Photographing Nature and Wildlife

What’s one of the best ways you can capture your memories of days spent exploring the Chesapeake Bay? Take a picture!

The Chesapeake Bay is a photographer’s paradise, with thousands of beautiful views waiting for you to discover at places like Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary, Shenandoah River State Park, and the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. Photography is an opportunity to stop, slow down, and appreciate the Chesapeake’s nature and wildlife.

At the parks and wildlife refuges listed below, you’ll find birds, deer, turtles, and other animals set against stunning natural backdrops. Because these scenes are constantly shifting with the seasons, they’re fascinating to photograph again and again.

• Looking for a perfect landscape? Capture a sparkling summer sunset over the water at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center or Kiptopeke State Park. For a more dramatic backdrop, visit the roaring Potomac River at Great Falls Park. Or head out at dawn to shoot dew-speckled wildflowers at spots like Huntley Meadows Park.
• If you want to try your hand at wildlife photography, look no further than the Chesapeake’s vast collection of wildlife refuges and sanctuaries. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is the ultimate bird photography paradise, but other refuges such as Eastern Neck and the Rappahannock River are equally stunning.

No matter whether you’re a professional or new to photography, you’ll capture the Chesapeake’s beauty when you visit one of these top places for photographing nature and wildlife.