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Icons and Experiences

December 10, 2011 Sarah Marino
Zion Subway, Zion National Park (I do not really like this photo anymore, but it still demonstrates my point.)

Zion Subway, Zion National Park (I do not really like this photo anymore, but it still demonstrates my point.)

Browse any internet photography forum and the majority of the landscape images will be of well-known iconic locations or common subjects. A frequent criticism of landscape photography revolves around this fact, with critics observing that too many photographers pursue the creation of derivative photos of well-known locations, all while calling themselves artists, instead of seeking out more creative work. This viewpoint has come to resonate more with me in recent months and I have been seeking to get beyond standard views of icons in pursuit of more personal work. Still, some iconic locations do represent another increasingly important aspect of my pursuit of photography – placing more emphasis on enjoying the experience of visiting incredible places as an equally important result of a photography trip. Icons have achieved their status for very good reason and experiencing some of those places for myself holds significant value, value that at times exceeds the value of pursuing creativity and originality.

I can vividly remember three particularly memorable images I viewed when I first took up landscape photography. One is an original take an a little known location in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. The other two are of icons – Badwater in Death Valley National Park and the Subway in Zion National Park. At the time, I had not traveled much and in viewing these images, I felt the pangs of wanderlust for the first time in my life. I wanted to – needed to – experience those places for myself.

Death Valley came quickly and I visited Badwater within about six months of seeing that memorable image. I fell in love with Death Valley instantly and have returned at least once a year since that time to explore the park – both iconic and off the beaten path locations. Visiting the Subway has been more elusive. This fall, I finally ended up in Zion with a permit for the Subway and two good friends who were willing to come along, even though they have both visited and photographed the location previously.

Given my goal of creating more personal work, why visit this location and spend hours photographing the area only to create derivative images that are almost exact copies of hundreds that have come before? Because sometimes photography is about conveying and documenting an experience that is important to me and sometimes it is about the creative pursuit of more original images. Sometimes these pursuits overlap and sometimes, in the case of visiting and photographing icons, they do not. In the case of visiting the Subway, the experience is what I was seeking first and the photographs are a benefit. Now, I have my own images to bring me back to that day – the ruggedness of the hike, the feeling of arriving in the incredibly cold and surprisingly sterile yet still magical Subway, the interesting conversations, the slips and falls, the funny moments, and everything else that made that day quite memorable.

I will happily add this image to my personal favorites knowing that it is no more creative or original than any other images from this place and I’m okay with that. This photo represents something I have been seeking since I first saw that photo of the Subway years ago, thinking at the time that I would probably never actually get to see it for myself. To be fortunate enough to visit and experience this place, and hundreds of similar ones in the intervening years, is more than enough for me, even if the result will never rise to the level of art.

In Thoughts on Photography Tags Landscape Photography, Photographing Icons, Zion National Park
← All You Keep is the Getting ThereThere's More Pretty Girls Than One →

About our landscape photography blog

Nature Photo Guides features the photography of Sarah Marino and Ron Coscorrosa, educational photography ebooks, photography resources, and stories about our travels around the United States in an Airstream trailer. 

This blog focuses on topics related to landscape photography (sharing photos, resources, and occasional opinions).  If you would like to also read about our travels, head over our travel journal (places we visit, traveling in our Airstream trailer, and related topics).  

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RECEnt INSTAGRAM photos

📷: Gildy’s Gift (swipe for full photo). I’m looking forward to seeing these mountains covered in snow soon. 🤗 I took this photo during a summer trip with our Airstream trailer. We had our cats with us in the trailer, including our sweet Gildy who was the most persistent cat in the history of cats. On this particular very early morning, she wanted food and annoyingly wouldn’t leave us alone. After many previous mornings photographing sunrise, we planned to sleep in this day but Ron looked outside when he got up to feed Most Persistent Cat Ever and saw this magic developing outside. We miraculously made the drive and hike to this overlook before the light show was over. #naturephotography #magic #nature #mountains
📷: Canyon Guardians (swipe for non-IG crop). It is mornings like this that keep me coming back to nature photography. Soft pink color in the sky and on the landscape is among my favorite conditions for photographing grand landscapes and to see this light over such an awe-inspiring scene brought on a mix of joy, serenity, elation, and a tiny bit of stress. This view is along an 18-mile point-to-point backpacking route, which means that logistics are complicated and the likelihood of getting great conditions is slim for people like me (the more effort I put in, the worse conditions I seem to get 🤷🏻‍♀️). Everything came together and it felt like a morning of magic. #coloradoplateau #naturephotography #landscapephotography #nature #canyon #sunrise #magic
📷: Geothermal Medley. I took this on a completely silent and still morning in Yellowstone National Park. In the mornings during the winter, most visitors are still sleeping and the snowmobiles have yet to arrive in the park for the day. The only sound was the bubbling hot spring and an occasional hiss from a geyser. The blues of twilight felt like a perfect complement to the geothermal features, especially the beautiful pool in the foreground. It was also -10F and I had a bad case of the stomach flu, but the experience of being in this moment and creating this photo erased the unpleasantness of all that, at least for a few minutes. Swipe for non-IG crop. 💁🏻‍♀️ #yellowstonenationalpark #wyoming #winter #nature #naturephotography #landscapephotography
📷: Morning Glory. This photo is from a lovely morning of misty magic. This is a simple scene to begin with and I love that the mist simplifies it even more. #washingtonstate #nature #mountains #summer #naturephotography #landscapephotography
I don’t have a moon photo to share so how about some oak leaves! The eclipse was fun to watch but I didn’t feel compelled to photograph it since I don’t pursue night photography anymore and such a photo would look out of place in my portfolio. A little vignette of oak leaves found on a rainy day is much more my style these days. Still, it is great to see so many people excited about photographing the lunar eclipse and posting their results. 😊#autumn #colorado #trees #smallscene
Autumn Mix: This hillside typically changes in unison. In 2018, the trees instead fell across a continuum from bare to green, with oranges, reds, and yellows in between. #colorado #autumn #nature #fallcolors #trees
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We have a favorite patch of aspens that always turn fancy colors. Some years they are more purple and pink. This year, the trees were more red and orange as seen here. These dynamic year-to-year changes are one of the many reasons I enjoy going back to the same places over and over again. #colorado #autumn #aspens
📷: Autumn Stripes, Colorado. Another photo from my 2018 wrap-up collection (link to full post in my profile). I love photographing water ripples because the scenes change so much with the wind and the seasons. We visit this little pond often since the area offers a multitude of photo opportunities across the seasons (my corn lily photo from a few days ago was taken in the same area but in spring). On this day, the fall colors, light, shadows, and ripples came together to create this little scene. #colorado #autumn #abstract #smallscene
 

ABOUT our travel journal

Nature Photo Guides features the photography of Sarah Marino and Ron Coscorrosa, educational photography ebooks, photography resources, and stories about our travels around the United States in an Airstream trailer. 

This blog is our travel journal (places we visit, traveling in our Airstream trailer, and related topics).  If you would like to also read about our photography, head over our landscape photography blog (sharing photos, photography resources/tips, and occasional opinions).

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Recent Instagram photos

📷: Gildy’s Gift (swipe for full photo). I’m looking forward to seeing these mountains covered in snow soon. 🤗 I took this photo during a summer trip with our Airstream trailer. We had our cats with us in the trailer, including our sweet Gildy who was the most persistent cat in the history of cats. On this particular very early morning, she wanted food and annoyingly wouldn’t leave us alone. After many previous mornings photographing sunrise, we planned to sleep in this day but Ron looked outside when he got up to feed Most Persistent Cat Ever and saw this magic developing outside. We miraculously made the drive and hike to this overlook before the light show was over. #naturephotography #magic #nature #mountains
📷: Canyon Guardians (swipe for non-IG crop). It is mornings like this that keep me coming back to nature photography. Soft pink color in the sky and on the landscape is among my favorite conditions for photographing grand landscapes and to see this light over such an awe-inspiring scene brought on a mix of joy, serenity, elation, and a tiny bit of stress. This view is along an 18-mile point-to-point backpacking route, which means that logistics are complicated and the likelihood of getting great conditions is slim for people like me (the more effort I put in, the worse conditions I seem to get 🤷🏻‍♀️). Everything came together and it felt like a morning of magic. #coloradoplateau #naturephotography #landscapephotography #nature #canyon #sunrise #magic
📷: Geothermal Medley. I took this on a completely silent and still morning in Yellowstone National Park. In the mornings during the winter, most visitors are still sleeping and the snowmobiles have yet to arrive in the park for the day. The only sound was the bubbling hot spring and an occasional hiss from a geyser. The blues of twilight felt like a perfect complement to the geothermal features, especially the beautiful pool in the foreground. It was also -10F and I had a bad case of the stomach flu, but the experience of being in this moment and creating this photo erased the unpleasantness of all that, at least for a few minutes. Swipe for non-IG crop. 💁🏻‍♀️ #yellowstonenationalpark #wyoming #winter #nature #naturephotography #landscapephotography
📷: Morning Glory. This photo is from a lovely morning of misty magic. This is a simple scene to begin with and I love that the mist simplifies it even more. #washingtonstate #nature #mountains #summer #naturephotography #landscapephotography
I don’t have a moon photo to share so how about some oak leaves! The eclipse was fun to watch but I didn’t feel compelled to photograph it since I don’t pursue night photography anymore and such a photo would look out of place in my portfolio. A little vignette of oak leaves found on a rainy day is much more my style these days. Still, it is great to see so many people excited about photographing the lunar eclipse and posting their results. 😊#autumn #colorado #trees #smallscene
Autumn Mix: This hillside typically changes in unison. In 2018, the trees instead fell across a continuum from bare to green, with oranges, reds, and yellows in between. #colorado #autumn #nature #fallcolors #trees
📷: Aspen Gems. A few years ago, I was wandering around and found a small, hidden pond that is surrounded by the most colorful mix of aspens I have seen in Colorado. A few years ago, the aspens were pink, purple, and blue. This year, they were more typical oranges and yellows with a few reds mixed in for good measure. Here, the colorful leaves have fallen and are floating in the pond at the end of autumn, with some water droplets on top from a recent rain. It is fun to return each year and see how much this little patch of paradise changes. #colorado #autumn #smallscene
We have a favorite patch of aspens that always turn fancy colors. Some years they are more purple and pink. This year, the trees were more red and orange as seen here. These dynamic year-to-year changes are one of the many reasons I enjoy going back to the same places over and over again. #colorado #autumn #aspens
📷: Autumn Stripes, Colorado. Another photo from my 2018 wrap-up collection (link to full post in my profile). I love photographing water ripples because the scenes change so much with the wind and the seasons. We visit this little pond often since the area offers a multitude of photo opportunities across the seasons (my corn lily photo from a few days ago was taken in the same area but in spring). On this day, the fall colors, light, shadows, and ripples came together to create this little scene. #colorado #autumn #abstract #smallscene

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