# Where in the world would you go to photograph?



## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

Hey all.  I'm coming to the part in my career to be able to study abroad.  My college is great in that they offer places in almost ANY country I could want, and I can ask for a country if it's not directly offered.  Since I am a double major in Photography and Conservation Biology, just about anywhere in the world would work for me, in either field.  And I could justify anyplace for Photography alone.  

So, that being said, where would you go, given the chance?  It would be for about 4 or 5 months, so plenty of time for photography.  I have the opportunity to go up to 3 different places.  I was thinking:

Iceland
Ireland
New Zealand
Madagascar
Rome
(Insert place in Western Europe)

I'm having a terrible time deciding, and I really want to decide, so I can put the plan in motion.

Feel free to offer any place you'd like.  
Mark


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## Overread (Sep 29, 2011)

Conservation + photography - I'd be thinking of somewhere like Kenya, Brazil, India; places where there are lots of possible subjects and a strong conservation element in things.


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## dxqcanada (Sep 29, 2011)

Galapagos Islands
Laos/Vietnam/Cambodia
Argentina

Madagascar sounds interesting though.


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

Galapagos was my first choice.  They don't offer one in the Galapagos.  They do offer Vietnam.  I'm not interested in going to Kenya for a long period of time.  

Mark


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

P.S.  The conservation status of the place doesn't really matter all that much.  I'll only be taking one or two classes wherever I go.  Most likely a photography course. I've looked into the classes offered through the study abroad program, and they're not really all that great as far as conservation goes.  So, they will just be photography/independent study classes so I can focus on the photography portion.

Mark


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## GeorgieGirl (Sep 29, 2011)

Rome. The pleasure will never end.


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## analog.universe (Sep 29, 2011)

You mentioned Iceland, so I'll vote for that.  

I've always wanted to visit (and photograph) some place in Scandinavia.  Sweden is also really intriguing to me.


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

I am in LOVE with Iceland.  It is absolutely beautiful there, and is a climate that I could live with for the rest of my life.  

Mark


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## imagemaker46 (Sep 29, 2011)

I've done New Zealand and Australia.  Australia is so vast and has so many different climates, and types of locations.......oh and beautiful women.


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## Kerbouchard (Sep 29, 2011)

Scotland.


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## spacefuzz (Sep 29, 2011)

Id vote for Iceland or New Zealand. But they suite my style of landscape photography. Guess it depends what you want to shoot.


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

Being there for a few months, I'll be shooting everything.  Landscapes (everyplace has something worthy), street for the people to show the different culture, animals (birds, and TONS of Macro.), flora, everything.  I'd love to go to a someplace with alot of wildlife so I can focus on that, but I'd really love to go everywhere.  So I'm having a HORRIBLE time choosing.  I'll post a list all of the places that they offer in a few minutes.

Mark


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

*Asia*

China and the Hong Kong SARIndiaJordanJapanKoreaMongoliaThailandTurkeyViet Nam



*Africa
*
BotswanaCameroonEgyptGhanaMadagascarMaliMoroccoSenegalSouth AfricaTanzaniaTunisiaUganda






*Americas

*
ArgentinaBrazilCanadaChileCosta RicaDominican RepublicEcuadorMexicoPeruUruguay



*Europe

*
BelgiumCzech  RepublicDenmarkEstoniaFinlandGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyThe NetherlandsPolandRussiaSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited Kingdom (England, Scotland and  Wales)













*Oceania

AustraliaFijiNew ZealandSamoa


*






So you see my dilema.
Mark


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## LizardKing (Sep 29, 2011)

Yes, you probably should explain what you like or what you're interested in... What type of photography you like or want to focus on this trip...

Last year I took over 25.000 pictures during my trip to Europe... So, I can definitely recommend some places there, where you also have lots of places to go during the weekends.
I can also recommend a couple of places here in South America, as well. For instance, the south of Argentina and Chile, which is know as Patagonia. Or Perú, with all the Inca remainings and culture.


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## LizardKing (Sep 29, 2011)

Just saw the list, but you're missing the european countries...
From the ones you have there, I would select between these finalists:

Turkey
New Zealand
Iceland
Mongolia
Thailand
Madagascar
South Africa
Brazil
Costa Rica


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## Trever1t (Sep 29, 2011)

fortunate enough to have had short visits to Vietnam and Cambodia....I'd love to visit Indonesia, Guatemala, Peru, India, or at least parts of those countries 

Nothing gets me higher than ancient historical architecture


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

I am drawn to everywhere for that precise reason.  I really want to shoot everything.  I want to shoot the people for the culture, the historical places for the history, and the nature.  But the more I think about it over these past few weeks, I'm _really_ leaning toward someplace more nature-envolved.  Animals (birds, etc) and landscapes.  That's what I enjoy the most.  I could definitely be happy lugging around a 600/4 or 200-400/4, 11-16/2.8, and 180/2.8 Macro with all the fixin's through the jungle or tundra, breaking myself for a shot of a rare animal or beautiful landscape.  I've always been naturally-involved, and I'd really like this to continue. If that's a little wordy or incoherent, I'd be glad to reword. 

Mark


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## spacefuzz (Sep 29, 2011)

Well you should know with a list like that you cant go wrong. and can always go to the next place next year.


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

LizardKing said:


> Just saw the list, but you're missing the european countries...



Sorry about that.  It's fixed.

Mark


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

I could technically go to three places in one year, but I feel the family would be a little neglected, and I would get massively homesick and overswamped with photos.  I'm really conflicted about all of this.  I am meeting with the advisor in about a month, so I should at least get it ironed out to roughly 3-5 places by then.

Mark


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## GeorgieGirl (Sep 29, 2011)

Our daugter spent 1.5 years studying abroad....Rome, Paris, Dublin and then Rome again with Amsterdam and few other side trips in the mix. God Save Skype. I swear I communicated more with her on Skype than in regular life when here in the states. We did miss her home here at Thanksgiving and that was hard...but we did have Skype for dinner.


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## Trever1t (Sep 29, 2011)

draw straws. No matter where it will be all good


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## Markw (Sep 29, 2011)

I don't want to do that. I want to enjoy the place I will be going to, and photographing. .  I'm sure I would enjoy them all, like you say, but I think I'm really looking for a place with good wildlife opportunities (forests, temperate or tropical), or at least good landscapes (like you would figure Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland would).  

Mark


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## Kerbouchard (Sep 29, 2011)

Markw said:


> I don't want to do that. I want to enjoy the place I will be going to, and photographing. .  I'm sure I would enjoy them all, like you say, but I think I'm really looking for a place with good wildlife opportunities (forests, temperate or tropical), or at least good landscapes (like you would figure Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland would).
> 
> Mark



FWIW, Europe isn't all that big and they have a pretty decent train system.  If you pick something centrally located, there is a good chance you could travel pretty cheaply on the weakends and see a lot of what you want to see.

You may be limiting yourself too much by assuming you are going to be stuck in one location.


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## Infinite_Day (Sep 30, 2011)

Hmmm - I was in Scotland in June and there are some fantastic landscapes to be shot there. Absolutely astounding scenery they have - to the point where I would leave everything and move there if I could find a job. We are planning Ireland for next year and expect more wonderful shots. On my list of places I'd like to hit to photograph I would include:

Borneo (not sure if you can get there but I'd certainly have it on the list)
The Patagonia region of S. America
New Zealand
I know it's not that far abroad but Canada has some fantastic landscape and wildlife as well
Finland/Sweden/Norway
There are many places I'd go in Africa but the problem there is the danger you face and picking a good spot 
Europe, as Kerbouchard said, is easy to navigate around if you have the financial means to do so


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## molested_cow (Sep 30, 2011)

Try Bhutan.


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## coach343 (Sep 30, 2011)

You should check out the Inishowen peninsula in Ireland. It's extremely scenic and its right next door to the UK city of Culture: Derry. Inishowen is perfect for landscape photography, the people are extremely welcoming also. Well worth checking out!


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## gsgary (Sep 30, 2011)

Cross off Ireland unless you go to Northern Ireland much better than Southern and the people are friendlier, Scotland is fantastic for landscapes, i go there for motorbiking great back lanes
The only places i would go to shoot in Southern Ireland would be Lahinch for surfing shots and up North West and Connamara


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## Markw (Oct 3, 2011)

Thanks everyone.  I'll take all of that into consideration.  I've also found this program:

Home

That I'm thinking about going to next summer.  I haven't decided yet, but I think it would be a great opportunity, and, since it would be just about free on my end, one I shouldn't pass up on.

Mark


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## Anthonymrb (Oct 5, 2011)

Since I now have a nicer camera than I did when I went to Hawaii, i would love to go back. I went into the rainforest's and was sad I didn't bring my real camera.


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## Redbaron (Oct 5, 2011)

From your list I'd go for whatever place(s) interest you. I've never been to South/Central America, nor Africa - but anywhere in Asia or Europe you'll get great shots. I spent around 4 years travelling through Europe/US/Canada and Asia some years ago, and even with my little Pentax (can't remember the model it was years ago) - I got some absolutely aweseome photos. 

Asia - temples, beaches, jungles, animals (tigers, elephants etc), rivers. If you go South East (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos etc) the countries are reasonable close to each other and not hard to get visas and cheap flights/bus/train rides. Places like the Mekong river (Thai, Laos, Vietnam), Kanchanaburi (Thailand - Burma Railway from WWII), historic temples like the Angkor Wat in Cambodia... 

Europe - again a lot of countries in close proximity to each other, and at least in Western Europe no visas are required (check in advance though). Don't discount Eastern Europe (check visas though, but they are easy to get). I got some awesome photos of architecture, buildings, people, battle scenes from WWII, old towns/villages, scenery/landscapes etc in the Czech Rep, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Scandinavia and Russia. East very cheap to travel through as well. 

Enjoy!


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## doro (Oct 8, 2011)

Everywhere. But on top of that I would like to go to Brasil and China. This is actually the reason why I started taking Portuguese and Chinese lessons. Let's see now how everything turns out in a few years...


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## paul85224 (Oct 8, 2011)

TOUGH CHOICE.....I'm sure my list would go on forever...but a few places:

Hawaiian Islands
New Zealand
Italy
London
Belize
Japan
Canada
Greece
Iceland
Greenland
Madagascar (Lemurs)
Fiji
Most of the United States

Ah.....sure I've left off quite a few.


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## Markw (Oct 8, 2011)

I'm *really* considering Iceland.  I've always wanted to go, and I've just recently been looking through travel journals (pictorial ones), and some of the landscape scenes there, particularly in the summer are simply spectacular!  They've also got some amazing waterfalls.  And It's not as gear-intensive to shoot beautiful landscapes as it is to shoot wildlife.  So, I'm really considering going to Iceland first, then someplace focusing on the wildlife.  Once I've built up my lens lineup to suit.  Besides, I've always been fascinated with Iceland, as I stated earlier.  

Mark


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## andrewleephoto (Oct 10, 2011)

I live in CA so I want to go to death valley for STARRRRSSSS!!! yeah... I'm a student so I don't have too much time to go anywhere far...


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## MBasile (Oct 10, 2011)

Ireland - Great landscape shots as well as old architecture. Also, it is a quick (but international) flight over to Scotland. Although, I would come back with a bigger belly and a photo tour of every brewery in Ireland and Scotland.


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## ang1995 (Oct 10, 2011)

Italy or anywhere in Europe


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## paul85224 (Oct 10, 2011)

andrewleephoto said:


> I live in CA so I want to go to death valley for STARRRRSSSS!!! yeah... I'm a student so I don't have too much time to go anywhere far...



I'm "hoping" to shoot Death Valley this winter, possibly around New Year's Eve weekend...


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## darkdreamer (Oct 11, 2011)

North Wales
Yellowstone
Anywhere with volcanos!


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## Noxire (Oct 11, 2011)

Any island created by volcanic activity is a great choice. 
Iceland
New Zealand (not sure whether volcanic but probably)
The Canaries island (rich bird life) (AMAZING landscapes within short driving distance)


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## dots (Oct 11, 2011)

Anywhere with interesting light and shadow.


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## ghache (Oct 11, 2011)

If i could invest money in a photography trip, it would probably be a safari in africa/south america or something similar. I am fascinated by animals.


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## Markw (Oct 13, 2011)

My thoughts exactly, but I don't have the money to get the good lenses I want for wildlife.  And I wouldn't be satisfied rummaging about in the jungle with a 80-200/2.8D.  Besides, my stay would be kind of extended.  2 months, minimum.

Mark


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## sm4him (Oct 13, 2011)

You say you CAN pick up to three places, but you don't say if you are GOING to pick that many.  I'd just try to make them as different as possible.  Iceland, New Zealand and Madagascar might be a nice mix. Or maybe Iceland, Madagascar and Rome.
Now, me, I'd pick Ireland and Australia, and maybe Brazil...just because those are places to visit that are on my bucket list.


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## bentcountershaft (Oct 13, 2011)

For me, based on your list I would be trying to decide between New Zealand and Ireland.  Something like this is such a personal decision though.


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## Autochrome (Oct 13, 2011)

It would be New Zealand for me.Lots of spectacular landscapes there!


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## arkipix1001 (Oct 13, 2011)

Rome will get my first vote...would love to go to india...turkey is a good place too...Egypt will be one of the list as well...


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## Erinw417 (Oct 14, 2011)

I vote Ireland, India, or Egypt. Those are three places I have always wanted to go Ireland especially.


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## paul85224 (Oct 16, 2011)

Autochrome said:


> It would be New Zealand for me.Lots of spectacular landscapes there!



Snow on the mountains and warm beaches....all on the same island!!


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## paul85224 (Oct 16, 2011)

darkdreamer said:


> North Wales
> Yellowstone
> Anywhere with volcanos!



Don't forget the hawaiian island, their volcanos flow all the time, but not the composite explosive type, like Mount Saint Helens.

Yellowstone is one, big dormant volcano.


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## dots (Oct 16, 2011)

Novaya Zemlya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## marrylincoln (Oct 17, 2011)

If i got the chance then i will go to San Miguel De Allende, in Mexico. This is too nice place. You should go for it no doubt.


------------------------

*Limerick   Wedding Photographer *


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## marcy (Oct 20, 2011)

In which kind of photography are you interested?


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## marcy (Oct 20, 2011)

It depends, actually i prefer some untouchable places to shoot unique photos.


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## mortovismo (Oct 20, 2011)

Back home in Ireland. Didn't do photography until I had left  Makes me nauseus to think of all the places I had been and never had a camera.


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## D_Alishouse (Oct 25, 2011)

From the list you provided and considering what my most creative and world traveled friends are always going on and on about, I would definitely go for Iceland, first choice. Madagascar would be second choice. But truly, I think Iceland would work better especially if you take into account your Conservation Biology major as well as photography.  Wherever you choose, I have a feeling you will be getting some fantastic shots and having amazing experiences!  Good luck!

D Alishouse
Boulder Photography; Destination Wedding Photographer


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## TenaciousTins (Oct 25, 2011)

Wow, so many choices. I have personally only been to Australia...I went to a small town and didn't tour around a lot but I did see some really cool stuff and if I"d had the equipment with me (went on a pleasure trip so only took my DSLR and my flash) I could have gotten some really awesome photos. The people there are wicked nice, especially in the small towns. They are also very photogenic. I don't think I saw an ugly person there. Everything is still in small shops, not big stores like Walmart unless you go into the city. I flew into Melbourne and I have to say that flying over Australia was absolutely stunning...the bit between Sydney and Melbourne was breathtaking from the air, never mind from the ground. I visited a town called Bright, in Victoria province and there were "mountains" and greenery but also tons of wildlife. 

But anywhere in the world? Ireland would be my first pick. But I'm such a homebody, I'll probably never go. Good luck wherever you end up!


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## gsgary (Oct 25, 2011)

I would cross off Dublin for a while Dublin Floods Trigger Emergency as Bodies Found; FBD Falls - Businessweek


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## Markw (Apr 12, 2012)

Thought I'd bring this discussion back to life.  I am meeting with the travel abroad advisor Monday to get everything set in stone.  I'll let you know what I decide.  

In the mean time, if any of you would like to change your answer, or add more/another, feel free to do so!

Mark


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## DorkSterr (Apr 12, 2012)

*1. New Zealand*
*2. Fira Santorini, Greece*
*3. Kowloon, Hong Kong*
*4. Phukek, Thailand*
*5. New Guinea*
*6. Sicily, Italy*
*7. Arctic*
*8. Antarctica*
*9. Pantanal, Brazil*
*10. Midway Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands*
*11. Syrian Arab Republic*
*12. Jaipur, India*
*13. Namibia, Africa*
*14. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii*

*Went To Already*
*Need To Save Up*


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