Real Treasure Maps For Photographers

And what's the real treasure for photographers - it's the image, of course. So I found this story by Larry and Donna B. Ulrich over at The Outdoor Photographer - what a great site by the way. I bounced back and forth about publishing it, but the geek in me won out.

This fascinating article describes how to use topographic maps to help find the best places to get great landscape and nature images. Here is an excerpt from the article, “The topo map showed me that there were several small tarns (small lake or pond) on Island Pass, and they were surrounded by open country, indicating there could be meadows and potential wildflowers,” he recalls. “No ridges blocked the light to the west for many miles, and I knew that Island Pass would catch late-evening light. I determined what angle of the setting sun would work best and settled on mid-July. I knew that both peaks would catch the last light on their northern faces and the composition would be at the perfect polarization angle. If there were no clouds on the western horizon when the sun was setting, we’d get the shot.”

The author discusses how to study the map for the best composition, the best angle of the sun to catch and create an amazing shot, and how to creatively visualize the potential final result. It's kind of a thinking person's article but you can give it a read right here. Also, I think you will enjoy checking out Larry Ulrich's website right here.