Finding locations?

[Pedro_lopez]

How do the rest of you guys find your locations?

I want to wake up in the morning and shoot as many shots of a scenic sunrise probably around the beach but I just can't think of great landscapes that would add flare. I'm also thinking probably from a high point of view on a building or parking garage.

I live in the broward county area if any one has some thoughts.

 

[Advanced Photo]

I like ghost towns and other off the beaten path locations that other people just don't go to. I have maps of them that are very rare so I can find places most don't even know about. I love history.

 

[Pedro_lopez]

Would Florida have ghost towns? How could I get myself one of these rare maps?

 

[Advanced Photo]

Abandoned Florida: 10 Ghost Towns and Forgotten Places in the Sunshine State - Urban Ghosts Media

I got my maps in small bookstores around the state I live in.

Here is an online source: The 3 Best Places To Find Free Historical Maps Online

small bookstores will be a good place for forgotten publications.

 

[Pedro_lopez]

Thank you so much for that idea. I'm literally going to go searching online tonight for a cool ghost town.

 

[KmH]

You have to be your own location scout.
You now know there are more sources of information than you previously knew about.

Over the years as I was out and about I kept my eye peeled for shooting locations.
I often made sure I didn't use the same route to get to/from places I went to frequently - like the grocery store, bank, doctor, etc. - just so I made sure I saw as many possible locations as I could.
I kept a notebook in my cars so I could jot down where I had seen potential locations and then later thought about what time of year and/or time of day a particular location might work best.

Today we can use Google Maps and Google Earth too to scout locations.

 

[dennybeall]

Being on the West Coast you may want to consider focusing on sunsets. Some nice piers, beaches and also palm trees along the coast.

 

[ahtoxa]

That's a pretty good question, OP. Location is something I've actively spent a lot of time thinking about before attempting to go out and shoot.

I suppose that just about any location can get made great, depending on what the goal is, but I think that when it comes to nature photography, the more out of the way it is, the better and more original it can be.

For example, you may not have to backpack for 3 days to the top of the mountain necessarily, but I often hike a trail in search of a good shot and can spend hours doing it. Sometimes I find what I think is the shot and sometimes I don't (and whether I can actually convert that shot from my mind to a digital picture is a whole other subject haha).

There have been many times where I've scouted what I thought had greater potential for a location but found nothing of interest, and there are other times where I happened onto a location I wasn't even considering much and happened to have my gear with me. Sometimes it just aligns for ya.

This is why I usually carry my camera and a couple lenses whenever I go out to hike or explore somewhere. Never know when inspiration will strike.

 

[Gary A.]

Most likely there are 'Meetup' group near you who specialize in photography. That may be a good source for locations and help.