Sunset, “The Window”, Big Bend National Park, Texas.

David Muench is a world class landscape photographer. So when he recommends his favorite national parks, I pay attention.

I have admired and been inspired by David Muench’s work for years (you can see his stunning images at the link below). It is also family thing. As a teenager growing up in Colorado, photos by Joseph Muench, his father, inspired me to head up into the mountains and take pictures with my little Instamatic camera.  Books by Joseph and David Muench adorn my library shelves. David’s son Marc has also taken up the photography mantle.

When David recommends his favorite places it is worth putting them on your photography to do list. His article, “David Muench’s Favorite Places”, appeared in the March 2006 issue of Outdoor Photographer (one of my favorite photo magazines). Here’s the list of his favorite national parks, plus one national preserve.

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Glacier National Park, Montana

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Yosemite National Park, California

Death Valley National Park, California

Arches National Park, Utah

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee-North Carolina

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park And Preserve, Alaska

Haleakala National Park, Hawai’i

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai’i

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Mojave National Preserve, California

El Capitan Reflection, Yosemite National Park, California

This is an excellent list of places to photograph.

You can read the whole article here. The online version does not have the photos that appeared in the print version of the magazine.

Links

David Muench’s Favorite Places in Outdoor Photographer

David Muench Fine Art Photography

The National Park Series: Where to Go and When – My series of articles devoted the best seasons of the year to photograph each of our best national parks.