Interesting Places To Photograph

Revision as of 20:55, 1 August 2010

This page has been compiled to help photographers in their respective cities/states find places to photograph with interesting subjects or otherwise. This page may be broken up into individual state pages when the list becomes larger. Discussion in this thread in the Photography forum.

Australian Capital Territory

Canberra

Wikipedia Entry

• Australian War Memorial
• Parliament House
• Mount Ainslie lookout

New South Wales

Sydney

Wikipedia Entry

• Sydney Aquarium
• Taronga Zoo
• Chinese Gardens at Darling Harbour
• Watson's Point
• Manly Quarantine Station
• Gore Hill Cemetery
• Opera House (more info)
• Sydney Harbour Bridge (you can climb the bridge, but can't take your own camera) - see the view from the Pylon Lookout instead, its much much cheaper than a official brideclimb
• Royal Botanic Gardens

Newcastle

• Nobby's Breakwater
• Glenrock Lagoon
• Strezlecki Lookout
• The Bogie Hole
• Army buildings on cliff at the top of King Edward Park
• Stockton beach/Sygna wreck

Northern Territory

Some of the places here WILL require 4WD access even if not listed as such. As always if you plan on visiting somewhere do your research prior and make sure it is accessable to the vehicle/bike you are driving.

Darwin

Wikipedia Entry

• Darwin CBD
• Darwin Harbour (Sunset, Industrial, Portraiture)
• Fannie Bay Reserve (Horses/Horse riding, Wild life, Tropical forest, Ocean sunset)
• Cullen Bay (Sunset, Social, Food photography)
• Mindil Beach Sunset Markets
• Dripstone Cliffs/Casuarina Beach (Great for sunset. Popular with the locals)
• Knuckeys Lagoon (Accessed from Fiddlers Lane, variety of water birds)
• Darwin Botanical Gardens (Range of areas, open grasslands, rainforest area, man-made waterfall)
• East Point Military Museum and WWII site

Outer Darwin

• Kakadu National Park (Photo's may not be used for commercial use without prior permission)(Flora/Fauna, Landscape, Aboriginal paintings, Water Falls. Wikipedia and photos)
• Litchfield National Park (Flora/Fauna, Landscape, Water Falls. photos)
• Adelaide River (Along the Arnhem Hwy. Jumping crocodile cruises, floodplains. photos)
• Fogg Dam (Range of birdlife, some nice walks. After dark the snakes generally come out along the dam wall. photos)
• Leaning Tree Lagoon Nature Park (Along the Arnhem Hwy, generally holds water long into the dry season so has a good range of birdlife)
• Mary River National Park (4WD required to see the best of the park, Hardies & Wildman 4WD Tracks offer diverse range of scenery, dusty tracks to river crossings, floodplains and wild buffalo. Be wary of crocs. photos)
• Butterfly Gorge (4WD required and access restricted during wet season so check access. Track along the river is easier/shorter/more scenic then the one over the top! photos)
• Umbrawarra Gorge (4WD required and access can be restricted during wet season so check access. Very pretty little gorge. photos)
• Gunn Point (Close to Darwin, very flat beach good for reflections. Good beach camping. photos)

Katherine Region

• Katherine Gorge
• Edith Falls (Take a walk up to the top falls)
• Cutta Cutta Caves (only open during the dry season, wet season it's full of water)
• Low Level Crossing and Eugene Betty Bridge (aka High Level Bridge)
• Springvale Homestead
• Knotts Crossing
• Timber Creek
• Mataranka and Elsey National Park

Alice Springs

• Alice Springs Desert Park (Allows you to get up close and personal with a lot of the desert dwellers. Good range of birdlife and other animals to photograph)
• Alice Springs Telegraph Station (Good historical site and interesting buildings from earlier era)
• Anzac Hill (Gives a good lookout over Alice Springs)
• Henley on Todd (Only held once a year but if you're in town good for a look)
• Finke Desert Race (Again only once a year, but if you're in town certainly worth a look)

East of Alice

• Emily & Jessie Gaps Nature Park (Nice little park close to Alice, worth a quick stop if you're heading East)
• Corroberee Rock
• Trephina Gorge Nature Park (Good views from the top of the gorge)
• John Hayes Rockhole (Located within Trephina Gorge, 4WD required however worth the detour to the quiet little pool hidden away within rocky outcrops)
• N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park (4WD required, closed after heavy rain. Very nice drive into the park and some interesting rock formations on the walls of the gorge)
• Arltunga Historical Reserve (Accessable all year. Good historical exhibits and stone buildings)
• Ruby Gap Nature Park (Definitely high clearance 4WD only! True isolation and absolutely stunning gorge scenery. Highly recommended if you and your vehicle are well prepared)

South of Alice

• Ewaninga Rock Carvings (Rock carvings, clay pans)
• Rodinga Ruins (Just off the road on the way to Maryvale/Titjikala, the ruins have been vandalised however still an interesting photo subject)
• Chambers Pillar (Interesting rock formation, absolutely stunning at sunrise/sunset especially if the clouds play along)
• Rainbow Valley (Best at sunset, if you're lucky enough to be there when there's water in the claypans you should get an amazing shot. Photo here and here)

West of Alice

• Simpsons Gap (Only a short drive from Alice, nice walk along the riverbed to a gap in the range)
• Standley Chasm (Very narrow chasm so best when the sun is right overhead and going into the chasm. Popular with the tourists at this time of the day)
• Ellery Creek Big Hole (Popular with the locals for swimming so can become crowded, however still good for a few photos)
• Finke Gorge National Park (Words cannot describe this park. Well worth the detour into it. Beware of the big tourist buses though, they don't move over for anyone! Photos here (first three ARE NOT from Finke Gorge)
• Ormiston Gorge (Stunning gorge, definitely worth a look)
• Glen Helen Gorge (Short walk to another gorge, has a shop, etc so good for a stop)
• Redbank Gorge (Truly amazing, if there's water in the gorge it is highly recommended to swim across and keep going through the narrow gorge to see the stunning array of colours. Be warned the water can be absolutely freezing though!)
• Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) (Stunning impact crater that you can actually drive into. Wikipedia article here)
• Watarrka (Kings Canyon) (Nice little walk into the canyon itself, if you're up for it the walk around the top of the canyon is pretty amazing)

Yulara Region

• Mt Conner Lookout (A lot of people mistake this as their first siting of Ayres Rock. Worth a stop on the side of the road for a look)
• Yulara Township (Some interesting hotels here, good night photography)
• Uluru/Ayres Rock (Commercial photography requires a permit in this park! No amount of photos can prepare you for the sheer size of Ayres Rock. Truly amazing. Wikipedia article here)
• Kata Tjuta/The Olgas (Commercial photography requires a permit in this park! Another truly amazing site. Well worth getting up early to see the sunrise from the viewing platform. Wikipedia here)

Queensland

Brisbane

Wikipedia Entry

• South Bank Parklands (more info: 1 2)
• Story Bridge
• Brisbane Cricket Ground (aka "The Gabba")
• Mt Gravatt Lookout
• Pelican Park, Redcliffe
• Breakfast Creek Hotel, Breakfast Creek
• Derelict Train Yard, Off Cullen Av W @ Eagle Farm

Here is a useful list of interesting Brisbane landmarks:

• List of Brisbane Landmarks

Gold Coast

Wikipedia Entry

Sunshine Coast

Wikipedia Entry

• Remains of Sugar Cane plant at Nambour. (You might have to climb through some fences to get in, but once you're in it's well worth it, just remember to be carefull, there are a lot of deep pits that aren't fenced off properly.)

• Mooloolaba Beach.

• Eumundi Markets (The Wednesday Session is more fruit and veg orientated, while the Saturday session is more art and crafty with larger crowds. Some of the buildings around the markets are interesting to photograph as well.)

• Maleny hinterlands. (Very nice Sunset/Sunrise shots as you can get a view of the whole coast with nice green paddock foregrounds.)

Surfers Paradise

Wikipedia Entry

Cairns

Wikipedia Entry

• Copperlode dam lookout
• Ross lookout

South Australia

Adelaide

Wikipedia Entry

• Adelaide Zoo
• Botanic Gardens
• Central Market
• Glenelg Foreshore and Patawalonga outlet
• Henley Square area at Henley Beach
• Port Adelaide
• Rundle Mall/Street and Hindley Street
• Barossa Valley
• Adelaide Himeji Garden

Kangaroo Island

Providing you have your own transport, Kangaroo Island is full of photographic opportunities. Some of the highlights include:

• Admirals Arch
• Cape Willoughby Lighthouse on the Eastern tip of the island
• Duck Lagoon
• Flour Cask Bay
• Frenchman's Rock at Penneshaw
• Little Sahara Desert
• Pelican Feeding at Kingscote
• Prospect Hill
• Remarkable Rocks
• Seal Bay
• Vivonne Bay

South Coast

Around Victor Harbour are many places to photograph:

• Granite Island
• The Bluff

Tasmania

Hobart

• The Docks
• Russel Falls

Launceston

• Cataract Gorge

North West

• The Nut, Stanley
• Table Cape, Wynyard
• Woodchips, Burnie
• Preservation Bay, Penguin

Victoria

Melbourne

• Carlton Gardens
• Royal Exhibition Building
• Melbourne Museum
• Federation Square
• Docklands Precinct (New Quay/Victoria Harbour and Telstra Dome)
• MCG
• Melbourne Park
• Melbourne University
• Melbourne Exhibition Center (more info)
• Southbank
• Arts Center
• Alexandra Gardens
• Birrarung Marr
• Royal Botanic Gardens
• Rialto Observation Deck
• St. Patrick's Cathedral
• The Shrine Reserve/Shrine of Remembrance
• City Loop Train Stations (Parliament, Melbourne Central, Flagstaff)
• State Library
• Albert Park Lake
• Yarra River Trail
• Williamstown Beach
• St. Kilda Beach
• South Melbourne Beach
• Brighton Beach
• Parliament House and Treasury Place
• Fitzroy Gardens
• Flinders Street Station

Otway Ranges

• Otway Fly Treetop Walk

Western Australia

Perth

Wikipedia Entry

• Bell Tower
• Perth Zoo
• Kings Park
• Hyde Park
• Rottnest Island (more info)
• Garden Island (limited access, as it's a naval base)
• Araluen Botanic Park
• any of the great beaches
• Bibbulmun Track
• University of Western Australia
• Jandakot Airport
• Woodman Point
• Fremantle Markets
• Noble Falls (Gidgegannup, approx 40km east-northeast from Perth)
• Ellis Brook Reserve (Roleystone, info here)
• Boulder Rock (Karragullen, google maps ref, info here)

Rockingham

Wikipedia Entry

• Foreshore
• Point Peron

Fremantle

Wikipedia Entry

• Maritime Museum
• Fremantle port
• Fremantle Prison
• Fremantle Markets

South West

• Busselton Jetty
• Cape Leeuwen
• Canal Rocks
• Serpentine Falls
• Walpole Treetop Walk
• Natural Bridge and The Gap (Albany)
• Whale World (Albany's Whaling Station)
• Hotham Valley Train
• Margaret River

Pilbara

Wikipedia Entry

• Karijini

More Links

• Photography, Photography Exhibitions, Urban exploration