I’ve been compiling a list of place/things to photograph around WA state. This is my list for the south sound area. Links go to Google Maps where you can get directions.

• Tacoma
  • The Museum of Glass is known for its collection of blown glass by Chihuly. Photographed from inside and out, the museum offers the photographer plenty of colors, shapes, and graphics. While you aren’t allowed to photograph the exhibits, you may photograph things in the museum store, the educational studios, and the hot shop. You may also photograph the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.
  • Snake Lake Nature Center is a great place to photograph wood duck in the spring. You might even see a turtle or two sunning on a log.
  • You can get great views of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge from Titlow Beach.
• Point Defiance
  • On a rainy or overcast day, take the one-way road of Five Mile Drive to photograph the forest. From Owen Beach, you can view the marina and the Tacoma waterfront. When the tide is out, you can get shots of Mount Rainier towering over the trees. One of the best views of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is at milemarker 3.
  • Fort Nisqually has opportunities to photograph volunteers and staff in historical costumes, a working blacksmith shop, and historical re-enactments. If you enjoy photographing shapes and colors, Camp 6 Logging Museum offers gears, wheels, pulleys and chains, many of them covered in rust.
  • The Point Defiance Gardens is great if you enjoy photographing flowers and gardens. You’ll find something hear nearly all year long.
  • The Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium is a small zoo with nice displays. My favorite is the Rocky Shores, which replicates the rugged coastline of Cape Flattery and has tufted puffins.
• Gig Harbor offers a classic northwest shot with a marina in the foreground and Mount Rainier in the background. Best spot is at the Ruth M. Bogue Viewing Platform.
• The Van Leirop Bulb Farm is perfectly situated for the photographer. The daffodils usually start showing up in late March and peak by mid-April.
• Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is not quite a zoo or a game farm, but offers natural looking enclosures for it’s animal inhabitants. Special photo tours happen several times a year with the trams’ windows removed and parking the tram to get better shots of the wildlife.
• Olympia Area
  • Capitol Grounds and Capitol Building
    • The Tivoli Fountain, the Winged Victory Memorial, a formal garden and more are areas of interest and offer the photographer things to shoot. For the Capitol Building, shoot from the main entrance on the north side, standing inside the building and facing south, shooting in the early morning or late afternoon. The south side of the building offers better lighting. The marbled interior of the Capitol Building also make great shots.
    • Tumwater Falls offers a series of cascades and a couple of good-sized waterfalls. One of the best views is on the east side of the river near a bench. In the spring, the rhododendrons will make a good foreground with the falls in the background. On the west side of the river, you get a good view of the fish ladders at Middle Tumwater Falls.
    • The small Yashiro Japanese Garden deserves a visit in late April through May for blooming azaleas and rhododendrons. Visit in the fall for colorful maples.
    • Capitol Lake at the north end has some great views of the Capitol Building. Plus, in April, the cherry trees at this end of the lake are in bloom and make a great framing element.
    • The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is probably the best birding location in the south sound. The combination of saltwater from Puget Sound and freshwater from the Nisqually River creates a nutrient-rich estuary that attracts birds and other wildlife.
    • The Mima Mounds is a rather unique location. The “mounds” are regularly spaced bumps that are 6-8 feet tall. The main attraction for photographers is the butterflies and wildflowers in late May through the summer.