Make a list of your favourite places

Saturday 25 February 2023, 20:40 by Nando Harmsen | 2,866 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Sometimes it is hard to find a nice place to take photos at the last minute. Perhaps you head out and see what you find. Or you go to that one familiar place where you have been so many times. Although there is nothing wrong with that, a list of favourite places can help you choose.

Imagine deciding a few hours before sunset that you would like to head out after all. There are beautiful clouds, the light is wonderful, and it looks like it will be spectacular. Where should you go?

You always look for the best place for a photo. Do you know them by heart when you head out unexpectedly?
Imagine getting up in the morning and finding that it is misty. You had not really planned to take photos, but it is still tempting to go out. What would be the best place then?

Imagine finding that it has cleared up in the evening, and the stars are shining beautifully in the sky. You decide to photograph star trails after all. Where should you go and stand?

A good foreground is important for star trails. Make sure you know a few places so you can head out straight away when the sky clears in the evening.
Do you recognise these kinds of situations? I do, and it is difficult to choose a location at the last minute. You either head out and see what you find, with the risk that it will not be quite what you hoped for. Or you decide to go to that familiar place where you always take photos.

You can make things easy for yourself by making a list. Make a note of every place you discover while you are out and about. If necessary, take a photo with your smartphone so you also have the GPS data.

Take a photo with your smartphone and make a note. Write down where the place is and what you can photograph there. This gives you a useful list of locations to choose from.
You can make this as detailed as you like. Make a note stating when the place is best for photography. Write down where it is, or add your smartphone photo. Most note-taking apps on smartphones can do this, or you can find one that can.

Name them after the type of photo you can take there, so you can easily find them when the list gets long. For example, 'sunset-meandering-stream-view'. Or 'star-trails-north-cycle-bridge'. Or 'mist-layered-row-of-trees-fen'.

When it is misty and you want to head out to a suitable location, look it up in your list of notes.
If you come across beautiful conditions and decide to head out unexpectedly, you can easily choose a place this way. It is no guarantee of a good photo, but it does increase the chance of success.

Do you have any tips for recording locations? Let us know in a comment below this article. I would love to hear how you remember beautiful places.

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