Landscape Photography in Belize

hello photo.net communty...

i tried searching for previous threads on shooting in belieze, but

seemed constantly to end up reading about costa rica! please, anyone

with experience shooting in belize, there must be a few of you out

there, help me with the following:

-i will be in belize for 10 days late october to shoot a

wedding. that leaves me with 8 days for personal exploration... what

are some spots not to be missed down there for landscape or

architecture type shots?

thanks,

scott

8 days for a whole country. is there no Fodor guide for the place? Michelin guide? Why not google on your computer under Belize and see for yourself first before asking for help.

What landscapes are you looking for: urban, woods, country, hills, mountains, lakes, animals. What, please. What architecture? Modern western, local, old, new, indigenous, "indian" ???

Note: you are asking a general question about the whole of one country ... Poor choice of questions of the utterly uninformed do not lend themselves to nice or even suitable answers, sorry.

Do you know any of the local sculpturers? The artists? Would you like to?

I've been to Belize three times (once with a University classes). It is a wonderful place to photograph. I've only covered the Northern half of the country and really wish I could have seen more of the south. But here are a few of my favorite places:

1) Half-Moon Caye. Do an overnight snorkeling trip to the Blue hole and you should be able to find a trip that camps on the island. There are, of course, lots of other islands to photograph-I just tend to like the ones with fewer people on them.

2) The Mayan ruins. There are so many in Belize and without my travel books in front of me I couldn't come close to naming them all. Lamani (?) was one of my favorites as is one near the Guatemalian boarder that starts with the letter 'X'. I HIGHLY recommend crossing the boarder into Guatemala to see Takal, breathtaking. Lots of wildlife too.

3( The West Mayan Mountains. Were very nice, but the forests there were being attacked by a beetle that was really browning the trees out (this was about 3 years ago).

4) My best experiences were underwater, but Belize, just like the rest of the Carrabean, has been hit pretty hard by the coral bleaching. If I compare the first trip I took (1990) with the last (2000) the coarls had taken a pretty hard hit. I sure hope they pull through.

You mention "landscape or architecture", which may send you over to the larger ruins and cave country.

But, if remote wildnerness is your thing, at least check out the Chan Chich web site, http://www.chanchich.com/

My wife and I spent a week there and it's fantastic. Monkeys, parrots, birds all over the place and miles of beautiful trails to roam. The lodge is situated amongst ancient ruins, but not on a caliber such as Tikal, by any stretch. But, you can arrange for a side trip to Lamanai, etc. Chan Chich is heaven for me, very remote, very nice, and very beautiful. The landscape is relatively flat with some roll off to the west, on the border. From the tops of the mounds you can get nice vantage points, though.

Cheers,

Greg

Frank... google was a little helpful, as was my lonely plant and fodors guides. neither are particularly slanted towards photography, which is why i, in your own words, 'see for yourself first before asking for help.' i am now asking for recommendations from folks with first hand experiences.

i was hoping to hear from some photographers who had personal experiences in the country; what they felt were some choice spots. yes, eight days is not a lot of time to cover an entire country, hence my inquiry was born of a desire to create some sort of itenerary around the recommendations of others.

as for my specific interests in landscape and architecture, i enjoy shooting all sorts of landscapes and local architecture - again, i was looking to hear from others where their favorite spots are.

and yes, i would love to meet with some of the local artists.

A buddy of mine and I went there to photograph about a decade ago. Your question is not too broad - the whole country is only less than 65 miles across. A few of my favorite spots:

(1) the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich, near the Guatemalan border. When I was there one could take a bus from Belize City to the nearby town of San Ignacio, then hire a taxi to get close to the ruins. At that time, there was a final hike (half mile? mile?) from the end of the road, including a river crossing (handcrank ferry at that time, though we hired a kid in a dugout canoe who happened to be going downstream, to take us across). The ruin was fantastic, and it's surrounded by misty, humid, dense jungle.

(2) The ruins of Altun Ha, north of Belize City off the road to Cozumel. Parts of this ruin are very nicely excavated, and the whole thing was beautifully maintained. When I was there, there was no public transport to Altun Ha, but we hitched a ride most of the way in the back of the pickup of some archeologists from Korea who were going to another site. Interesting hike the rest of the way (the route, on gravel jungle lanes, was clearly marked). Great Mayan landscape/architecture, especially in the early evening mist.

(3) The islands (cayes). We stayed on Caye Caulker for several days, and took daytrips out to other islands by boat. Many of the islands are in small clusters, so you can set up a tripod on one and catch sunset over nearby ones. Very beautiful. Good birds, too, if you're equipped for (and interested in) that.

(4) For architecture, Belize City itself is interesting, in a clapboard kind of way. Some very colorful buildings. Be careful with your cameras here, though: when I was there, at least, there were a lot of thieves on scooters and pickpockets who would try to grab an expensive camera and run. Belize City is a real melting pot, so it's a great place for street photography, if you're into that, too.

I would definitely research the current situation in terms of travel and security; I know travel has boomed there and I'm sure it's quite different. It's also possible visitors to the ruins I've mentioned may be limited now, so check it out first. I recommend the Lonely Planet books for Central America (I'm sure there's also a good current general map at lonelyplanet.com).

I want to go back and visit Placencia. Punta Gorda, and Dangriga sometime, on the central/southern coast. I've heard they're good for photography, as well. There are now several national parks that weren't there a decade ago, too. I'd recommend a Google search on "Belize National Park" to see what you get in that area.

Have fun!

Mark