They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And that is true of our subject today, a list to end all lists, and what I like to call the Photographic 100. 
Admittedly, I’m a bit of a foodie, and regularly read a few coffee and food blogs to get my fill of the subject.
Recently, a post by the British food blog Very Good Taste introduced a post called “The Omnivore’s 100”, a sort of bucket list for food lovers. The post went viral and was reblogged and retweeted, with each new blogger indicating what items on the list they had tried themselves. A smash hit, in the virtual world. It occurred to me that I’ve had a similar list in my head (but never on paper, digital or otherwise) for quite some time; a list of locations and landmarks that I’d love to shoot, if given the opportunity. It’s highly unlikely that I, or any other photographers I know for that matter, would ever actually complete the list, but that’s beside the point. It’s always more interesting when you have something to shoot for! So, in no particular order, I have outlined my photography bucket list below. Some things on this list are locations; others are landmarks, and still others are general ideas or techniques. I realize that like the Omnivore’s 100, the list is subjective, and some items on my list might have never made it on yours; after reading it, let us know how many YOU’VE completed, and what items would you have added.
The List
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- The Mayan pyramids in Yucatán, Mexico
- The Colorado River in Arizona
- The animals of the Galápagos Islands
- A polar bear
- The Himalayan mountains in Nepal
- Animals on a safari in Kenya, Africa
- Penguins in Antarctica
- The Northern Lights in Tromsø, Norway
- A thunderstorm or tornado in the Great Plains
- Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
- Street performers at Carnival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Beach photos at the Outer Banks, North Carolina
- The Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Sunset shot in Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, Nevada
- The Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
- Hvitserkur, a 15 meter high rock formation off the coast of Iceland
- The hills and coastlines of Isle of Man, in the British Isles
- The streets of Florence, Italy
- Night shots of Prague, in the Czech Republic
- The Machu Picchu ruins in Peru
- A low-perspective shot of Big Ben in London, England
- The Stonehenge ruins in Wiltshire, England
- The dark city streets and markets of Casablanca, Morocco
- Moose and elk in Grand Teton Park, Wyoming
- The Great Wall of China
- The seaside cliffs and buildings at Santorini, Greece
- The open fields in Tuscany, Italy
- Shots of (and from) the skyscrapers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Hot springs and the Old Faithful geyser of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
- The walls of the Grand Canyon in Arizona
- Horseshoe Falls in Ontario, Canada
- The waterfalls at Yosemite National Park, California
- Moonrise over Death Valley National Park, California
- Lechuguilla Cave at Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
- Aerial night shot of the strip in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Wide-angle shots of the canyons at Zion National Park in Utah
- Huge rock formations at Monument Valley, Utah
- The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York City, New York
- Giant trees in Sequoia National Park, California
- An all-inclusive shot of the Golden Gate Bridge span in San Francisco, California
- Grizzly bears in Danali National Park, Alaska
- Alligators in Everglades National Park, Florida
- U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- Mardi Gras celebrations in the French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
- The Portland Head Lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth, Maine
- The streets of the Beacon Hill Historic District, in Boston, Massachusetts
- The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri
- Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Hatteras Island, North Carolina
- Photos of cannon at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- The entryway at Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee
- Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, South Dakota
- Terlingua Ghost Town in the Big Bend National Park, Texas
- Arches and formations at Valley of Fire State Park outside of Las Vegas, Nevada
- Deep Valley of the Mills in Sorrento, Italy
- Well-exposed image of a fireworks finale
- Long exposed shot of multiple lightning bolts
- The Boot Hill graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona
- A battleship or aircraft carrier in port
- The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas
- An epic rainbow shot over a vast field
- Lava flow from an active volcano in Hawaii, at night
- Street shots in Key West, Florida
- The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Indoor shot of a pub in Dublin, Ireland
- A recreation/reshoot of an Ansel Adams photograph
- Any castle in Scotland
- An authentic Hawaiian Luau in Maui, Hawaii
- A wide-angle, all-encompassing shot of the New York City skyline at night
- The National Memorials in the National Mall, Washington D.C.
- An ancient Shaolin temple anywhere in China
- The iconic “Welcome to Vegas” sign in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Photograph a complete stranger on the street
- A picture of a picture
- A shot of Times Square in New York City, NY
- The ruins of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy
- A famous (or infamous) haunted house in the United States
- Devil’s Tower in Crook County, Wyoming
- The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
- Cliffs of the Almalfi Coast, Italy
- A long exposure shot of the
- Milky WayA complicated light painting
- Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Wide shot of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia
- A themed vintage pinup girl shoot
- An iceberg
- Farmhouses and fields in Tuscany, Italy
- Wildflower fields in the Hill Country region near Austin, Texas
- The Trevi Fountain in Roma, Italy at night
- Long exposure shot of an active meteor storm
- The Moai statues on Easter Island in the South Pacific
- The holy sites in Jerusalem
- A great shot of another photographer working
- The Moss Bridges in Ireland
- The Taj Mahal monument in Agra, India
- An abandoned farmhouse or barn on the Texas backroads
- St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy
- A well-exposed shot of your favorite band playing on stage
- A hot air balloon taking off from a field
- The canals in Venice, Italy
- The pyramids at Giza, Egypt
So what does your list look like? Discuss what items are on YOUR list below! Need more lists? Take a moment to check out Nancy Young’s 50 Striking Examples Of Professional Photos In Twitter Background Design and one of my earlier articles, 5 Quick Ways to Improve your Beach Photography.
I’ve gotten 14 of your top 100. I would have to think a while one what constitutes my own top 100.
I’d say 14 for this list is pretty good Maggie! Most are places that would take a little effort to get to (for me, anyway).
FYI Tim, I got 30 and I’m disappointed. Some of those are on my list.
17 out of 100…. Not bad, however that 17 are mostly made up of landmarks.. and vegas 🙁 i clearly need to dust off the old camera travel bag!!
Robert, not bad at all! I was in Vegas last year, and even though I brought my DSLR, I didn’t pull it out once the whole trip 🙁 Grand plans of visiting Valley of Fire National Park and shots walking up and down the Strip…just ended up gambling and taking in the sights. Going back next year, definitely taking advantage then!
Ha! Tell me about it!! I took around 5 photos.. thats it. That place has far too many distractions that require the use of both hands….
Thanks for that.
Some top shots there!
Cheers, ic
Thanks for reading Ian!
Tim-
Great list. I can only cross about 5 of those off and some of those were with a point and shoot or are ones that I will shoot and re-shoot for the rest of my life and always find something I could do better on them. 🙂
Some of the ones above are definitely on my want to do list. A lot of mine though are the generic ones – like a really good long exposure of a dock with fog coming in. That’s one I have a few shots of and will continue to take over and over. 🙂
Thanks Patrick!
Yes, as much as I’d like to cross this whole list out, I know that’s never going to happen; but I’m planning on getting as much as I can!
A Humpback Whale breaching, that would be pretty awesome.
absolutely! or better yet, a Great White Shark breaching! far more rare I’d imagine..
I have photographed in 29 of the above locations. Some visited before I was serious about photography. I would love to go back to shoot them all over again. I included one that I will complete this month, a photo safari in South Africa. Another reshoot would be Burano, Italy.
Wow 29? Awesome!
I’ve got my eye on a few international ones that I might be visiting in a couple of years (with any luck), seems like a long wait!
an inspiring list, i’m about to start on a trip across Europe so i should be able to get a few of these shots
That’s awesome John, what areas are you hitting? Bet you’ll have a great set of shots when you get back!
I have 35 of your list. Not bad. Wish I had paid more attention when shooting things as many of these were before I really got interested in photography and had a decent camera. GREAT list!!
Thank you! I agree, after putting this list to paper, I realize I’ve forgotten that some of them I actually already had!
Reine in Lofoton Islands Norway
Don,t you know Spain? There are several places that deserve being in this list. Alhambra of Granada, Holy Family Basilic in Barcelona, ….
I’ve never been to Spain, unfortunately, no.
This is a list of what I’d like to shoot within my lifetime, which means only places I’m familiar with 🙂
I’d rather not shoot places that have been shot to death already. It’s all be done over and over.
I’d say it would be up to the individual Daniel…I know there are thousands of pictures of the Taj Mahal….but I’m not shooting it for everyone else; if I’m in India, and I have the chance, I’m gonna shoot it 🙂
i could take douzen of pic of the same place, but every time am taking a picture of one place, it is like the first time, am taking a picture… it always look différend for me…..
exactly Jean! also different perspectives, and different times of the day make for very different outcomes.
I also have 14 of them!
awesome Charles!
haven’t you heard of New Zealand? it’s where Lord of the Rings and Narnia was made. a very lush country and the biggest range of variety of landscapes in the world. i also think that a picture of a big kauri tree would definitely be in this list
I didn’t count how many I have, some; but you missed in the list the Iguazu Falls. That’s a place not to miss.
good addition!
How about a glacier calving?
Yes, that definitely would be an epic shot!!
Its really awesome. Mind bowing job you did.
I’m up to 28. Maybe I should finish that list!
You missed Horsham, West Sussex in the glorious south of England!
from Kenya we have very many sites and photographers have very lovely shots visit.and assure you that i will be great
Sorry, but about the place 3 you should put the name of the country, it’s Ecuador, usually people thinks that the Galapagos Islands are a country on itself but that’s not true. If you could correct the information will be awesome, Ecuador has many places to see and potograph that worth to be on this list.
Two places come to mind that are not on your list: Torres del Paine in the Chilean Patagonia (my favorite) and Mount Fuji in Japan. In place 81 you mention “a complicated light painting” but you don’t have one; I can provide some examples.
Great list! Amalfi Coast is my fave, but where is your photo? :p
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland