All of Existence
Embark on the ultimate visual quest. From the ice fields of Antarctica to the neon veins of Tokyo, this photographic roadmap will guide you through the world’s wonders and everyday marvels alike. We chart a global itinerary of must-shoot locations – towering mountains, bustling cities, ancient temples – and propose themes (human emotion, ritual, decay & rebirth, cosmic vistas, microscopic worlds, mythic symbolism) to capture the essence of reality. We detail gear setups for street, landscape, astrophotography, and macro contexts, plus robust workflow, backup and publishing strategies. Along the way, we draw on wisdom from photography masters, painters and writers to inspire your vision. This is an epic, motivational journey: seize your camera and let nothing in existence remain unseen.
Global Itinerary: Natural Wonders, Urban Marvels, Cultural Landmarks
Chart a round-the-world voyage. In natural landscapes, photograph the dramatic — thundering waterfalls, endless deserts, polar lights and wildlife. For example, Iceland’s otherworldly glaciers and geysers, Patagonia’s rugged peaks, and the Swiss Alps are hailed as top photo-destinations . Visit Africa’s savannah to frame the “awe-inspiring” Big Five in the wild , or Alaska’s bays and tundra with whales and eagles against glacier backdrops . Don’t miss the lush Amazon or Galápagos Islands for unprecedented biodiversity and “weird and wonderful” species (e.g. blue-footed boobies and giant tortoises) . Journey to polar extremes (Antarctic icebergs under aurora borealis), climb ancient volcanoes (Japan’s Mt. Fuji at dawn), or dip beneath oceans to film coral reefs — each locale adds a chapter.
In urban environments, capture human energy and contrast. Iconic choices include New York City, Tokyo, and Paris . New York’s skyline (Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge), Tokyo’s neon-lit Shibuya Crossing vs. tranquil shrines, or London’s mix of medieval and modern (Tower Bridge at sunset) exemplify citycraft. Seek lesser-known cities too: Mumbai’s train stations, Shanghai’s futuristic skyline, or Seoul’s street-food alleys. Aim for night and day: in Tokyo, the interplay of tradition and modernity yields infinite scenes . Navigate each city’s rhythm — commute hour in Delhi’s streets, midnight in Melbourne — to document the pulse of urban life.
In cultural and historical landmarks, photograph humanity’s legacy. Ancient wonders like Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat and Petra offer mystical ruins bathed in dawn light . World Heritage sites (Taj Mahal, Giza Pyramids, Great Wall of China) are must-sees. Enter grand museums (the Met, Uffizi) as metonymies of art and history; even a lone visitor in a museum can tell a story (as in the unsplash “Night at the Museum” shot ). Wander local festivals (India’s Holi or Japan’s Gion Matsuri) to capture rites of passage and communal ritual. In each setting, look for the timeless – an old hand at work, a young couple in love, a ceremony passed down by generations.
Themes and Categories: Framing Existence Through Your Lens
- Human Emotion & Daily Rituals: Focus on candid moments of people living. A street portrait showing tenderness or sorrow can transform the ordinary into poetry . Capture smiles and tears, laughter and concentration — these are the true heartbeats of existence. For instance, document a child’s daily routine or an elder’s quiet strength. As photographer Gerry Orkin observes, great street images “whisper, observe, and wait patiently for real life to unfold,” finding “poetic slices of humanity — funny, ironic, sometimes melancholic, yet always authentic.” . Embed the lens in festivals, marketplaces, family dinners, or morning commutes to see “the mundane transformed into a canvas of visual poetry” . (Embed image: teenage couple on riverbank showing intimate joy【83†】.)
- Technology, Decay & Rebirth: Chronicle the arc of invention and entropy. Photograph the sleek and the derelict side by side: a gleaming smartphone next to rusted machinery, or a crumbling church overtaken by vines. Artists like Peter Lippmann in his “Noble Rot” series illuminate this cycle: decaying wine grapes become “a meditation on the cycles of life, death and rebirth,” proving that even in decay “beauty persists” . Seek abandoned buildings and nature’s reclaiming grip, or sprouting seedlings amid charred remains — each shot speaks to mortality and regeneration. These images echo mythic vanitas themes: for example, Jeanette May’s Tech Vanitas photos riff on 17th-century memento mori, replacing goblets with obsolete gadgets as symbols of our own impermanence .
- Cosmic Scale: Venture into the heavens. Astrophotography brings “the vast beauty of our galaxy” to your frame . Capture milky way arches over monuments, auroras dancing above forests, or lunar landscapes. Use long exposures to turn starscapes into grandeur. (Embed image: starry sky with Milky Way and satellite streaks【100†】.) As one guide notes, capturing starry skies needs only “three things: a full-frame camera, a fisheye or ultra-wide lens, and a tripod” . With this gear, you immortalize the cosmic context of Earth — reminding viewers that our everyday is part of a much larger universe.
- Microscopic Detail: Dive into the tiny. The unseen world is as vast as the universe: capture dew drops magnified on a spider’s web, texture in a leaf, or insects in close-up. Macro photography requires special tools: a dedicated macro lens (capable of 1:1 magnification) is “the most critical decision” for life-size detail . (Embed image: extreme close-up of a damselfly’s eye【75†】.) Use small flashes or diffusers to light minuscule subjects. These images reveal patterns and structures invisible to the naked eye, suggesting that every grain of sand or pollen grain has its own story.
- Mythic Symbolism: Infuse your compositions with allegory. Think in archetypes: a lonely road can hint at journey (Odysseus); a storm-churned sea, chaos and creation; a solitary lighthouse, hope amid darkness. Study myths and literature for motifs: maybe compose a “hero’s portrait” at dawn (Joseph Campbell’s monomyth) or capture nature’s anguish and beauty à la Dante. You need not quote myth literally — let pattern, color, and context convey deeper meaning. (For example, see how May’s Tech Vanitas uses technology as modern “skull” to question mortality .) Every photograph can be a cipher to collective dreams: as Cartier-Bresson wrote, the camera is an “extension of an act of being,” where internal and external worlds merge . Frame a single leaf in shadow to suggest change, or a crowd’s dance as ritual, and you tap into timeless human narratives.
Gear Up: Equipment for Every Context
- Street & Daily Life: Choose a fast, inconspicuous setup. Many street pros swear by prime lenses in the 24–50mm range. The classic “35mm” is beloved for its human perspective, though some photographers prefer a wider 24–28mm to include environment or a longer 50–85mm for intimate portraits . A lightweight mirrorless camera (e.g. Sony A7 series or Fujifilm X) with a 35mm f/2 or 50mm f/1.8 is ideal for candid shooting. Silent, autofocus performance and good high-ISO will let you work unobtrusively in any light. Backup tip: keep two camera bodies if possible, and copy your images every evening to ensure no moment is lost.
- Landscape: Think wide and steady. A wide-angle zoom (e.g. 16–35mm or the ubiquitous 24–70mm) is indispensable. As one landscape photographer emphasizes, a 24–70mm lens “is hands down the most used focal length” on a hike – if he can bring only one, it’s that . In addition, carry a telephoto zoom (70–200mm) for far-away peaks or wildlife. A sturdy tripod is non-negotiable for long-exposure dawn/dusk shots. Bring neutral density and polarizing filters to manage sky glare and water reflections. Weather-sealed bodies and lenses help in harsh environments (rain, sand, altitude). For remote expeditions, pack extra batteries (cold drains power) and a lens cloth.
- Astrophotography: Maximize light capture. Use a full-frame camera (better high-ISO performance) with a ultra-wide, fast lens (e.g. 14–24mm f/2.8 or a fisheye) . This lets you capture large swaths of sky. A tripod and a tracking mount (optional) keep stars sharp during 15–30 second exposures . Remote shutter releases or intervalometers prevent shake. Consider a modest equatorial head if you plan very long star-trail exposures. For focus, switch to manual and use live-view zoom. Keep an eye on weather and moon phase – no light pollution and a dark sky (or new moon) reveal the Milky Way best.
- Macro: Equip for detail. The “heart” of macro is a dedicated macro lens with 1:1 magnification (e.g. 100mm f/2.8 macro). This gives true life-size rendering. Alternatively, use extension tubes or close-up filters for a budget entry. You’ll also need good lighting: a ring-flash or twin macro flash can evenly illuminate your tiny subject. A sturdy tripod or macro focusing rail aids stability at high magnification. Plan for extreme depth-of-field challenges (f/8–f/16) and compensate with ISO or flash. Carry cleaning supplies, as close work may stir dust on your sensor or lens.
(See “Tips for travel photography” above for general packing: extra batteries, memory cards, weather protection, and a comfortable camera bag .)
Workflow, Backup & Publishing
Workflow: Develop a consistent editing and cataloging routine. After each shoot, copy cards to multiple locations. Use RAW capture to preserve dynamic range. In post, cull ruthlessly: prioritize emotion and story. Color-correct and retouch (lightroom, capture one, etc.) to convey your vision. Maintain a backup workflow: for example, use the 3-2-1 rule – keep 3 copies of every photo, 2 on separate local drives and 1 offsite (cloud or safe deposit) . This hedges against drive failure, theft, or loss. Archive full-resolution masters offline and keep working copies readily accessible.
Publishing (Blog, Exhibitions, NFT): Share your images to inspire and find an audience. Start a photography blog (WordPress, Medium, or a dedicated site) to chronicle your journey. Write often – as blogger Kevin Landwer-Johan advises: “find your niche and publish articles often” to build a returning audience . Tell stories behind shots; engage readers with tips and tales. Use social platforms (Instagram, 500px, Flickr) to showcase highlights and network. Submit portfolios or prints to local galleries, cafés, and photo contests to gain exposure. When launching exhibitions, curate a narrative series that ties your diverse shots into a cohesive theme.
NFT and Digital Sales: Consider minting unique images as NFTs for collectors. An NFT is a blockchain token that certifies an image’s authenticity and scarcity. As one guide explains, selling an NFT photograph means offering an “authenticated, original piece of art” on the blockchain . Each NFT photo is unique – “one-of-a-kind” with only one copy in existence – making it desirable. Platforms like OpenSea, Foundation, and specialized NFT galleries let you auction or sell limited editions. NFTs can also include perks (prints, workshops) for buyers. By embracing this new market, your work can gain a global digital audience and revenue stream.
Inspiration: Masters of Art, Literature, and Philosophy
Draw on the giants. Study photography legends: Ansel Adams for grand landscapes, Henri Cartier-Bresson for the decisive moment in daily life, Vivian Maier for the poetry of streets, Cindy Sherman for conceptual narratives. Cartier-Bresson taught that photography is “the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event and the organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.” . In practice, this means always be alert: the click of your shutter should transform the mundane into something eternal, just as he did on the streets of Paris.
Look to painting masters for compositional wisdom. For instance, Jake Hicks notes how Rembrandt and da Vinci managed background exposure—an insight for photographers to use techniques (HDR, fill-flash) so no detail is lost . Emulate Caspar David Friedrich’s sense of scale in landscapes, or Caravaggio’s dramatic chiaroscuro in low-light scenes. Even surreal painters like Dali or Bosch remind us to embrace the bizarre and symbolic. Remember, as Adams paraphrased: “there are no rules for good photographs, only good photographs.”
Literature and myth can fuel your vision. Channel Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey by composing frames that hint at adventure and destiny. Invoke the Romantic poetry of Wordsworth or Neruda to see the divine in nature’s minutiae. As Rumi said, “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love.” Photograph what fascinates you, and that passion will translate to viewers. In every image, seek the story under the surface, the emotional chord or mythic echo – for as the Princeton exhibition “Art About Art” demonstrated, contemporary photos can reimagine centuries-old themes (e.g. a modern Mona Lisa made of peanut butter, or a shattered pomegranate vanitas ).
Beyond the Roadmap: Stay Motivated
This grand project—capturing “all of existence”—is a lifelong epic, not a checklist. Keep the journey joyful: treat each shoot as an adventure, and let setbacks (missed shots, travel hiccups) fuel your creativity. Embrace the unknown – wander off the beaten path or let serendipity guide you to unplanned wonders. Reflect on each frame’s meaning and how it expands your own story.
Your final collection will be a tapestry of the world’s diversity: the cosmic and the commonplace, the joyful and the decayed. Let it remind you and others that beauty and meaning are everywhere. As you roam from mountaintops to markets, let every shutter click be both quest and revelation. In the words of Cartier-Bresson, merge your inner vision with the world around you – “a balance must be established between these two worlds… and it is this world that we must communicate.”
Go forth with bravery and curiosity. The world awaits your lens, and with this roadmap and the wisdom of the masters at your side, you are ready to capture all of existence—one frame at a time.
Sources: Renowned travel photography guides and experts ; street-photography insights ; thematic photography essays ; gear guides ; workflow/backups ; NFT art articles ; Cartier-Bresson foreword ; plus historical and art references.