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25 Amazing Locations Every Landscape Photographer Should Visit

Posted by Nate Kay | 20 Comments

Landscape photography can be very rewarding if you’re willing to travel and/or hike to the right places, get up early and/or stay up late, and risk injury to both yourself and your equipment getting to some of the best spots. Of course, a photographer can always find great landscape shots from the road too, but half the cool factor is being able to tell what you had to do to get that awesome photo.

Here is a selection (in no particular order) of 25 amazing locations that every landscape photographer should visit in their lifetime. This is just a small selection of the many other great places out there so please leave a comment below and tell us where your favorite landscape locations are in the world.

1. Iceland
A place which has somewhat mild temperatures for it’s latitude, relatively untouched landscapes, and a small population, Iceland provides a photographer with the perfect environment for taking great photos. You won’t have to go far to find open spaces, waterfalls, mountains, rivers, and amazing views.

Iceland view by Berit

Reykjadalir Iceland by Lydur Skulason

Iceland = "waterfall heaven"

2. The Palouse
Rolling hills, fields that are constantly changing colors through four distinct seasons, and great weather provide incredible picture opportunities in this major agricultural area around southeastern Washington and North Idaho. Popular spots include Steptoe Butte and Palouse Falls.

Green Hills Palouse by Nate Kay

Palouse Falls by Monika

fieldscape by Victor Szalvay

3. Patagonia
A region located in Chile and Argentina, Patagonia offers photographers incredible scenery with it’s mountains, valleys, steppelike plains, coastlines, lakes, and rugged terrain. A good place to start would Torres del Paine National Park during the southern summer (between late December and late February).

EL CHALTEN BAJO NUBES by GABRIEL GALLARDO

Upsala Glacier up Close by longhorndave

Patagonia. by Mazzali

4. The American Southwest
With places like the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Bryce Canyon, Sedona, and Monument Valley, the American Southwest is as close to heaven for someone who enjoys photography, warm weather, and amazing landscapes.

Twin Light Tubes by Brent Pearson

Colours of the Earth by Olivier

A breathtaking view by Jae

5. Death Valley
Also in the Southwest, Death Valley is the hottest and driest of all National Parks in the U.S. The scenery though is incredible. With salt-flats, sand dunes, badlands, valleys, canyons, mountains, and the mysterious moving rocks at The Racetrack, a photographer has plenty of options to shoot a perfect landscape photo.

Racetrack Playa, Death Valley by Patrick Merritt

Death Valley by enfad

Death Valley Sand Dunes by Hayden

6. South Island, New Zealand
Even though it’s the larger of the two islands of New Zealand, only one-fourth of the population lives on the South Island. With eighteen peaks over 3000m (9800ft), six forest protected areas, and many national parks, you’ll have no problem finding beautiful landscapes here.

Southern Alps - New Zealand by Geof Wilson

Purakaunui Falls by Geof Wilson

McKinnon Pass in the clouds by almassengale

7. Norway
With much of the land dominated by mountains, this second least populated European country has an extensive rugged coastline and is known for their amazing Fjords, narrow inlets with steep sides or cliffs.

Looking down into the Lysefjord by Lars Christopher Nøttaasen

Must stop stopping... by jim crossley

CALM LAKE by johnny myreng henriksen

8. Banff
With glacially fed lakes and incredible mountains, it’s home to the Banff Mountain Film Festival and doesn’t need much of a description to convince a photographer to go there.

image by fikretonal

Classic view of a cloudfree Peyto Lake by Frank Kovalchek

image by fikretonal

9. Assiniboine Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
Just on the edge of Banff National Park, the only access to this park is by backcountry trails, therefore it must be good. So put on your hiking shoes and prepare to be amazed with Assiniboine’s mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons, and tons of wildlife.

Assiniboine Star Light by Jeff Pang

Magog Lake Sunrise by Jeff Pang

Magog Creek and Naiset Point by miquitos

10. White Sands National Monument
This unique place features sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals, giving it the white appearance. But plan your shoot accordingly as this place is located near a missile range and can be closed any time they are testing.

The Unbearable Light by Sandra

White Sands by Pinchof 2.0

image by Marc Tarlock

 
11. Yosemite
Despite getting millions of visitors every year, Yosemite is still a place where you can get some amazing landscape photos. Known for it’s spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, and Giant Sequoia groves, anytime of the year provides great opportunities for some unforgettable photography.

Majesty by Dawn

Salute to El Capitan by wonderlane

Half Dome in Winter by Anita Ritenour

 
12. Sahara
As the second largest desert in the world (behind Antartica), you can travel to areas of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia, or the Western Sahara to find some great desert landscapes. The sand dunes here can reach incredible heights of over 500 feet and provide proof that you don’t need a lush environment to get some great pictures.

Sahara Desert by wonker

The last minute by zoomion

canales by bachmont

 
13. Oregon Coast
A beautiful coastline with temperamental weather, you’ll find great beaches and locations like Haystack Rock for amazing sunset photos and seascapes.

Better Luck THIS Time by Kyle Kruchok

image by Misserion

Cape Kiwanda by Andrew E. Larson

 
14. New England
Located in the Northeastern corner of the United States, New England covers six states, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The season to book a trip here is Autumn. You will be astounded by the beauty that the Fall colors bring to these areas.

Autumn Foliage in Acadia National Park by Dana Moos

View of White Mountain New Hampshire by Werner Kunz

image by Putneypics

 
15. Olympic National Park, Washington State
Located in Washington State, in the Olympic Peninsula, this National Park provides a great opportunity to get a variety of great landscapes. Along with the coastline, the tall Olympic Mountains are here which provide an alpine region, a temperate west side forest, and a drier east side, all within close proximity of each other.

seven lakes basin, olympic national park by ((brian))

Olympic National Park by Jason Pratt

Ruby Beach by John Fowler

 
16. Grand Teton National Park
Located in the least populous U.S. state of Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park has incredible mountain ranges and stellar lakes that provide perfect places to take pictures.

Grand Teton National Park by Sean Naber

Grand Teton National Park by chascar

The Grand Tetons from near String Lake by Frank Kovalchek

 
17. Glacier National Park
Located in Montana and bordering Canada, Glacier National Park has over 130 named lakes and hundreds of others, many of which are tarns (small mountain lakes) formed within parts of the two mountain ranges the park has. Glacier also has hundreds of waterfalls throughout the area, most of which are small and turn into a trickle during the dry season, while others like Bird Woman Falls, are almost 500 feet tall.

St. Mary Lake by Mike Boehmer

Glacier National Park by Dave Sizer

Typical Fall Day by glaciernps

 
18. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, and when covered with water, it’s also the world’s largest mirror. While it’s dry, the flats provide beautiful cracks to snap a few great photos of.

Laguna Colorada by Chris Streeter

salt flats Bolivia by psyberartist

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia by Carlos Adampol Galindo

 
19. Tasmania, Australia
This Australian island and state has over one-third of it covered with National Parks and Reserves, making this natural environment a perfect place to find rounded mountain ranges, dense forests, and winding rivers. Plenty of material for a great landscape photo.

Mount Field NP. by NeilsPhotography

Coastline by NeilsPhotography

Arthur River Sunset by Steve Mullarkey

 
20. Denali National Park, Alaska
The Alaska Range runs throughout this park, which means you won’t find too much dense forest here. But you will find a variety of tundra and other vegetation along with incredible mountains for your photographic enjoyment.

Overcast in the valley by Nic McPhee

Upper Muldrow Glacier by Pete Klosterman

Stony Portrait by Nic McPhee

 
21. Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada mountain range is located in California and Nevada, running 400 miles North-to-South and 70 miles wide east-to-west. Yosemite is located here along with two other national parks, twenty wilderness areas, and two national monuments.

Spring Flowers at the Base of Mount Whitney, and Lone Pine Peak by Alan Vernon

Evolution Lake, Kings Canyon National Park by Steve Dunleavy

Ritter Range, Ansel Adams Wilderness by Steve Dunleavy

 
22. Tibet
Featuring some of the greatest mountains on the planet, including the tallest, Mt. Everest, Tibet also has the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, which is one of the longest and deepest canyons in the world. These along with a very dry environment can provide some once in a lifetime photo taking opportunities.

Mustard Fields by Prasad Kholkute

Can't help it, Tibet by Jan Reurink

China Tibet Himalaya by Bernard Goldbach

 
23. Bali, Indonesia
It won’t be hard to convince a photographer to go to this beautiful island which features tall mountains and lovely beaches.

What Have I Done? by tropicalLiving

Batur Volcano and Lake by tropicalLiving

Tegenungan Waterfall, Gianyar, Bali by Schristia

 
24. Golden Gate Highlands National Park, South Africa
Despite featuring a variety of wildlife, this National Park is more well known for it’s beautiful landscapes, especially the eroded sandstone cliffs and outcrops.

Waterfall by Pavel Tcholakov

Angry skies by Pavel Tcholakov

Sunset over the valley by Pavel Tcholakov

 
25. Pyrenees
The main crest of this unique mountain range divides the countries of Spain and France. The western lower side of the Pyrenees is wooded and then it gradually becomes more wild and barren the farther east you go, providing a variety of alpine landscape to take some awesome pictures of.

Depuis le Néouvielle by Jean-Baptiste Bellet

Sunrise in the Pyrenees by Jule_Berlin

Au petit matin.. by Grégory Tonon

 
Tell us about your favorite locations for landscape photography in the comment section below.

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