Since SAVAGE is primarily focused on photographers and videographers who produce high-quality content and desire an alternative to traditional content creators' sites, it’s fitting to consider the hard work our photographers do in recording their work in various places around the world.
For example, our Hero Creators have dedicated their professional careers to capturing the beauty of our planet in uncharted and sometimes dangerous areas around the world. Despite recording photography in difficult places, they have been able to push the limits of creative work and develop expertise working with top brands.
Certain locations around the world are difficult or dangerous to photograph for different reasons — it can be dangerous to be a photojournalist in a politically unstable or unsafe area like Iraq or Libya for example, due to violence from the government, lack thereof, or safety risk from other humans. Photojournalists often risk their lives to photograph events and human activity in unstable regions.
Other reasons that contribute to difficulty can be the terrain and/or weather conditions that are not conducive to easy photography, such as in extremely mountainous or remote regions. The most difficult locations will be a combination of both political/safety risk and difficult-to-navigate terrain or extreme weather. Photographing people of different cultural backgrounds can be difficult to do without offending someone or even being threatened in some places.
So, let’s take a look at the top 5 most difficult photography locations around the world.
1. Antarctica
Being one of the last frontiers on Earth, not only is it extremely remote, hard to get transportation and entry into, and extremely cold, getting the right exposure for Antarctica photography is difficult.
Cameras can have difficult times reading bright snow, which leads to the snow in photos appearing gray. This effect can be ameliorated by bracketing the exposure settings. When exploring remote areas of icebergs, the photographer may be on a zodiac or a kayak and they can be quite bumpy to shoot from. If you cross from South America, you will have to go through the world’s roughest seas.
Not to mention weather conditions can be brutal — it can be tough to even stay dry, keep your fingers from freezing, and you may spend time trying to just protect your equipment.
2. Patagonia
Patagonia is the southern section of South America that is shared by Chile and Argentina. The landscape is unforgettable but it is very remote, and travelers can face extreme weather situations due to the terrain, and even has glaciers and icefields. Due to the nature of the terrain, photographers may have to bring their equipment over steep terrain with supplies for several days at a time.
Heavy camera gear on one’s back while scrambling over and descending large boulders can make one miserable. A glacier’s brightness can cause issues with automatic cameras with their brightness washing out the image. Waterproof camera bags will help to keep gear dry. Neutral density filter kits can help professional photographers blur the flow of sunlight off waterfalls and soften the reflections of light..
3. Bolivia
A few reasons make this location hard to travel to, be in, and photograph in. Photographers are drawn to Bolivia due to the Salar De Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, over 3900 square miles. While the setting is breathtaking, it is located at about 12,000 feet above sea level, which is enough to cause altitude sickness in many. In addition, Bolivia is one of the lesser-developed countries in South America.
However, the salt flats are remarkable for taking photos that play with perspective or reflection, depending on the time of the year and climate — rainy season or dry season. Photographers can also play with shadows, props, and perspective.
To get to Bolivia, travelers will probably fly into La Paz, the capital, which is the highest administrative capital city in the world. Photographers who are not acclimated to this setting will have a hard time even getting outside of their hotel let alone trekking outside to take photos!
4. Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley on the California and Nevada border with extreme heat, known as one of the hottest places in the world. The average temperature in the summer can be higher than 108 degrees Fahrenheit, including overnight lows. Daily highs of over 120 degrees are not uncommon in summer.
These temperature extremes can make photography a lot more challenging. While it is home to sand dunes, arid deserts, and mountain peaks as well, it can be a unique playground for photographers. One needs to be wary about the risks of dehydration and overheating, plus the dangers of desert vegetation and possible wildlife in the desert, such as rattlesnakes, mountain lions, coyotes, bighorn sheep, bobcats, and more.
5. North Sentinel Island
The island is situated in the Andaman Islands and is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for tourists to visit. The natives of the island have been living in traditional ways and have denied ways to connect with outsiders of any kind. If they see tourists on their island, they see them as a threat and often indulge in acts of violence or threaten them.
So, not only is it incredibly difficult to access this island due to this threat, it is also extremely remote, in the Bay of Bengal, technically part of India. Plus, as per the Indian government, photography here is prohibited, so that is quite difficult in itself! Going within 3 miles of the island is illegal. Some people rumor that the natives are cannibals, but there is no hard evidence to support this.
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