We've connected with our ambassadors all around the world to ask them what their favorite photography spot is in their area. Read about all the different locations and what makes them special in our blog!

One of my favorite places to photograph is the Grand Island Bridge in Buffalo, New York. The double bridge spans the Niagara River to Grand Island, New York, on both sides. I enjoy photographing the south spans of the bridge, going toward Grand Island, because of its ability to shoot on both river banks for different light and compositions. Often I use one or more Lensbaby lenses to give me a different perspective of this well-photographed bridge in my area. Also, because I don't like shooting in areas at night that might be isolated, I can find photography friends nearby to accompany me on a shoot in the evening hours.

Gerri Jones with Lensbaby Velvet 28

Exploring your local area to photograph, in particular a specific spot, can provide you with a rewarding new perspective to see differently. You can plan your visit according to the weather and the best light for subjects you may consider shooting. Since your close, you have the option to re-visit different times of day or night.

Gerri Jones with Lensbaby Velvet 28

Gerri Jones with Lensbaby Edge 50

Consider experimenting with different techniques, lenses, or viewpoints. You have the advantage of pre-visualize your next visit with these techniques, knowing your close-by, rather than a location much farther away, which you may never get back to photograph. Seasons will change the mood and feeling of your location as well, which gives you the availability to shoot the same scene in each season for stark or gradual changes. Taking a short trip just outside your door can reveal a wonderful opportunity to explore and find new inspiration.

Gerri Jones with Lensbaby Velvet 28

Gerri Jones with Lensbaby Obscura 50

Just a 10-minute drive from my small residential neighborhood is a beautiful oasis. Strangely nestled among the factories of an industrial park on the outskirts of San Salvador, El Salvador, the Jardín Botánico Plan de Laguna is a getaway from the bustling city, a fun meet-up for a
picnic and play with the kids, and the perfect place to spot an unusual flower or get a glimpse of El Salvador's national bird, the torogoz. You can even find all the plants for your own garden in the nursery adjacent to the gardens.

Nancy Magnus with Lensbaby OMNI

Nancy Magnus with Lensbaby OMNI

As soon as we had a car, the botanical gardens immediately became one of my favorite places to go when we moved here almost four years ago. It was our vacation spot and second home during the long months of COVID lockdown when there were few places to go. It has now
become a regular outing with the kids and a frequent location for my portrait and family sessions. Every time I walk into the gardens, there is something new - a different flower in bloom or a new fountain in place. I usually take as many lenses as I can fit in my bag so I am prepared for whatever surprise awaits me there.

Nancy Magnus with Lensbaby Edge 35

The sun shines bright through the tall jungle trees within this garden in a volcanic crater and is perfect for photos in the morning or late afternoon. I love using a longer focal length with the OMNI wands to capture a bee buzzing around a bright bloom. As well, I just recently picked up
the Sweet 80 with the macro filters and took some beautiful, dreamy images of tiny flowers that dot every vista. I once spent about 30 minutes photographing one flower that caught my eye. I watched as the sun flickered on each petal and leaf and tried so hard to get the perfect bee
dancing around its pollen-laden center. While the gardens are not big, they feel immense with so many tall trees and several small ponds scattered throughout. To capture the enveloping lushness, I always bring my Composer Pro with the Edge 35. My boys love to feed the turtles
and fish as we visit each fish pond, and the Edge 35 is the perfect focal length to capture them in their element. The slice of focus on their actions and the soft blur surrounding them heightens the location's dreamy quality.

Nancy Magnus with Lensbaby Edge 35

Beyond the candid moments I take of my family, the botanical gardens are a perfect location for portraits and family photo shoots. Most of my family have visited before but usually not often or sometimes never (which always surprises me). So while getting their photos taken, I love to
capture the looks on their faces as they enter the magical jungle just minutes from their house. Their children love feeding the fish and looking for cotuzas (similar looking to large, long-legged guinea pigs that scurry around the garden). One of my favorite areas is a stone wall and
a wishing fountain. As well, there is a tree for kids to climb for a portrait or a fun action shot. At the end of each session, I take the kids to the amazing playground where all of the swings are made from tires, and they have a giant slide made from oil barrels. It never disappoints my younger clients.

With something for everyone, the gardens are my ideal setting, and they serve as my creative grounds with endless possibilities to capture the beauty of El Salvador.

Nancy Magnus with Lensbaby Sweet 80

My favourite place to take photos is my own backyard. I'm very fortunate to live on a farm with a creek meandering through it. This gives me the opportunity to photograph all kinds of wonderful things only a few steps from my home.

Jan Heastont with Lensbaby Velvet 28

Jan Heastont with Lensbaby Soft Focus II

I live in Ontario, Canada, so we have four distinct seasons, all with their own charm. I confess winter isn't my favourite season, and I have to push myself to go out with my camera in the colder months, especially when the wind is blowing, which it does a lot here.

Jan Heastont with Lensbaby Twist 60

Jan Heastont with Lensbaby Velvet 56

The magical thing about Lensbaby lenses is being able to capture the same subject in different ways depending on the lens, optic or OMNI filter used. It makes me feel uplifted to get out in nature and capture a little of the beauty that's at my fingertips.

I like to go out close to sunrise. This is my absolute favourite time to shoot. Everything is so quiet. It feels as if I'm watching my little world wake up from sleep. It's amazing how much can change from one day to the next. When I see a wonderful light, it motivates me to go outside and keep shooting until the magic disappears. I love that I don't have to travel to get where I'm going and don't have to commit to being somewhere. All I have to do is put on my shoes and step outside.

Jan Heastont with Lensbaby OMNI & Velvet 85

I am fortunate enough to live about 30 minutes from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and it is one of my favorite places to go with my camera. Gettysburg holds a special place in my heart; my parents would take my sister and me camping there just about every weekend when we were younger, and as a result, I became very familiar both with "off the beaten path" places and the touristy side of town. It always amazes me that I can take a short drive and be somewhere steeped in so much history and beauty. I have always gone to the battlefield for its landscapes, and it is beautiful in every season.

Ashley Mummert with Lensbaby Soft Focus II

Ashley Mummert with Lensbaby Velvet 85

I always stop at the Pennsylvania Monument, which is the largest monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Downtown Gettysburg can be busy depending on the time of year, but even at its busiest, it has a small-town vibe with a ton of unique shops and restaurants. Back in June, I did the Lensbaby Photowalk in downtown Gettysburg with Elizabeth Willson, and I came home with some of my favorite street photography photographs to date.

Ashley Mummert with Lensbaby Soft Focus II

I also recently had the opportunity to do a portrait session there, specifically in the area known as Devil's Den. It was such a unique backdrop with its boulder formations, paths, and crevices, and Lensbaby was the perfect choice to add to the mood of the images. It is also supposedly one of the most haunted places on the battlefield, but it was worth the hairs rising on the back of our necks a few times!

Ashley Mummert with Lensbaby Edge 35

Ashley Mummert with Lensbaby Velvet 85

Our small pacific northwest island has several picturesque nature spots to visit or to get lost in. In the Grand Forest, with its miles of wooded trails, one can escape the day-to-day busyness and take a meditative walk or run among the tall evergreens. At certain times of the day, the light is magic, spearing through limbs and leaves. A visit to Bloedel Reserve on the northeast side of the island will lure you through the various unique sections of ponds and gardens, all unified by a trail system and also magical. During the off-season, you feel like you have the place to yourself.

Mandi May with Lensbaby Edge 80 & OMNI

Bainbridge Island is full of natural areas to escape to, and I feel lucky to live so close to all of them! Battle Point Park is a two-minute walk from my house, and I frequently visit with my camera. Our shoreline offers several public areas for enjoyment, and the views never disappoint. Washed-up driftwood and tide pools help to make our island's edges interesting.

Fort Ward Park, on the southwest side of the island, is one of these shoreline treasures and one of my absolute favorite spots to take my camera to. Historic structures remain on the grounds of this old seacoast fort, and the sunsets are glorious. It's a perfect place to sit and watch the Seattle - Bremerton ferry coast by and listen to the sea lions in the near distance. My children love to comb the beach for treasures and lift up barnacle-covered rocks for sea creature viewing. Several years ago, we came upon a massive washed-up jellyfish splayed across a boulder.

Mandi May with Lensbaby Velvet 56

When I set foot on these grounds and walk under the massive trees, I feel at peace. First, I notice the tide level and the light upon it. I tend to visit in the afternoons and early evenings when the light sinks low and glistens on the water. Even on the most overcast days, and we get plenty of those where we live, the park is beautiful. There are several little pockets of quiet viewing areas to disappear to with my camera.

The light through the trees shifts throughout the afternoon and highlights different wooded areas to comfort and inspire the dreamer and artist in us all. Closer to the water, wildflowers and tall grasses line the shallow bluff along the shore. At the water, one can usually spot a cluster of cormorants resting on posts with their bat-like wings spread wide. It's a beautiful and eerie scene.

Mandi May with Lensbaby Edge 80 & OMNI

Mandi May with Lensbaby Edge 80

During summer, visitors come from on and off the island to walk the park, ride bikes, launch their boats, beach comb, and climb the cement forts. This can be an exciting time to visit with a camera. I like visiting Fort Ward for its solitude by the water. I'm inspired by its light and edges, its flora and birds, and that special way the light hits the water.

It's a wonderful area for all kinds of photography. Gorgeous portraits can be made here, and interesting shots with unfocused figures in the background. The ever-changing light and change of seasons will inspire you throughout the year.

Mandi May with Lensbaby Edge 80 & OMNI

During the spring of 2020, my husband and I searched for local places to get some exercise and be outside in nature. I stumbled upon a friend's photo on Instagram of some gorgeous mountain laurels that she had taken while on a hike earlier that week. I immediately reached out to find out the location. Even though she shared the name of the trail and it took my husband and me, who do not often hike, a couple of tries to find the trail. We did not mind because, in our search for the trail, we discovered my absolute favorite local spot to be outside. Long Pine Run Reservoir in the Michaux State Forest has something to offer for both the photographer and their companions (like my husband, who carries my gear!). The reservoir is a popular location for kayaking and paddle boarding. It is always busy up there in the summer and fall, with people enjoying the outdoors. There are numerous hiking trails that go around the water and also up into the mountains surrounding it.

Kaitlin Michael with Lensbaby

Kaitlin Michael with Lensbaby

For the nature photographer, late spring and early summer bring rhododendrons and mountain laurels. My favorite subjects to photograph at the reservoir are all the ferns and amazingly tall trees. A reservoir is also a popular place for local portrait photographers to bring their clients. I've done senior sessions, family sessions, and 1-year-old sessions in various places around the lake. The trees that line the beach provide beautiful drama in the late summer through fall, especially when combined with the large rocks that are scattered between the trees and the waterline. But for me, the peacefulness of the water, trees, and nature is what keeps bringing me back with my camera.

Kaitlin Michael with Lensbaby Velvet 56

Kaitlin Michael with Lensbaby

Kaitlin Michael with Lensbaby Edge 35

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