Three Mind-Blowing Places to Visit This Summer Part 1: Underrated Gems

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to leave the country in order to see some amazing places. These three gorgeous places do not disappoint when It comes to scenic beauty.

#5: Mount Shasta

No your eyes aren't lying, this is a real place. Go there. Go Now. Just start walking south from the Oregon border, you'll see it, trust me, its nearly 15,000 feet tall.

Mount Shasta as seen from Lake Siskiyou

#4: Page, Arizona

Arizona may be known as the Grand Canyon State, and for good reason, but did you know that there's a party just as compelling near the AZ-Utah border,  just an hour and a half from the big hole thingy. 

Horseshoe Bend

If you don't want to see this place, there's something wrong with you.

Secret Canyon

They'll drive you to this place in a hummer, you'll think you've reached Mars.

Lake Powell from Glen Canyon Dam

And This is supposedly the ugly side of the lake.

#3: Devil's Tower, Wyoming

America's first national monument. I just got back from visiting it nested in the Wyoming Black Hills. I'm still not convinced its real.   

Devil's Tower via The Circle of Sacred Smoke

The circle of sacred smoke sculpture pays homage to the American people as a sign of world peace by artist Junkyu Muto. The statue is designed to help increase visitor understanding of the importance of the tower to over 20 native tribes.

Clouds Clear Above Devil's Tower

There's almost zero light pollution in the area near Devil's Tower. Make babies under the Milky Way.

Instantly Improve Your Landscape Photography

One of the easiest and most impactful ways to instantly improve your landscape photographs is to get the camera low. I mean super low. I'll give you an example:

In this photo of half-dome which I took in late October, my camera was literally an inch away from the water. Why? 

• it makes my foreground object (in this case the leafy log) much larger and prominent in the frame
• allows me to establish a relationship between the foreground and background
• the motion in the water creates a powerful leading line to the mountain in the distance.