Joe and Mary Ann McDonald's

Wildlife Photography

Undoubtably the BEST source of information available for traveling to a new area is Robert Hitchman's Photograph America Newsletter. Now in its 15th year of publication, Bob's 12-16 page travel newsletter is the next best (OK, it's actually better than) thing to going there and writing your own personal diary of the roads you've traveled, where a great place to eat was, how much a toll costed, and, of course, when and where to photograph.

The Newsletters are extremely comprehensive. Written in an informal, but very literate and readable first-person style, Bob tells you what roads he traveled (and why, namely, it's the best route to get to the location!), what he saw, and what equipment he used. He describes road conditions: "There were few, if any, shoulders. Any creature climbing out of the swamp was on the road ....." and describes the conditions or requirements of off-road treks: "... a canoe launching site. A fairly strong current would make paddling back upstream to this bridge quite strenuous ... With a two car shuttle and the help of some friends, a canoe trip ... could be quite an adventure."

Quotes like the last one are quite revealing. If I were planning a trip to the Dixie Mainland Trail in Florida and if I was tempted to canoe through the area, Bob's advice has just given me fair warning. If I went downstream, which is easy and tempting, I might really regret it when attempting to return back to my launch site. Arranging for a pickup, or having two cars, would solve that problem. This is the type of information that I'd share with a friend asking me for the how-to's or tips on shooting a location. It's all there in the Newsletter.

I've been getting the Newsletter for several years, and immediately after subscribing I ordered the entire collection --- which was delivered in two attractive 3-ring binders, clearly labeled with 'Photograph America Newsletter' on the spine, and to which I could add my subsequent newsletter reports. The 2 binders sit prominently on our travel/location section of our bookshelf.

If you're interested in just a single area, for example, if you were planning on visiting a section of the country for an extended time, or if you were moving to a new area, or, indeed, if you simply wanted to know what is around your own home region, you might want to get the collection for each region. For example, the Southwest Collection involes 23 issues, the Atlantic Coast has 16 issues, California has 12, Fall Color has 14 fall color issues.

Check out Bob's website to order online at http://www.photographamerica.com/, or call at (415) 898-3736, FAX at (415) 898-2506, or write to Bob at Photograph America, PO Box 86, Novato, CA 94948. You'll find that the Newsletters will be your first stop when researching your next travel destination.