Bucket List Photography Goals

coupon: DAD

What is your dream photo experience? An African safari? A road trip across Iceland? Tony & Chelsea share their favorite photo experiences they have had and some tips on how to enjoy them yourself.

[markpollon]

I live in Canada and it took me 5 years of failed attempts to finally get the right conditions, weather and location to capture a spectacular view of the Northern Lights in Cold Lake Alberta. Incredibly beautiful!

[martyd]

When you are as old as I am, the only thing on my bucket list is to wake up every day. :>)

[GudmannAndGyda]

Northern lights! “Can you see them from Iceland?” Chelsea - Iceland owns the Northern lights - and we also have millions of puffins ;-) Put Grimsey on your bucket list.

[tintinmike]

I'd recommend the Shetland Isles for the puffins. They nest in numbers right behind the wall at Sumburgh Head (May/June/July) just feet away from you. The other parts of the islands are full of wonders too. A magic place to visit.

[timfishy]

I was in Skomer last week ( small Island off S Wales - UK ) 35000 breeding pairs of Puffins so tame they walk over your shoes ( one off my list Iceland next year! )

[phatcrayonz]

Peru was my last trip right before covid. I loved

[chcomes]

African Safari: there are many different ways as Africa itself is very varied. As you also like landscapes, I would say Namibia is clearly your destination. For wildlife, that means going to Etosha and that is best in August-September (dry season) as animals go to waterholes. I would say you should at least add Sossusvlei (best dunes) and you can add true adventure in Botswana.
There is the Chobe river, and that is very nice, but I strongly recommend doing a Okawango Delta 3 day excursion on Mocoros, camping in the delta. Aug/Sept is also a good time for those, but that one is more flexible, just do not go in the rainy season.
I have done all of this and due to work I go to South Africa and Namibia every once in a while, pm me if you want details.

[LarryFasnacht]

Laying on my back on the sun warmed rock under Delicate Arch in Arches National Park during a meteor shower. Magical.

Taking a shot of the Milkyway pre-dawn in Joshua Tree National Park and listening to the world wake up.

Seeing glaciers calving in Alaska.

Almost any waterfall.

Thanks for the memories…

[supersizejm]

Northern lights are definitely on my list! I also want to photograph a tornado and an active volcano.

[leehaze]

One of your better videos recently. Thank you.

[markpollon]

Salt flats in Bolivia!!! Certainly a challenge and unbelievable experience.

[gosman]

My biggest bucket list item was taking pictures of the sun eclipse a few years back. Be sure and catch the next one in 2024 coming right across the middle of America!

[cameronmanuel]

The dome campsites are real. I looked into them back when I was working in Scandinavia for 6 weeks. But they're also so far up north that you have to rent a 4x4 vehicle to get there. Tony's right you'll have to go at the earliest Oct., and Apr. at the latest. But the chance at actually seeing them is increased in the dead of winter. Alaska is also a (slightly) less expensive option.

[NeilNathan]

How about Whale watching. I have been very fortunate to see many Blue whales, Humpback whales, fin whales, gray whales and Orca at Monterey Bay, California, probably one of the best places in North America to go whale watching, photograph whales and wildlife, otters and various sea birds including the occasional puffin.

[TheChiveve]

There are some amazing game reserves in South Africa. They offer wild life experiences that you could never grow tired of!

[wesleykip]

Maasai Mara. It’s so dense with wild life, you can see the big five in one day. You don’t have to travel far from the city. I grew up in Kenyan. The great migration of the wildebeest should probably be everybody’s bucket list.

[cmichaelhaugh]

Great list. I did do a photo book of my best pictures from 2015. Been trying to do another ever since. That’s where the “commitment” comes in!

[edruttledge]

Just got back from our fourth trip to Iceland. This time we made the journey to Grimsey Island to achieve the Arctic Circle (on the bucket list) and see gazillions of Puffins up close and personal.

I would add a category to this list: long stay photo study. The best project I've had so far was doing a month long photo study for the Civita Institute in one tiny hilltop village of Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy. Less than a square km with fewer than 20 permanent residents. The time spent there permitted me to get to know the people, the daily routines of the village, the shadows at different times of day, etc. etc.

[quest_yo]

Shooting the Aurora Borealis from Alaska is def #1 on my bucket list 👍

[robmagee]

Tony and Chelsea, my eyes lit up when you mentioned African Safari because I spent my childhood in Zimbabwe and South Africa and the memories of driving through the vast wildlife reserves, often staying overnight in the campgrounds in the center of the parks... the otherworldly baobab trees, standing on the edge of the truly awesome Victoria Falls... etc.
Things to remember though when planning... rainy season is typically short, from the last half of December through January, which is also mid-summer, and so the rivers rise drastically, often flood, through February, and everything greens up and blooms usually into April. Nights can dip into freezing temps in June, which is also winter, and also the dry season. Vegetation, rivers, and pools get progressively more dry as the year moves on, till the next rainy season hits.
The wildlife, landscapes, even the isolated thunderstorms are amazing and unforgettable.
I hope you get to do it, and have to confess to a twinge of envy... I left when I was 15, in 1973, and haven’t been back.