A perfect month for photography on public lands

With your phone or high-end camera, celebrate National Photography Month on Bureau of Land Management-managed public lands. These spectacular landscapes include mountain ranges, canyons, forests, an abundance of wildlife and night skies void of light pollution.

“With the varied geology of BLM public lands, there are countless opportunities to play with composition,” said Rachel Sowards, the BLM’s National Education Program lead. “And with digital photography, unlike film, you can easily take hundreds of photos to capture the vastness of landscapes.”

National Photography Month, celebrated each May since 1987, honors the power of photography to capture memories and connect us through time. It's a chance for everyone—not just professionals—to celebrate how photos tell stories, preserve moments, and express creativity.

Three children walking on a high mountain trail.
Visitors hiking in the King Range National Conservation Area in Northern California. Here, taking a photograph of people from a higher perspective helps to capture the breadth of the landscape. BLM Photo/Rachel Sowards

Start at the BLM’s website or the agency’s Flickr pages to search for places that offer photographic opportunities, ideas, and themes.

"Capturing the landscapes associated with many areas of BLM lands is among my favorite photo subjects," said Bob Wick, a former BLM wilderness program manager known for his legendary landscape photography. "The silence and vastness beneath a broad sky makes every trek a special experience and makes for the most interesting photos."

There’s a good chance that you’ll find a place nearby to take pictures, as more than 86 million people live within 100 miles of BLM-managed public lands in the western United States. The BLM also manages public lands east of and bordering the Mississippi, such as the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area in Florida, and the Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area in Virginia. As part of BLM’s commitment to Leave No Trace, the agency encourages visitors to become familiar with the steps they can take to ensure that millions more will be able to enjoy these lands.

Three people standing between tall cliff walls.
A group hiking in San Lorenzo Canyon, jointly managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management, in New Mexico about an hour south of Albuquerque. In this photograph, the leading lines of the canyon create a contrast with the vertical height of familiar subjects, an arrangement that emphasizes the size of the landform. BLM Photo/Rachel Sowards

Photography is among the many recreational activities that take place on public lands. In 2023, recreation-related visits totaled more than 82 million, contributed $11.8 billion to the national economy and supported 76,000 jobs. Recreational activities on BLM-managed lands and waters contribute significantly to local economies through visitor spending and support hundreds of small recreation-focused businesses, including guiding, rafting, climbing, and many more.

Recreational activities make for great photography at any skill level, especially when family or friends are along for the trip; their presence in the frame helps to illustrate the scale of landscapes. It’s a photography technique that anyone can use.

This National Photography Month, we hope you consider the ways you can include public lands and the people around you. Draw further inspiration and ideas from a BLM-produced podcast in which Wick discusses his photography on public lands.

Story by:

Derrick Henry, Public Affairs Specialist

Blog Topic:
Recreation
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