The Photographic 100: One Hundred Places You Must Shoot Before You Die
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.
Photo by WestCoasting
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
- 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 Way
- A 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
The Colorado River. Photo by MoabAdventurer
The Himalayan mountains in Nepal. Photo by LittleByteOfLuck
The beauty of the Northern Lights. Photo by GuideGunnar
The Bellagio Fountains in action on the Las Vegas strip.
The streets of Prague. Photo by Sarhaynes
Ruins of Stonehenge. Photo by Arslua
The historic Great Wall of China.
The Horseshoe Falls. Photo by KillerBiscuit
The Vegas strip, from the air.
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York City.
The iconic Golden Gate Bridge spanning the bay in San Francisco.
A large grizzly in the Denali National Park. Photo by Jpmckenna
An epic shot of the Portland Head Lighthouse in Maine.
A lone cannon sits on the quiet battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Rocky desert formations in the Valley of Fire outside of Las Vegas, Nevada
Bolts of lightning at night. Photo by GleasonMJ
A rainbow over a picturesque field.
An erupting volcanic vent in Hawaii.
A castle sitting on a mirror lake in Scotland.
An ancient Shaolin temple in China. Photo by Cibomahto
Times Square in New York City.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
A gorgeous long-exposure shot of the Milky Way.
Rows of graves at the Arlington National Cemetery
A iceberg floating on the high seas.
Texas wildflowers. Photo by Derek Bridges
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Photo by HJL
The Taj Majal, one of the most photographed buildings in India.
A hot air balloon being filled before launch.
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.
