How far do you travel for your landscape photography?

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Joel
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Just out of curiosity really. I live in Leicestershire and around here with have lots of farmers fields, canals and rolling hills, and that's about it really. We have a few expansive parks like Bradgate, I live about 2 minutes from there so ideal if you're into wildlife for the deer etc. but I'm not at anymore, for the time being anyway.

So if I want to travel anywhere interesting my nearest place would be the Peak District which is around an hours drive to the south peaks and an hour and a half to the northern peaks.

3 hours to Wales , 2-3 hours to Norfolk etc.

3-4 hours to the Lakes and 6 to Scotland.

I've never been to Scotland for landscape photography as it'd basically involve a trip - accommodation, food, fuel etc.

How far do you travel regularly for landscape photography, hours ? Minutes? Or do you live near great locations like the near the rugged Welsh / Cornish coastlines or up in the Lakes/ Highlands etc.?
 
Lucky to live near the alps so journey time is less than an hour for the closest places. Trying to make the most of it.
 
I take more photos in Crete than anywhere closer to home. Dartmoor's close but even that can be an hour drive. After Crete, North Cornwall is probably my favourite area - 90 minutes - 2 hours drive.
 
I live very close to theLincoclnshire wolds so frequently travel very little. End of the month we are going to Balleter for a cheap holiday. Not specifically a photographic trip but I am sure I shall manage a shot or two. End of May we are going to Mull - again, not a specifically photographic trip but I shall take full advantage of the scenery.
 
I live right on the Somerset/Dorset border, so I'm an hour away from the south coast and about an hour away from the north Somerset coast too. I'm a couple of hours from Exmoor, Dartmoor, south Wales etc too.

Generally for landscapes I'll try and stick within about an hour and a half for a single sunrise or sunset trip. If I'm travelling further than that then I'll usually be going for a couple of days.

Furthest I've been specifically for landscape photography is a long weekend on my own in the camper van in Snowdonia (was about 5.5 hours each way with stops) and the Scottish Highlands (for a meet with some friends from the Film & Conventional section), which was a flight up to Glasgow and a drive.
 
For local stuff when I lived in the UK it was an hour to the middle of the Brecon Beacons, two hours to west Wales coast so plenty of options for me. Purely for photography I would say a couple of trips to Iceland are the furthest I've traveled. There are also two trips to Zimbabwe for safari holidays but I'd of done those even without a camera.
 
I know I'm very lucky - we live on the northern edge of Snowdonia and I can see 7 of the 15 Welsh three-thousand foot peaks from my garden. Two great beaches are 30 min by car. But the pull of north-west Scotland, and the Western Isles, is very strong. And the Lake District is 3-4 hours up the road. But there's still a lot of Wales to explore..... Not really interested in going overseas, it's enough of a challenge learning to 'see' the wilder bits of Britain.
 
I live in the middle of everywhere and the middle of nowhere. I've heard people say how lovely the area immediately around me is but for some reason I find it a bit boring. Maybe it's the 'a good view doesn't make a good photo' thing. I do have a few local places that I will go to if I know the weather/light will give me something worth going there for, but I have no problem with a drive of anything up to 2 hours to go walking (which includes photography but with limited kit) or purely for photography. Within that range I have Dartmoor, Exmoor, the north and south Devon/Dorset/Somerset coasts, the Blackdowns, Quantocks, Mendips and over into west Dorset. Going further afield will be a holiday with my partner, who is happy to carry my tripod.
 
Usually not far to Glencoe or Skye - I really like these areas and they really are my local patch. I always revisit the same compositions though but do find new angles as well but I am guilty of taking many versions of the same picture. I also run workshops in these areas - knowing them well helps.

I drive once a year down from Scotland to the Alps, Pyrenees and even southern Spain. I quite like driving (particularly on the motorway) - I really won't fly or use public transport and I am yearning to get back to the Alps and Pyrenees. England is something to drive through to get to France and back to Scotland :D - these trips help the inner explorer in me break out and shoot new things - although I am also guilty of taking similar compositions of the same view when I am there.

As @jerry12953 said I am one of those people "who knows what they like and likes what they know"...
 
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I can get to the north-eastern gritstone edges of the Peak District within half-an-hour, and places like Mam Tor, Winnat's Pass, Ladybower, and limestone dales within an hour or less.

Nice coastal venues are a bit more difficult though, but (although I've not been for the photography) the rocky Yorkshire coast is probably not all that far. The Lincolnshire coast isn't too difficult to get to, but huge swathes of the coast have had additional sand added to assist with coastal defences. While this may have sound environmental reasons, it's meant that most of the groynes and other interesting features are now buried under feet of sand, so it can look a bit featureless.
 
An hour to the northern peaks is my regular haunt, but I’ve happily done 3 hour drive and back in a day if I’ve really wanted a location.

I also try to have a location in mind for family holidays, as I’ll usually be allowed out for a sunrise or 2! This worked well for the lakes recently and I have the same plan for Skye and Cornwall holidays booked this year
 
I live on the Wirral and as a location it is pretty pants for photography but excellent as a hub for getting to interesting places. It's about 1.5hrs to the heart of Snowdonia, 2hrs to the lake district, 1.5hrs to the peak district and you can be at the Scottish border in 2.5hrs. Also have several cities in close proximity if you want urban/architectural stuff so yeah, as a hub its pretty excellent really
 
I live on the Wirral and as a location it is pretty pants for photography but excellent as a hub for getting to interesting places. It's about 1.5hrs to the heart of Snowdonia, 2hrs to the lake district, 1.5hrs to the peak district and you can be at the Scottish border in 2.5hrs. Also have several cities in close proximity if you want urban/architectural stuff so yeah, as a hub its pretty excellent really

That's about the same for me too, living in Frodsham. Not forgetting 1½-2 hours to Anglesey, which is a great place to shoot
 
That's about the same for me too, living in Frodsham. Not forgetting 1½-2 hours to Anglesey, which is a great place to shoot
Definitely agree on Anglesey although i seldom go there and i should do so more, i just get too twitchy when i have to either turn left to the mountains or right to the coast and the mountains tend to win every time :LOL:
 
I'm on the Surrey/Hampshire border and I haven't got a car at the moment so wherever I go it has to be reachable by public transport, so I usually head to the South Coast, I've been to quite a few locations between Folkestone and Weymouth, travel time varies somewhere between 2-3 hours.
 
Interesting to hear your location and jaunts etc.

I'm definitely interested in booking a week in North Wales and would love to go to Skye. Skye I think I'd book a week at least, Wales is less of a journey so a long weekend or Thurs to Sunday.

Another good thing about Wales is how dark the skies are, in the central rural areas (which is a huge part of Wales anyway) are really good unpolluted class 2/3 on the bortle scale skies, if you're into astrophotography as well.

Landscape photography wise the mountainous Snowdonia regions look superb though.
 
Aye, the skies in Wales can be quite dark during the day as well. A trip to the mountains now has (unfortunately) to consider parking - the popular spots like Pen y Pass and Ogwen fill up very early at weekends (and Pen y Pass even in the week) so it's either very early starts, come midweek, or find more obscure but equally beautiful spots. Nick Livesey's new book could be very helpful.
 
We've just came back from an overnight stay in the Brecon's (Waterfall Country) area. Certainly made the right decision to go midweek I think! Mind you, the weather wasn't brilliant :) We drove straight to the Four Falls Walk on Thursday morning & only seen about a dozen people. Two people on the Elidir Trail. And on Friday we had Rhigos Viewpoint, Henrhyd Falls & Dina's Rock falls all to ourselves.

That area is about 1hr30mins (around 75miles) on a good run which is okay but couldn't do that every weekend. The Jurassic Coast is about the same time/distance heading due south. We spend most of our time/sunrises in some woodlands of the Mendips which is 30mins/15miles or so away on average - I've actually got some of my favourite photos from there.

On the topic, I will do Pen y Fan one day. But the popularity of it puts me off.......! Even the main waterfalls that we've just seen... It was okay, but I think there was too much water & they were too flowing to get nice crisp details from them. If we go waterfalling again, I think we'll pick a valley somewhere that isn't the main falls.
 
In the UK driving I’d say Snowdonia is the furthest (4hrs). Though anywhere interesting like that is far enough that I might as well just fly to the Alps!
 
In the UK driving I’d say Snowdonia is the furthest (4hrs). Though anywhere interesting like that is far enough that I might as well just fly to the Alps!

You can drive to the Alps - very easy - all motorway and autoroute. From England, particularly the south if you leave in the morning sailing from Dover you will be there in the evening - ready the next day for a full days shooting
 
You can drive to the Alps - very easy - all motorway and autoroute. From England, particularly the south if you leave in the morning sailing from Dover you will be there in the evening - ready the next day for a full days shooting

My car does 30mpg. It’s so much cheaper to fly!

I’m going to Scotland this year and flying. It’s just so much cheaper.
 
My poor car is 2 years old and ha 91k miles on it.... In those 2 years I've been to the peak district about 100 times..... From Nottingham. Lake District 3 times.... Glencoe twice and skye twice... Anglesey a few times and snowdonia a couple of times..... Northumberland coast three times and have more plans this year... I drove 5 hours one way to take one image and it was near 500 miles by lunchtime..... I left Nottingham at 10pm and was in Glencoe for sunrise and skye for lunch

Yes I'm a little crazy
 
Do you hire a car when you get there?

He will. Getting around Scotland by public transport just isn't plausible - and I should know ;)

I couldn't be without the Lexus when I go abroad so I take it and all my stuff with me. But I hate flying with a passion, for those who don't they often fly/rent a car. I don't like paying to use someone elses lesser car when I have a brilliant one of my own.

And yes, my real name is Alan (Patridge).
 
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My poor car is 2 years old and ha 91k miles on it.... In those 2 years I've been to the peak district about 100 times..... From Nottingham. Lake District 3 times.... Glencoe twice and skye twice... Anglesey a few times and snowdonia a couple of times..... Northumberland coast three times and have more plans this year... I drove 5 hours one way to take one image and it was near 500 miles by lunchtime..... I left Nottingham at 10pm and was in Glencoe for sunrise and skye for lunch

Yes I'm a little crazy

You've not got a limited mileage insurance policy then......? :LOL::LOL:
 
It's usually within a 100 mile radius for me, often go out locally but do crave hills and there aren't many in my area, other than the gentle wolds. I visit the Peak District quite often which is the closest national park, but it feels like I'm on a tight budget compared to others - as an example North West Scotland would be around three tanks of petrol costing about £270 before even looking at accommodation - hard to justify when my employer has been making redundancies... do like to visit the Lake District at least once a year and fit in a couple of other longer distance trips if possible though
 
Not this time.

I’m walking the West Highland Way! (Glasgow to Fort William).

Amazing walk. I did the Inveroran to Kingshouse Stretch and Devils starecase. Some great shots to take along the way that aren't as well shot - and if you deviate slightly from the route you can take the famous falls shots (do work your way up the river) and lots of them. When you get to Inveroran you want to shoot Loch Tulla in the morning, stay at Kingshouse then take all the cliches and ones you find the following morning then up the Devils starecase and onto Kinloch Leven (the view in the spring/summer) up the devils starecase is awesome in the evening, the Buachaille catches the light really well.
 
Regularly travel silly distances.

Last weekend was in Northumberland for a YouTubers meetup
This week I've been attending a conference whereby I've been offered a ton of destinations such as Vietnam; Bhutan and India
On Tuesday flying to Mongolia to then fly the following day after arrival to Western Mongolia
Lewis & Harris at the end of the month
Japan in early April
Provence in July

And yes, it's all work and all photographic work at that taking in landscapes/ and or cityscapes.
 
It's usually within a 100 mile radius for me, often go out locally but do crave hills and there aren't many in my area, other than the gentle wolds. I visit the Peak District quite often which is the closest national park, but it feels like I'm on a tight budget compared to others - as an example North West Scotland would be around three tanks of petrol costing about £270 before even looking at accommodation - hard to justify when my employer has been making redundancies... do like to visit the Lake District at least once a year and fit in a couple of other longer distance trips if possible though

You only live once. Hope things pick up for you.

My 2ps worth - The lakes are on the way to Scotland and on the way back you could try the Northumbria coast. Gives you more for the petrol cost.

Re accommodation why not camp/kip in the car and avoid eating out - you can save a bundle doing that. In the summer and autumn months it’s warm enough too and with the short gaps between sunset and sunrise you don’t have to wait too long to get good shots or travel between locations. The rain puts to death but if you see a good four day good spell of weather (late May is usually decent) hit the road and enjoy
 
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I live on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds and about 40 mins from the Yorkshire moors and the Dales. Also last two weeks have seen me traveling to Scotland and the Lakes with work so the camera comes with me
 
Here's a rather boring account of one person's introspection that is however relevant to the topic under discussion.: http://www.fragileland.co.uk/the-environmental-cost-of-landscape

It seems to me that we currently live (especially in the industrial / post-industrial parts of the world) with a consumerist mindset that says "If I can afford it, then it's my right to have it". Of course in social and environmental terms this is a nonsense.

But we're all part of the same thing, and I'm no purist.

Just a thought.
 
Droj - thanks for calling my perhaps dry take on the environmental cost of landscape photography 'boring'! It may be boring, but it's not introspective - it's evidence-based, unlike most political musings. Bottom line, I think the same as yours - we should take responsibility for our actions. I did my share of long-distance flying with work (the most questionable was a 4-day trip to Canberra to talk about climate change impacts!), and am now happy not to fly - but you could reasonably say I can afford to, having done my travelling earlier.
 
Dear John, thank-you for taking my tongue-in-cheek assessment on the chin. Did I know that you were on here?

Can I call it evidence-based introspection then, when its opposite would seem to equate to carelessness?
 
You only live once. Hope things pick up for you.

My 2ps worth - The lakes are on the way to Scotland and on the way back you could try the Northumbria coast. Gives you more for the petrol cost.

Re accommodation why not camp/kip in the car and avoid eating out - you can save a bundle doing that. In the summer and autumn months it’s warm enough too and with the short gaps between sunset and sunrise you don’t have to wait too long to get good shots or travel between locations. The rain puts to death but if you see a good four day good spell of weather (late May is usually decent) hit the road and enjoy

Some good calls there Steve. I don’t mind the odd night in the car, makes a lot of sense in late spring and summer. Northumberland is awesome, love it up there. I think things will pick up but recovering after the car and other things kept going wrong last year, very expensive!
 
I'm not a pro, so I'm only shooting when I have free time. I'll happily drive an hour or so for a shoot.
Last year I managed to take a family holiday in Scotland and head to a couple of nice locations like Glencoe, but there's no way I'd manage to shoot there otherwise.
Now I've moved to @justinminns area East Anglia (I'll be buying his book), I've been exploring places within an hour's drive of Norwich.

I do have a dilemma this weekend though as I've got a completely free Saturday, but no car to get to any locations :(
 
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