LarryFB Loc: Depends where our RV is parked

All I can say is:

texaseve Loc: TX, NC and NH

My problem is not the photos I have seen before, as I figure I can do some little thing different. My problem is the "Tourons" as a friend used to call them, standing in front of places for much too long, taking their selfies, being loud, and ruining a scene. My last experience was the two guys that went out on to a rock that jets out in to an iconic pond. (People go there to take a beautiful photo of this pond and that rock in it.) Anyway, they hiked over, and decided to fly their drone from the rock for 40 minutes. Nobody could take a shot without these asses in it.... I could return, however, there were many people visiting that had driven a long ways that couldn't. I miss the days of mutual respect.

anotherview Loc: California

Canyonlands N.P. and Arches N.P. will enflame your photographic desires, and the same for Capitol Reef N.P. and Bryce Canyon N.P. Trust me.

radiojohn

This one seemed to use the same cardboard, but is called a "PaperShoot." I was a bit shocked to see it was essentially the same as the Ikea. Sure ate up AAA batteries!

User ID

Yup. Stock moon. Waaaaaaaay out of scale. Just looks bogus, like a paper moon in a high school musical :-(
Aren’t photographers supposed to be visually aware ?

Chiroman8

b top gun,

As I always say,Hedgehoggers are always spot on,just follow their advice. It's like going to a baseball/ football game or watching it on TV, there is no comparison !As I say,"life is too short to drink cheap wine" and as the monkey said when he cut off his tail with a banana knife,"it won't be long now". So just do it !
Pax
Chiroman

Bill McKenna

Make the challenge seeing what others haven't seen. Creativity is what you should strive for. There's always something new to find.

User ID

Ok, but that won’t revive the travel biz.

Dean37 Loc: Fresno, CA

I live within 70 miles of Yosemite and the last time I went there was almost 20 years ago. This was a few years after the side of the mountain had fallen down and they had to reroute the walking path. I had walked that path several times before and it is amazing what had happened.

Same when Yosemite valley flooded. The last few times I went there, they had marker poles which showed the water level at the peak flood time.

I sure wish we could get some of that water now as our farmers are going to be allowed one use of the canals for this late spring and none for the late summer. Produce prices will rise again.

It is true that photos do not and cannot do justice to the enormity and awe of being there. Also when the crowds are there it can be a bad day. Plan for when the kids are back in school.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

I couldn't agree more!

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

I agree whole heartedly... I've been to Yosemite many times (~30+) since I live fairly close. I'm still in awe every time I go. Each experience is always different than previous visits.

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

With almost 8 billion people populating the earth, you're going to have tourist. If you visit wouldn't you be one of those "Tourons"? There are several ways to deal with those tourons. One is to hike away from the crowds. Another is to go between holiday times. I don't consider staying home and never seeing the world's wonders as an option.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

When I read about places being "photographed to death" I always remember that it's never been photographed BY ME! I may not do a unique photograph, but it will be unique to me. Living on the east coast, I would love to go to these places that have been "done to death." I have made two road trips to California, I've kept off of the Interstates as much as possible, and I definitely took photos that no one else have taken (or at least I've seen). But I took many iconic shots, many of which hang on my walls. My burn out is trying to find great photographic subjects closer to home.

cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD

I see it quite the other way 'round: if I'd never seen pix of Yosemite or Monument Valley, I probably would never have really wanted to go there. For Monument Valley, someone recommended a Navajo guide, and I will second that; if you stay long enough, you can take one tour in the evening and another in the morning. Like so much of my photography, many of my shots were disappointing to me, but a few rather knocked my socks off, at least one directly the result of the guide's showing me that I could go to places that I'd thought I wasn't allowed. And the experience of seeing it in person was, as others have said, awfully special, much better than my images or the ones I've seen before or since. And I'd say the same for Yosemite. I took a 4 day workshop in Yosemite, and one evening, the guy took us to this very uninspiring cafeteria for dinner, which brought me down a bit, but then he suddenly said let's go, and took us down the parking lot and over a fence to the river, and I got what for me was the shot of a lifetime of the sunset setting Half Dome on fire reflected in the Merced river. If you don't go to a place a whole lot, having a guide can be very very helpful.

dat2ra Loc: Sacramento

I used to be an adventure travel guide leading trips to Peru, Ecuador, Mexico, Costa Rica, etc. On one trip to Peru where we were going to visit Machu Picchu, hiked the Inca trail in the Cordillera Blanca, and Iquitos--the headwaters of the Amazon, we had a professional photographer along who was shooting for a travel magazine. Somehow, despite our ever-present "bag watch", when we were changing busses his Zero Haliburton case containing all his camera gear was stolen. He went to the nearby drug store and bought a disposable film camera. Three weeks later at the farewell dinner he said that he had traveled the world taking photos since he was a teen, but had never had a more fun trip that this one because he "lived in the moment" and "didn't have to worry about anything except where he stepped and what he ate". Moral: every place that is popular with photographers is so for a reason. Just go and enjoy yourself. If you regret not taking your camera, go back another time; it will be waiting for you. And if you don't miss your camera, that means you're having a great time.