Scenic-landscape deprived locale; seeking advice.

Dilemma: I have seemingly exhausted all of the scarce scenery in my area. There is little in the way of urban scenery and little in the way of natural beauty. I live in Raleigh, NC: home of mostly suburban landscapes dotted with infrequent variety. There are the occasional streams and lakes which offer natural but mundane landscapes. The Raleigh area is at least 2.5 hours to the coast and at least 2.5 hours to anything which might be mistaken for mountains.

Seeking advice: how do those who live in geographically restrictive places cope with landscape shooting? Can anyone living in a mundane locale advise me on making mundane landscapes interesting or at least offer ideas on what you have done in a similar situation? I'm not asking "how can I make suburban flat forest look as appealing as the Golden Gate bridge or the Cascades", but rather "how do you suggest I make suburban flat forest look appealing".

Ideas? Thoughts? I'm getting desperate. And now I feel silly for having asked. Oh well.

I'm new at this but how about different angles. From up high or down low.

Hello Ken, I feel the same way most of the time. I am in Clinton NC, which is 1 hour from coast and 1 hour from larger city. I feel like I have exposed all the interesting landscapes around here. I don't think you are silly for asking. Maybe some one has a better perspective than me and could help give me and you some pointers. It's nice to see a North Carolinian in the forum.

Glad to see I'm not alone! I guess I should be thankful - Clinton would be even more of a challenge.

Regarding angles - that's not really the issue. From high or low there's still little interesting things to photograph. Even if it helped, parking garages offer the only higher angle and they are few and far between.

Matt Robinson of http://www.raleighskyl​ine.com/ is a remarkable inspiration. He offers the best examples I have seen of urban photography in Raleigh. Outstanding work. But even he struggles to find new takes/locations/perspe​ctives on the little that Raleigh does have to offer.

Hopefully I don't come across as merely whining and complaining. I'm really hoping for some advice from seasoned landscape photographers.

There really is nothing to shoot in Raleigh and I've walked around there numerous times and didn't find anything that caught my eye. The only time I capture anything good is when I'm in the mountains or beaches.

I don't have a specific answer for Raleigh, but I feel the same about my location. Others think Florida is a good spot for landscapes, but much of it is flat and uninteresting (to me). This may be because I've lived here most of my life (that means a long time). Anyway, I have little interest in urban photography and I am not close to many interesting places. My answer is to travel, of course, and I am in a position to do so. When not traveling, I have developed a strong interest in bird photography. That is one thing there is plenty of in Florida. It keeps me going between trips.

ken2000ac wrote in post #9299724
Dilemma: I have seemingly exhausted all of the scarce scenery in my area. There is little in the way of urban scenery and little in the way of natural beauty. I live in Raleigh, NC: home of mostly suburban landscapes dotted with infrequent variety. There are the occasional streams and lakes which offer natural but mundane landscapes. The Raleigh area is at least 2.5 hours to the coast and at least 2.5 hours to anything which might be mistaken for mountains.

Seeking advice: how do those who live in geographically restrictive places cope with landscape shooting? Can anyone living in a mundane locale advise me on making mundane landscapes interesting or at least offer ideas on what you have done in a similar situation? I'm not asking "how can I make suburban flat forest look as appealing as the Golden Gate bridge or the Cascades", but rather "how do you suggest I make suburban flat forest look appealing".

Ideas? Thoughts? I'm getting desperate. And now I feel silly for having asked. Oh well.

Try living in the Dallas area...I can drive in some directions for 12 hours and STILL be in Texas. Look for different ways to capture the mundane...try different perspectives, different types of PP, also don't overlook any chance to take some abstracts. Macro is also a possibility...

Think, colors, textures, faces, lights, reflections, multi-exposures, macro. Not mundane if you challenge yourself to get some unique shots. In the summer I work in Glacier NP that has some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world, but many days I am looking for other images such as minute flowers, pine cones, water drops, lichen covered rocks, fungus etc. Just look for the smaller elements that make up the big picture. That is what makes photography such a challenging art form.

Having living in the mountains of NC and now at the coast... I have visited Raleigh several times and must say Raleigh isn't that appealing. LOL.

Seriously though,try night shots and go to the museums down town- they are free and you could get some great shots (as long as you use no flash photography) There is a nice church down town too somewhere near the NC Senate building that's beautiful. You are also really close to the Ashboro Zoo, in warmer weather you could get great shots there.

I know its not ideal shooting location, but with a bit of creativity you can get alot of great shots, I agree that you should try some macro's too!

ken2000ac wrote in post #9299724
Dilemma: I have seemingly exhausted all of the scarce scenery in my area. There is little in the way of urban scenery and little in the way of natural beauty. I live in Raleigh, NC: home of mostly suburban landscapes dotted with infrequent variety. There are the occasional streams and lakes which offer natural but mundane landscapes. The Raleigh area is at least 2.5 hours to the coast and at least 2.5 hours to anything which might be mistaken for mountains.

Try driving to some of the smaller outlying towns. Falls of the Neuse Lake in Wake Forest can be a good area. There are a lot of trails you can hike too....or make your own. Mornings can be good at certain times of the year because of the moisture coming off the lake. Because of the building restrictions there are few buildings near the lake. If you had access to a boat you can find lots landscapes with or w/o water in them.

After reading jacksonvillenp's post I thought of something else. Try the Triangle Metro Zoo in Wake Forest off of US1 (Capital Blvd). Most people don't even know it's there...but it is, trust me. Its not real large but you can get close to a lot of the animals...especially some of the birds running around. A little creativity and some really good shots can be had. You might even see a couple of 8 X 10's of animals that I've given them.

seaside wrote in post #9303533
Falls of the Neuse Lake in Wake Forest can be a good area.

Good specific suggestion, but I've utilized that many times having lived in WF for over 5 years.

jacksonvillenp wrote in post #9303533
go to the museums down town

I do plenty of night shots, but this is a great idea. I'll have to give this some consideration. It doesn't really help me much with landscape photography, but thanks for the ideas!


Based on the replies, I guess I'm not alone. Travel photography isn't really an option but I do take advantage when the opportunities arise, as my Flickr can testify.

Thanks guys - it also doesn't help that it's winter outside.

Try living in Arizona---so much to photograph---so little time to do so.

irishman wrote in post #9304857
Try living in Arizona---so much to photograph---so little time to do so.

Yeah...I feel your pain.

Oh boy. Here comes all the people living in beautiful states to gloat.

I was actually born in Phoenix. Darn parents and their desire to move East. Didn't they know that one day I would enjoy a hobby in photography?!