Hope this isnt inappropriate place to ask but Ive been a lurker here for awhile and Ive been curious for sometime now, how do most of you go about scouting a location?

From an image you'd like to replicate? Feedback from others? Book?

Also, I know this is probably a personal choice but just curious what drives ppl to make decisions while out in the field when they choose to frame a particular way.

Do share your thoughts if you like.

Google Earth is my latest tool
It's like I'm almost there at the location.

XFBO wrote:
Hope this isnt inappropriate place to ask but Ive been a lurker here for awhile and Ive been curious for sometime now, how do most of you go about scouting a location?


Also, I know this is probably a personal choice but just curious what drives ppl to make decisions while out in the field when they choose to frame a particular way.

This is a longer term development of taste and style. Viewing other's work here and other sites is a good start, to find out what kind of scene you enjoy. When I started out, and I think I'm not alone, I almost always went for the big scene. I've learned to not only like, but learned to look for the smaller scenes, too. Gives you twice as much stuff, or more, to shoot!!
Hope that makes sense.

Barry

I look for images on the net and I store them in a folder which is now full of pdf files and the ones that interest me I do extensive research (net, hiking books, photo books, etc.) on that area and I take notes. I ask photographers (flickr is a great source) and most are willingly to share their locations and timing. I have a huge file of locations and I hope to get to them within time. While I was in Zion this fall I met a photographer who told me about his favorite photo location: The Great Salt Lake. He has done well with that area and the next time I travel through Utah on my way to the SW I will spend a few days in his area. Jarv

I don't usually "scout" in the sense of researching ahead of time, though I may well form some ideas of the nature of the location by seeing others' photographs of it.

I try to return to areas I like to photograph on successive trips, sometimes over a period of a number of years. No matter how much you think you understand a place before going, in my experience it is only by going and spending a lot of time there that you really get to understand it well.

Dan

XFBO wrote:
Hope this isnt inappropriate place to ask but Ive been a lurker here for awhile and Ive been curious for sometime now, how do most of you go about scouting a location?

From an image you'd like to replicate? Feedback from others? Book?

Also, I know this is probably a personal choice but just curious what drives ppl to make decisions while out in the field when they choose to frame a particular way.

Do share your thoughts if you like.

I preferably try to create my own compostions of the familiar places that way a photograph has the oppertunity if turns out to be good to stand out from other similar photos in the bucket. So with that said I try but not always look for something out there that hasn't been done or at least overdone. Weather can play a huge part in getting me out of the house for the local beach stuff. Projects can also keep you out there too if you create yourself one.

Of course in less iconic places you can really get a fresh start especially in your local area. If you can't make your local scenery look good what good will it do you driving for hours to REPEAT.

Long ago it was post cards and books mostly that inspired me, now it's just something on the net I may come across or something that didn't go right at a previous location.

my scouting method starts from the internet: flickr and then google maps or google earth. i don't necessary look for images to replicate, i just find images and see what appeals to me and i choose those locations.

for me scouting is about:

1. just finding where exactly a location is and what is involved to get there (hiking time, obstacles, wild animals, risks, etc).

2. looking at the possibilities at the site. i generally do not scout to get a picture in mind because 99% of the time, the light or the conditions when i'm shooting will not be what i expect. for example: if it's windy, or rainy, or cloudy, or the sun rises or sets the wrong way, then i need to have a mental note of what to do in each case. so the scouting allows me to see what kind of options i have depending on how the conditions/light behaves when i go and shoot.

I have on a few occasions researched a desired spot. These are usually very specific locations that are not well known, perhaps intentionally so.

Google Earth was very useful as well as Flickr postings for locations.
Sometimes there isn't an easy way to get local, tribal knowledge other than some investigation.

Rather than trying to duplicate an image, I just want to visit the location to see what interpretation I might be able to render.

Now when it comes to the icons, its a slightly different take. While I have favorite spots in Yosmite to visit/revisit, I find that each time I go, there are new venues/vantage points than nothing works except getting out and just exploring.

Dan

I scout conditions more than locations and have become something of an amateur meteorologist. Stormy weather, overcast, great sky at sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset, moonlight, moonless night--all these things make for great images regardless of the location.

Right now I'm on a real crusade to avoid duplicating the shots of others, something that's particularly difficult if you focus on the "iconic" locations. Part of this comes from having just done five workshops in five weeks, all at iconic locations.

If you must photograph the icons (and I certainly understand the desire to do it), challenge yourself to find something unique. Read, Google, ask others, or whatever to determine when the conditions will be best--best season, best time of day, best weather, and so on--and put yourself there then. But there's no substitute for seeing it with your own eyes. Your successes will increase significantly the more you anticipate rather than react, so make sure you arrive early enough (even the day before, or several days before) to find the compositions before things start happening.

+1 what Gary said. Forgot to mention that.
I REALLY like to go to Yosemite after two days of snow, then a break.
Not dialed in to the meteorology yet, but like the Partly cloudy days just before or just after storm activity.

So Gary, when's the next storm cycle through Yosemite

Dan

I'll usually see a photo of a location, and know that I would like to visit there. I try not to look at a lot of photos of the area though. I want to view the scene with fresh eyes. Many times, the compositions I choose are quite different than the commonly shot angles. I will use google earth to scout the location ahead of time to get a feel for it. Based on that information, I gain my bearings when I am there.

Also, I will usually visit a location many times. The first time I go there, I will take a couple shots, then spend my time scouting without a camera. That way I can figure out my shots without the pressure of having to shoot. I formulate a plan of what to shoot and when. It could mean returning a different time of year, or maybe the shots are shootable in the coming days given the proper conditions. I usually like to spend a week in a given location. If I come home with one keeper shot, I'm happy. Most of my favorite shots were taken on my 2nd visit to a location.

I enjoy finding new places, the discovery is truly wondrous, whether it's a place that I've read about or seen images of. But as others have said the really good shots come from knowing the lay-of-the-land, the 2nd or 3rd time around. Knowing what worked the first time and what didn't... Getting to know the terrain greatly ups the keeper rate!

An alternative to not looking at photos of a location (out of fear that you'll end up trying to do those photos) is to look at so many photos of the location that they all blur together into... the location.

Dan

Like a lot of others, I look at the work of others and search the internet for photos of locations. I like to understand the scene before I get there. When on location, I try to stop by during the middle part of the day if possible to shoot some test compositions to see what works for me and what doesn't. I also want to understand how long it will take to get there for the shoot, what I'll need, etc. It always helps.

XFBO wrote:
Hope this isnt inappropriate place to ask but Ive been a lurker here for awhile and Ive been curious for sometime now, how do most of you go about scouting a location?

From an image you'd like to replicate? Feedback from others? Book?

Also, I know this is probably a personal choice but just curious what drives ppl to make decisions while out in the field when they choose to frame a particular way.

Do share your thoughts if you like.

I scout in every way possible. Do web research. Get inspired. Drive thousands of miles. Hike countless miles. Once I find something that interests me I keep going back until light does its dance. Then I "work the scene" trying every conceivable comp I can come up with (and shooting whatever catches my eye). Often the experiments turn out to be the best.

Most of all have a blast!

Mark

I doubt anyone hear uses Google Earth to visit places where there aren't already good photographs posted in panorimo (their insurance that they will get something good).

Scientists have used Google Earth to find new species of life so why can't photographers use it to find something NEW!!! (hint)

Maybe we will see a future thread on new iconic locations!

Anyone up for that?

dswiger wrote:

So Gary, when's the next storm cycle through Yosemite

Dan

Tonight, Dan. But if you can only go once this week, wait until Friday. (But don't tell anyone.)

My personal take on scout goes something like this....My plan was to shoot at the wave...so lucky me I got a permit (well my partner did) but I got topographical maps, looked at other images, did google earth, and read a lot. But upon arriving i found that the route looked different than on google earth. at the wave it was different that i envisioned and I shot different to what i thought i might. those things changed by the amount of other people that were also there and shooting or milling about. the amount of sun or lack of sun could change from what you want. I agree with Ben that you actually have to go to a particular site multiple times to really get the hang of an area before you begin to see what you want to see in a particular area. For me I cant wait to get back to the wave and shoot it in more of the manner i want