If you’ve done a little traveling in your time, and been paying attention to the surrounding landscape, then you’ll probably have noticed one constant throughout it all.
No matter what time of year, the location, or the political situation, it’s hard to escape a good landscape picture. Something about a sweeping view of a landscape, whether it’s rural, urban, or owned by the wild, is always going to blow us away with its beauty.
No wonder we love taking photos of all of them so much! Amongst those many amazing spots around the world that we love, there’s something special about mountains, you know
The way that they tower over a landscape, how they take up so much of a frame, even when you’re a hundred miles away.
No doubt they’ll be some of your favorite landmarks and landscapes to photograph too, which is why we have collected our favorite mountain locations for you to collect your photograph picture collection with!
1. El Chalten, Argentina
Starting this list off with a location that will blow pretty much anyone away, we have this humble little village that can be found in one of the most gorgeous landscapes in all of South America
Located in the Los Glaciares national park in Argentina, El Chalten has to be one of the best villages to be based in, especially if you’re a photographer.
Pretty much any natural beauty spot that you could be looking for is close to here, from streams and rivers to glaciers and, of course, mountains.
Perhaps none are quite as striking and beautiful as the Cerro Fitz Roy mountain, one of the most striking (and dangerous) peaks in all of Patagonia. Fortunately, taking a picture is a much safer way of appreciating this beautiful mountain!
Cerro Fitz Roy isn’t the only mountain of stunning beauty here either.
From the Sendero Loma del Pliegue Tumbado to Glaciar Piedras Blancas, there are several high-elevation sites that you’ll also be able to see and capture in this remote connecting point between Argentina and Chile.
2. The Sonoran Desert, Arizona
With the United States being such a massive country, and with such a varied natural beauty to it, it’s no surprise that there are so many amazing mountain locations right here to explore, without needing to leave the country!
One of our favorite photography spots is the Sonoran Desert, located in Central Arizona. Now, deserts generally aren’t people’s first thought when it comes to gorgeous scenery and mountains, especially if dune deserts like the Sahara or Namibia.
However, the many rock deserts that you’ll find across the United States offer some amazing vistas to see and photograph, and the Sonoran Deserts are the perfect example of that.
With rocky outcrops and peaks in the background and plains of Saguaro cacti and other natural life in the foreground, these make for stunning places for aspiring photographers to hone their skills and craft.
3. Wonder Lake, Denali National Park
The clue is in the title for this next entry! Denali National Park is one of the most stunning parks in the Northern Hemisphere, especially when it comes to finding untapped tundra wildernesses.
And, among these many natural wonders, Wonder Lake is perhaps one of the most jaw-dropping.
From this low-lying body of water, you get a full view of the sweeping mountains and valleys that have helped carve this lake and landscape into the heart and the rock of this northern tip of the world(see also: 22 Of The Most Famous Mountains In The World To Photograph).
4. Milford Sound, New Zealand
New Zealand has often been famous on the world stage for its natural beauty, whether it’s the unique flora and fauna, or its many natural beauty spots.
Of those many beauties, Milford Sound has to be high on our list of places that any photographer should see for themselves.
This natural fjord, found on South Island, cuts through the surrounding high mountains and cliff faces, creating a landscape that looks amazing at pretty much any elevation.
If you’re looking for time and date recommendations for when to get the best picks, any time of year is going to give you amazing pictures.
However, we particularly love the effect of either a sunrise or sunset mid-winter, that hits the mountainsides and cliff faces with a gorgeous blanket of light.
If you can, try and check out Milford Sounds when the tie is down, for a ground-level view of these towering mountains and cliff sides.
5. White Sands National Park
Remember how we said that rock deserts are a great place for catching pictures of mountains in desert landscapes? Well, that’s still true, but there are also some pretty amazing ways to get pictures of dunes or sandier deserts with mountains too.
Not only that but they can also be found in the US! For this entry, you’ll want to head down to New Mexico, to White Sands National Park specifically.
The white dunes here stretch out for miles and sit perfectly in the foreground with the elevated lands and mountains that can also be found in the park.
While this National Park is beautiful no matter the time of year, we would recommend going in either spring or fall for your first visit.
The extreme heats of summer and the biting cold of winter make traveling and exploring the park, whether for photos or just for hiking, pretty laborious and even deadly without proper preparation.
6. Wrangell St. Elias National Park
Wrangell St. Elias National Park is another natural beauty spot that can be found in Alaska and boasts some of the most striking features that you’ll find in the country.
Then again, considering that this is also the US’s biggest national park, maybe that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise! Solitary, and with few to no settlements here, Wrangell St. Elias is a very isolated and quiet corner of the United States.
This lends it a dangerous, almost eerie feel to it, but also lends itself to some gorgeous photography opportunities too, with the highest concentration of both glaciers and volcanoes in the mainland United States.
If you’re looking for mountains, in particular, to try and scope out, we would recommend looking at Mount Wrangell, a giant shield volcano that is almost entirely covered in a rounded ice field all year round (see also “How To Photograph Icicles“).
It rises out of the surrounding landscape, even against other surrounding mountains, into a domed peak that makes it instantly recognizable.
For other suggestions, Mount Saint Elias is the tallest mountain in the park, and its 18,000-foot peak makes for a beautiful centerpiece to a landscape photograph!
7. Grand Canyon National Park
Who hasn’t heard of the Grand Canyon at this point? It’s arguably one of, if not THE most famous geological feature in the United States. Of course, it’s going to be an amazing place to grab pictures.
Especially with the immense depths that this place is known for!
Capturing as much of these giant cliff walls and peaks as possible has been the goal and dream of photographers for generations, and with plenty of angles and locations to choose from, both iconic and less traveled, there’s plenty to pick from here.
Now, are we cheating here a little, given that this is a canyon, and not technically aren’t a mountain or mountain range? We’ll let you be the judge of that.
Still, from the bottom of the canyon, especially in the right lighting conditions that allow you to capture the stark red rock formation of the area, you can’t deny that the towering frame of the canyon walls here doesn’t make for some of the best photo opportunities out there!
8. Karst Mountains, Xingping
Arguably the most famous rock and mountain formation in all of China, a list of the most beautiful mountains wouldn’t be complete without at least one mention of the Karst Mountains.
These sharp and towering peaks make for a landscape that is unlike anything else on this list.
Given that Hawaii is pretty much nothing but natural beauty, it seems, we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to just picking one here! Almost every island has valleys, mountains, and volcanoes that will look amazing in photographs.
For us, however, the island with the best and most opportunities are the main island (big island/Hawaii) and Kauai, with the former having the massive Kilauea volcano, and the latter having Waialeale, a tropical paradise.
Final Notes
So, there you have it! There are plenty more amazing mountain ranges out there that we didn’t have time to mention and give recommendations for, and we encourage you to continue hunting for new landscapes that no one has heard of or taken before.
However, if it’s inspiration and recommendations that you’re looking for, these locales should be on everyone’s to-see list, especially if you have an eye for photography.
Hey everyone, and welcome to LemonadeAndLenses.com. My name is Laura and I am the founder of this site!
For as long as I can remember, I have loved taking photographs. There is nothing I love more than looking back through old pictures, and having all of the memories come flooding back.
If you want to learn about how to take professional images, and to run your own photography business, then I can help you out, here at Lemonade And Lenses.
