For the past couple years, I've made a 'To do' list for things I want to photograph during the year. I only ever get to about a third of these, but I think its helped me in diversifying shot selection, and keeping me focused on goals and areas of improvement. My Photographic Year (due to crazy work schedule) starts around Easter. With that right around the corner, here is what I have.

Top 5 new places

1. Three Sisters Wilderness, OR
2. Bandon Sand Dunes, OR
3. Smith Rock, OR
4. Johnston Observatory, WA
5. Painted Hills, OR

Top 5 Revisited places

1. Silver Falls State Park, OR
2. Mt. Hood, at Trillium and Lost Lakes
3. Haystack Rock at Canon Beach, OR
4. Macro work at Proxy Falls, OR
5. Rock Creek Trail, behind my apartment, OR (Atleast 1x month)

Top New Waterfall Areas

1. Eagle Creek Trail/Punchbowl Falls, OR
2. Oneonta Falls Trail, OR

Top Wildlife shots

1. Blue Heron
2. Grey Wolf

Top non-N/W shots

1. Portrait of wife's parents when the come to visit.
2. Portrait of wife
3. Portrait of nieces and nephews


Top areas of improvement

Sunrise/Sunset
Look for more Macro stuff
Shooting/editing RAW


What are some of the things you all are looking towards doing in 2009?

1. Opal Creek Wilderness
2. Eagle Cap Wilderness
3. Southern Utah (IE:The Subway, Monument Valley)
4. Tulip Festival (Again)
5. Mt. Baker Area (WA)

Redwoods and Yosemite Revisit would also be on the list.

If I can get that done this year, I will be quit happy.

Roman

My 'to do' list this year is a bit abbreviated, unfortunately. I am not sure if the bookings are there to justify my travels this year. Having said that, there are a few 'must go to' places.

(1) Yellowstone at the end of September. My annual retreat (really to Grand Teton...)
(2) Acadia - a nice place to camp and spend a 5 day weekend during the summer.
(3) New Hampshire - again, a great 3 or 4 day camping location.
(4) Great Falls National Park - New Jersey's NEW national park!!!

(5) The Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I went there last week for only a few hours (it is only 26 miles away) and I already saw two osprey, swallows and other birds. That may become a weekend haunt.

James

1. Move to Bozeman, Montana
2. Photograph as much wildlife outside of Yellowstone as possible.
3. Photograph as much wildlife inside Yellowstone as possible
4. Try and meet some of the great people from this site and learn from them

Don Edwards

Right now my to do list is pretty short.

#1. Get my darn D80 back from Nikon repair shop; I have been without for over 6 weeks now.... right through the Arizona flower season....

#2. Start taking pictures again.

If Nikon is waiting for parts on your D80, I have a D70 I can sell you that has a new shutter in it from Nikon repair. Always good to have a back up body.

Thanks for the offer David, but the next time I spend money on photography equipment, I am going to go for some glass. Since I do not earn my living with photography, my need for a backup body is reduced.

It took Nikon 3 weeks to tell me how much it would cost, and now it has been 3 weeks since I got the quote and I told them to do the repair....

Roman, I had a friend who's always tried to get me to go to Opal Creek for a backpacking trip. I'm still not sure if I know where it is. Eagle Cap Wilderness area is on my overall to do list. I can't seem to get more than a long weekend lately though, and that is a place I'd love to spend at least a week roaming around.

James, Grand Teton is the number one place I want to go to, especially just as autumn arrives to the area. I was kinda sad I never got a shot of a moose when my wife and I drove thru Yellowstone. I hear they like to hang out in the Tetons more. Next years big trip is back to Australia though, so I think its going to have to be fall of 2011 before I can head over to GTNP.

D, Bozeman is one of my favorite towns. If I didn't live in Oregon, it would definitely be on a very short list of places where I'd want to live. I hope the move goes well. You're never going to have a shortage of things to photograph that are within a half days drive either.

The biggest item on my "To Do" list is to practice, practice, practice. I'd like to be able to approximate the kind of tack sharp images that folks like Wacky Roger, Roman and the myriad of James'/Jim's here on the forum put out. That said, on the agenda for this year are:

Photograph:

Bears
Bald Eagles
Panoramas

Big Trips:

1. Alaska - Including Denali & Katmai NP's, the Copper River Wilderness Area, and Anchorage area.

2. Northern New Mexico - Going to spend a couple weeks exploring Wacky Roger's neck of the woods.

3. Southern Utah - Zion, Bryce, Captol Reef, Canyonlands, Moab . . .

Daytrips & Weekenders

South Rim Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Gila Wilderness Area, Bosque del Apache

Finally, I'd like to work up the nerve to actually take a photography class or seminar.

Jim

P.S. - It is nice to be retired . . . Finally!

You should allow one week for Denali, Copper River area, and you can easily spend a week photographing around Anchorage. I can name at least 20 different major areas of photography just in the Anchorage Bowl area. Katmai will depend on the permit you get and for how long.

Next month in the Copper River delta will be the largest gathering of shore birds in the western hemisphere.