Before going on any photo trip, it's good to do your research and have things planned out in advance. This involves many things. The more you do in advance, the less time it will take you to find the sites you want to photograph and you will leave with better images. Before your trip, get on the Internet and run searches via your favorite web search engine: Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. Type in keyword and keyword combinations of where you plan to go. For example, if you are planning on a photo trip to Arches National Park, you may try using the keywords: "arches park", "Arches National Park Utah", "Arches park photo ops." Take some time to go through maybe the top 50 results or so. Look for maps, directions, etc. Print them out, so you know how to get to your photo target. Try to find some nice images of your planned photo target and print them out too. Narrow down the images to what you think you would like to replicate. You don't want to exactly duplicate a good shot though, just use other photographers' images for inspiration. People don't want to see the same thing over and over, no matter how beautiful it maybe. Add your own touch. Focus on those images and try to figure out how the photographer took that great shot. Where was he/she shooting from? Was he using a polarizer or a neutral density filter? What time of the day did he take the picture? What kind of film? Did he use a digital camera? The more you can figure out, the more you can do when you get to the site to try to get a good shot too. Also, visit relevant message boards and newsgroups and ask questions about the site or sites you are planning to visit. What are newsgroups you may ask? Newsgroups are like forums that use a specific news protocol. Most ISPs have a news server you can log onto and browse newsgroups. You need a news reader program to read them. Outlook Express has one built in. Also, Google archives newsgroups and you can browse them and post messages. Google has there own discussion forums called "Google Groups" where you can read and post messages about photography. There are many other forums out there on the web you can use to ask and read info about your photo targets. Do web searches for "photography forums", "photography message boards", "Utah photography forums", etc.

More info on using newsgroups:

You may also want to order videos and/or books on your photo subject(s). Amazon.com is a great source for this. Another good thing to have on a photo trip, to help you find your photo subjects fast, is some kind of a GPS navigation system. I use a laptop with a Delorme GPS and their map software, “Street Atlas USA .” It “really” helps to get you to your target as fast as possible. There are many portable and car GPS systems out there that will provide the same functionality in one device. Some smart phones have GPS navigation apps too. If you have a laptop, the cheapest and maybe the best option would to get a GPS receiver and some sort of GPS-supported map software like Delorme's "Street Atlas USA." Often a laptop coupled with a GPS receiver can provide more features at a lower price, compared to an all-in-one GPS unit. For example, with Delorme's Street Atlas USA, you can use a microphone to give voice commands and the software will give you voice feedback and alerts; like when to turn.

When you get to the area of your photo target, make sure to check out the local gift shops, gas stations, etc. and look for postcards and books with superb images on and in them. Usually there are books written on your subject and they are packed with very useful information. Make sure to buy at least a couple of postcards, they are pretty cheap, and study them and to try to replicate the image(with your added touch). Maybe you will get a better shot!

Article by Jeremy Baker