful… [click ‘continue reading’ link below]
—
…sublime, gritty, or downright dangerous but fascinating, let me know if this is a good idea by listing a couple of your favorites. I’m looking for not just popular ones, but remote, unknown, etc. Under a bridge, next to a stream, in a warehouse or in an alley, etc. No limits. And the more specific the better. And let go of your fears that this information should somehow be sacred. Let’s turn that upside down.
If there’s a small groundswell around this idea, I’ll put in some more effort. If not, then at least this post can be a cool list of some new locations for those not in the know.
To start it off, I’ll offer a beautiful place I shot some winter lifestyle images yesterday–atop Chairlift 12 at Telluride Moutain Resort in southwest Colorado. An utterly sublime snow scene, with a warming hut not more than 100 meters away to stash gear and get some coffee. The iPhone snap above is sort of dark because we’d just finished shooting, but you get the gist. This was just one view of the backdrop next to the open snowfield (looking northwest).
So do you have a few places you wanna share? Where do you love to shoot?
—
Get my every move: Follow Chase Jarvis on Twitter
Get exclusive content: Become a Fan on Facebook
Hey Chase!
I've always been looking for such a collection of locations, wonderful idea!
Just a thought: It would be really helpful to build some kind of infrastructure for this whole thing in order to offer a good overview/navigation through the collection of places.
Definitely shoot in Carbon Market in Cebu, Philippines. It's the best market I've seen in Asia for shooting images:
http://michalgarcia.blogspot.com/2008/12/one-year-and-going-strong.html
(and that's after visiting or living in Vietnam, Laos, China, Macau, Cambodia, Hong Kong, not to mention markets in Mexico)
I have more, but that's the only one I'd actually suggest someone shell out cash for a plane ticket to photograph.
🙂
Michal
I've lived out west and photographed many of the National Parks as well as scenic areas in the southeastern U.S., but for me there's nothing like the subtle, intimate natural beauty of the Hocking Hills of southeastern Ohio. It's where I first discovered my love for nature photography as a teenager in 1980 and has become the home of my creative spirit.
There are many historic towns in Central New York State, Skaneateles, Jordan, Elbridge, Weedsport are closest to me, but there are Geneva, Waterloo, Seneca (think Bedford Falls of "It's a Wonderful Life), Rochester, and many others. We have an abundance of waterfalls, from little known gems: Tinker's Falls, Carpenter's Falls to well traveled and photographed: Ithaca, High Falls in Rochester, Watkins Glen (NASCAR fame) and more.
I'm from Providence, RI and our city is small but great. There's a lot of old character in the building and down the alleys. I'm working on a project right now that demands these sort of gritty locations. So here's a few:
Off Valley Street in Providence in the abandoned "Eastern Butcher Block" warehouse.
Off Allens Ave. down near the animal shelter there's a set of extinct railroad tracks and an old junkyard that looks like a school bus cemetery.
I've shot portraits and bands at these locations as well, lots of possibilities.