5 Destinations That Must Feature On a Travelling Photographer’s Bucket List

Common wisdom about travel photographers is that their work is play. In fact, most people fail to understand why travel photographers ask for payment beyond travel expenses to start with.

What they fail to realize is that travel photography – much like any other kind of photography – is an arduous task. Waking up at odd hours just to get the right lighting, waiting for hours, sometimes days, to get the right angle/shot, and constant shuttling from here to there with no settling take their toll on the best of photographers. In fact, even if you’re an amateur photography enthusiast, you’ll know that shooting and editing pictures to capture just the right moment is no mean feat.

But sometimes, your job is made easier by the setting. Sometimes, just sometimes, that magic moment is already there, without you having to turn a lens or pull a shutter.

With that, we bring you the 5 destinations that must feature on a travelling photographer’s bucket list.

Cinque Terre, Italy

La Cinque Terre (The Five Islands) is one of the most spellbinding spots in Italy to photograph. Quaint little cottages dot the seaside shores. Especially recommended by veteran photographers is the village of Vernazza, which will offer the most gorgeous pictures during the sunset. Try to spend at least a week here, since spots like Corniglia, Monterosso, Manarola and Riomaggiore deserve to be visited.

Patagonia, Argentina

The wild, untamed beauty of Patagonia begs to be discovered and re-discovered, captured in postcard-perfect moments depicting nature at its icy best. From scintillating peaks that touch the heavens to massive glaciers billowing down to eternal ice fields. Lakes that reflect the orange hues of the evening sun and the vast massifs studded with penguins, condors and guanacos – it’s a surreal feeling, shooting in Patagonia. You may not find a Wendy’s or Burger King here, but the photographs will be well worth such small sacrifices.

Meteora, Greece

Translated in Greek, Meteora means “suspended in air” – an apt description of this heavenly, seemingly unreal place. Home to six ancient monasteries cradled over gigantic sandstone spires, Meteora is one of those places of whom any other remotely similar, would be an extraordinarily difficult find. Veteran photographers recommend you visit this place at least one – and do make sure you pick suitable times in the mornings and evenings for some exquisite photography as the lighting undergoes a spectacular metamorphosis. Bring a good camera to capture all that detail.

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

This one’s for the astronomers.

That New Zealand’s popularity has boomed exponentially following The Lord of the Rings franchise is well-known. But there’s more to it than finding the real-life Hobbiton and Lothlorien. Head towards Lake Tekapo and be confronted with the most spectacular stargazing experience you could ever ask for. The entire lake area is a protected reserve specifically for stargazers – with good reason. You can watch most of the well-known constellations, planets and galaxies from here without needing a telescope or even binoculars – the skies are that clear. Bring your best camera for this and you’ll be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams.

Stockholm Underground, Sweden

Seeing as most of the destinations written about here are natural phenomena, it seems apt to pay human art and innovation a tribute.

Enter the Stockholm Underground and it will be displayed in all its creativity. Start with Solna Centrum and follow the blue line to find not metro stations but art stations, each by a different artist – evoking a unique emotion. The escalator bay in one of these stations has been carved with flaming red paint to make it look like the entrance to hell. An eerie experience for the commuters, surely!

So, pack your DSLRs and start saving up for your photo holiday to one (or more) of these wonderful destinations!