The Internet is filled with millions of photographs. And what I find interesting is that many of the photographs I view are all of the same place. For example, if one were to search for “Yellowstone,” one will find thousands upon thousands of photographs of that famous National Park, all captured about 100 yards from a well traveled road.

This is not to say that there aren’t people out there who go to extremely remote regions of this earth and capture splendid light. I admire such people because I recognize the difficulty of just getting to where they were. It isn’t easy and it is often very expensive to do.

Yet, sometimes, there are places that one can get to that others simply have not found. I bet you know of such a place that may very well be close to where you live. I remember a conversation with Steve Sanders of Steve’s-Digicams. One of the early pioneers of doing reviews of cameras, Steve has been very successful in his endeavors. He told me about a photograph he received from a guy who lived in North Carolina. The guy said that he had just bought a new point and shoot camera, had read the manual, and then had walked to a place he knew about that wasn’t far from his home. He enclosed a shot that was simply awesome. It was so good that Steve wrote to the camera manufacturer, sent a copy of the shot, and company instantly bought it from the guy in North Carolina for $5,000. I have seen a print of the shot and yes, it is simply fantastic. Yet, I think, no one else has found the same spot! The point is, we all know of places that others have either never seen or were simply unaware of.

It is important to find the path less traveled.

For example, here is a shot I did while traveling in Olympic National Park. The place is remote but easily accessible. And yes, lots of people know about it. But I seldom see shots done there. It was taken at a place called “Second Beach.”

I am so glad I went there. That I arrived just before sunrise after a long hike and a one-hour drive from my hotel. It is a special place that I hope to visit again.

But I keep thinking that yes I do know of a spot that only a handful of people have ever been to. It’s in North Florida. And, you know, this winter, when the first freeze has killed off all the mosquitoes and ticks, I will go there and camp out and enjoy the cool nights in front of an open fire and early the next morning walk down a path less traveled and hope I can capture a special place to share with others.