Incredible Landscapes for Amazing Nature Photography
It’s time to grab your camera and head off to an exotic location! The North America Nature Photography Association (NANPA) started Nature Photography Day to encourage nature photography and use images to advance the cause of conservation. Submit your favorite photo to the Nature Photography Day Photo Contest to celebrate 14 Years of Nature Discovery.
To get you started, we’ve found some totally amazing landscapes to explore. It won’t take long to fill your memory cards with stunningly memorable images.
Scottish Highlands, Scotland
Ancient earth forms and fascinating history make this magnificent landscape all the more alluring. It is at once rugged and beautiful, mysterious and welcoming. And of course, there’s whisky to keep you warm while you hike the cliffs and valleys in search of photo opportunities.
Great Barrier Reef and Whitehaven Beach: Australia
The reef is under severe threat, and what better way to draw attention to it than through photography … With over 2000km of the Reef to explore, you can still find colourful fish and coral in spite of two severe coral bleaching events. Join a professional diving or snorkelling excursion to help you make the most of your visit and avoid causing unintended damage. Afterwards, catch your breath at Whitehaven Beach.
Skellig Michael: Ireland
You don’t need to be Luke Skywalker to appreciate this UNESCO World Heritage Site’s forbidding cliffs and breathtaking views. May the Force be with you as you climb the 618 stone steps to the ancient monastery hidden within the towering rocky heights.
Kirkjufell: Iceland
Game of Thrones fans will instantly recognize this steep peak surrounded by ancient glaciers. Kirkjufell’s unmistakable cone, formed by layers of sedimentary rock, is best viewed from the encircling walking path or black stone beach below. Don’t go without a guide.
Cenotes, Mexico
Like a journey to the center of the earth, a visit to this vast subterranean world of seemingly infinite sinkholes, caverns and karst tunnels is an otherworldly experience. Just south of Cancun, the Yucatan Peninsula was once an underwater reef before the ocean receded, leaving sea creatures fossilized in the rocky walls.
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Japan
The ghostly sounds of rustling leaves and creaking wood are an integral element of Japan’s mysterious bamboo forest. If you’re quick with your camera, you may catch a glimpse of the wood spirits flitting between the sky-reaching green stalks.
Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar
Separated from the eastern coastline of Africa by many miles of ocean, Madagascar is a land of surreal lifeforms. The ancient baobab trees – reaching 30 meters or more towards the sky – have dominated the landscape for centuries with their strange upside-down appearance.
Sossusvlei Red Dunes, Namibia
There’s something so amazing about a desert – even in the driest dunes, life persists. Animals, reptiles and insects of all kinds have adapted to the harsh landscapes and unforgiving climate. Among the shifting red dunes in one of the world’s oldest deserts, search for the prints and tracks of elusive creatures to capture on film. It’s worth the journey.
