My Learning Curve - Part 1

3. Ideas For Photographic Locations and Subjects


I think I should begin by saying that knowing the area around you home is perhaps an often overlooked starting point for identifying photgraphic opportunites. By this I mean knowing your garden the local walks and bridal paths, overgrown areas within towns, buildings, view points, public parks, woods and gardens, local nature reserves, animal sanctuaries, zoos, people who feed wild animals in their gardens, people with exotic pets etc. If you're lucky enough to live near the sea it can also be a good idea to keep track of the tide times to maximise your chances of picture taking opportunities as scenes can change dramatically at differing tide heights.

It is also worth considering the type of photography you would like to do. We can’t all go on safari photographing exotic animals every week. However if we consider macro photography, it’s amazing what unusual images there are in your own back yard. With a little imagination good images of everyday animals can also be very pleasing (and pet images can be very marketable).

By getting to know your local area you will be able to find many interesting subjects to photograph with each changing season. Also by returning to a familiar subject and taking shots with different lenses, in different lighting, using different techniques and perspectives you really maximise your photography learning experiences.

It is also worth viewing other photographer websites to see where they have taken their images.

Other sources of inspiration can be obtained from the following links:


Link To - The BBC Hands On Nature Site


Link To - The BBC UK Coast Tide Times


Link To - Online Wildlife Extra Ezine


Link To - Butterfly Conservation Site


Link To - The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, RSPB


Link To - Natural England


Link To - The Wildfowl Wetlands Trust


Link To - The South West Coast Path


Link To - The Forestry Commission/Forest Enterprise


Link To - The National Trust


Link To - BBC Breathing Places


Link To - Bird Watching Places Throughout the World


For more far flung ideas then the numerous exoitc holday companies and specialist photo holiday companies provide an almost limitless number of photographic opportunities.