10 enchanting photo spots you’ll want to keep secret

10 enchanting photo spots you’ll want to keep secret

For Question of the week, we asked DPReview readers what secret photo spots they knew about that favored their photography. From abandoned buildings to pristine landscapes tucked away in remote mountains, many unique places were revealed.

I liked how gpwitteveen summed up not-so-secret locales that still provided visitors with a worthwhile personal perspective of the area:

“Hiding in plain sight, as they call it, is something often very satisfying to explore. You may have visited a spot a few times before in different lighting, season or weather conditions, but then you see it in a new light (pun intended), and it comes alive as never before. That never ceases to amaze with something bordering on magic: how could this familiar spot now take on a very different aspect?”

And PhilippeC95 had great insight for visiting the busier locales:

“There are well-known tourist places which are quite different when you get there outside the normal hours.”

Click to the next page above to begin the slideshow of our selection of reader photos.

Beach near Castellon, Spain

tresemes: I used to travel a lot, but when I became a father, I knew photographing landscapes halfway around the world would be on hold for the foreseeable future, so I had to find places close to home. We have a few famous-ish photo spots, but that wasn’t gonna cut it.

So, I spent hours scouring Google Maps, doing odd searches like “some-random-town-an-hour-away + landscape,” and trying to pinpoint locations. It was almost a hobby in its own right. I discovered everything from waterfalls to places that look like discount Dolomites, some of them requiring an hour-long hike on top of an hour-long drive, but it was worth it. I got to photograph beautiful places that, as far as I know, no one’s photographed before.

I also revisited childhood places with different eyes, like this beach near Castellon, Spain.

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Trollheimen mountain region

Oeyvind: My favorite place is Trollheimen, a mountain region in the middle of Norway, which I visit several times a year.

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Sukhothai historical city in Thailand

PhilippeC95: There are well-known tourist places that are quite different when you get there outside the normal hours. In this example, I took photos in Thailand, in the historical city of Sukhothai. We arrived around 7:00 a.m. to get good lighting and a limited number of tourists. You travel through this old city by bicycle, which makes the experience even more incredible (cars are not allowed inside).

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Martin’s Landing in Roswell, GA

Paul Peterson: Martin’s Landing is a large (2,000 homes) community in Roswell, GA, with a public walkway around its 53-acre lake.

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Tosco Emilian Apennines in Italy

NiVoak: The Tosco-Emilian Apennines, above Reggio Emilia, Modena and Parma, in Italy. I can often walk all day without meeting a soul.

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Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”) in Florence, Italy

RDCollins: This photo of the Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”) in Florence, Italy, was taken more than 20 years ago from our hotel balcony during a break in a horrendous storm that was battering Europe, and has remained one of my favorites. The bridge was built in the 14th century and is still in use today.

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A secret, unnamed building corridor

Kaj E: The past is known, although diffused by memory,
the present is well illuminated.
What lies ahead is shrouded in mystery.

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Lake District National Park in England

thedispossessed: I live a couple of hours from the Lake District National Park in NW England. While it is a popular place with approximately 18 million visitors a year, I don’t usually head to the usual photo locations, such as Ashness Bridge, but instead plan a long walk that ends late in the day.

I bring a camera with a couple of lenses and plenty of provisions, and see what kind of photo opportunities I come across. The above photo was taken at the top of Clough Head, looking towards St. John’s in the Vale, late in the evening in June. I often get home in the early hours after walks like this, but it is worth it for the photo opportunities – plus the usually crowded hills are much quieter in the evening.

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Rocky beach in Portugal

Calretas: Rocky beaches at low tide can reveal incredible details. We have many good examples in Portugal, although my favorites are in Ericeira.

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Deep in England’s Lake District National Park

Gloomy1: This is my “secret place”. It is deep in the English Lake District but a 40-minute hike from the road, and I get the place to myself. Every visit is different, as the water level can change rapidly. Despite multiple visits, I can still envisage the “perfect” conditions, so I keep coming back. I have added an overview of the upper valley, with multiple waterfalls tumbling down its sides.

Thanks for sharing your secret photo-taking places!

Keep watch for the next Question of the week every other Wednesday to participate in this series. New questions are posted here on the homepage and in the forums.

Share your secret photography places with the community

Our DPREVIEW Tribute:

After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview closed on 10 April 2023. This difficult decision was part of the annual operating plan review that parent company, Amazon, shared earlier this year.

Over the course of 25 years, DP Review built up a reputation as being one of the most informative places to go for information about that new camera or lens you’re after. DP Review began as an independent reviews site based in the UK in 1998, the brainchild of Philip and Joanna Askey, but it was eventually purchased by Amazon in 2007 and relocated over to Seattle in the USA in 2010.

Cheers DPReview – thanks for the great work and content that guided photographers, videographers and techno junkies the world over!