MAP COURTESY OF NATIONAL SCENIC BYWAYS
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FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER who likes to push the creative envelope beyond the camera’s point-and-shoot capabilities, Darren Rowse, on his Digital Photography School Web site, suggests “adding randomness to your photos.” Here are some of Rowse’s tips.
Move your camera. Experiment with moving your camera while shooting—
Chinook Scenic Byway
PHOTODISC
THE WEATHER is perfect. The car is running great. That new digital camera is just calling to be used. What better way to put all those elements together than to take a nice daylong scenic drive?
The Federal Highway Administration has made it easy to find the best routes with its National Scenic Byways Program Web site, www.byways.org. The site highlights 126 roads and highways in 44 states that have been designated by Congress as America’s Byways. It offers customizable printing of the information and maps for your journey. You can even post an account of the trip to share with fellow adventurers.
Here’s a sampling of some of the routes.
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Kaibab Plateau-North Rim Parkway
A helpful Web site shows the locations and highlights of America’s Byways.
Chinook Scenic Byway (Washington). Awe-inspiring views, lush vegetation and glacier-fed rivers are presided over by towering Mount Rainier.
Connecticut River Byway (New Hampshire and Vermont). Historic landmarks, with museums aplenty, lush scenery and dramatic vistas are enhanced by the beauty of the upper Connecticut River Valley.
Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway ( California). Discover the Sierra Nevada and experience the serenity of pristine lakes, mountain vistas, massive sequoias and redwoods, and breathtaking panoramas on an exhilarating ride between Yosemite National Park and
Lake Tahoe.
Indian River Lagoon Scenic Highway (Florida). Beaches, wildlife refuges, state parks, museums, waterways and even the Kennedy Space Center provide plenty of exciting digital camera fodder.
PHOTODISC
Kaibab Plateau-North Rim Parkway (Arizona). Spectacular views and natural pleasures abound throughout the geological wonders of the Grand Canyon and abundant wildlife.
Illinois River Road (Illinois). Follow the route of early French explorers on a parallel route to a chain
PHOTODISC
ASMUNDUR THORKELSSON
The camera moved with the truck to achieve the effect above; the tractor was shot “from the boot.”
of more than 100 linked nature sites, the Illinois River Country Nature Trail.
Wetlands and Wildlife Scenic Byway (Kansas). Wildlife such as sandhill and whooping cranes, pelicans, bald and golden eagles, shorebirds, ducks and geese fill prairie vistas under vast skies.—Steve Fisher
References:
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