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Change of scenery: How a photographer's trip to Idaho inspired a big move

Published Mar 27, 2016 | Allison Johnson

What could convince a California native to leave the state's famously beautiful coasts and sunshine behind? For photographer and Resource Travel editor Michael Bonocore, a visit to Idaho's pristine wilderness and towering mountains was enough. He recently spent some time traveling and photographing the state, from bustling Boise to the untouched powder of the Selkirk Mountains.

The photographic opportunities were so rich and the possibilities for outdoor adventure so abundant, Bonocore decided to make a full-time move to the Gem State. See some of his photos here and read the full account of his trip on Resource Travel.

Resource Travel: 11 Reasons Why I Moved to Idaho

Tags: photographers, photography, travel-photography

Comments

Total comments: 73

Strangely, I am headed to Idaho(and everything between) this May/June to do some photography. I now have some idea what I will find, although I suspect there will be slightly less snow when I get there.

Why Idaho and not somewhere else? No idea, really. It was on the suggestion of another photographer.

0 upvotes

I really enjoyed looking at these pictures. Damn fine job!

1 upvote

Thank you!!!

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Pretty photos, but I bet one of those eleven reasons is the rent / property affordability.

So Cal is out of control, my rent has gone up $100 each year and I'm just about priced out. I bet a decent apartment up there is what, $500-600/mo.?

1 upvote

It was one of many reasons, for sure. I mention that in the article as well. But since we are a visual travel story publication centered on photography and adventure, I didn't think that made a very interesting reason :)

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Haha true, indeed, but unfortunately for me probably the biggest reason in my life right now. I've contemplated moving from So Cal to the Eastern Sierras, or Oregon or Washington, but maybe I need to look even further. Thanks for the inspiration!

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They're nice, and I grew up in the Northwest like that. In Southern California now enjoying the warm weather, long sandy beaches, bodyboarding, shorts & t-shirts year round. The snow is only 90 minutes away in Big Bear if it's missed, but I rarely go up there. VERY hard to leave the climate down here. Maybe it's because I didn't grow up here. It was almost like moving to paradise.

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Yeah, for sure. The winters aren't going to be easy, that's for sure. But being in San Francisco, I wasn't really used to the board shorts and t-shirts weather anyway. :)

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Beautiful images.
But you know, California is decently ok sometimes too...

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Of course! I love California. Was a pretty amazing 26 years :)

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Idaho, love it!

2 upvotes

Welcome to Idaho, Mr. Bonocore.

Bill

2 upvotes

Thank you Bill!

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Quote from the linked article:

"The wilderness of Idaho is nearly unparalleled by any other U.S. State."

Really? Are you sure? Not to say that Idaho doesn't look nice, but he left Yosemite, Death Valley, Tahoe etc. for that?

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He probably meant it in the sense of being able to go for days without encountering another human being.

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Even up in Alaska, many of our "parks" are micro-managed to the nth degree. Up around Denali, its actually become so tacky many simply avoid it.

Idaho by comparison looks like a remote and interesting place to visit!

1 upvote

Fanstastic

Yosemite is FAR from a wilderness. Yosemite valley has been, crudely, raped. Its horrible. Tahoe is not a wilderness. It is a tamed landscape for wealthy holiday-makers. Death Valley is one of the most stunning locations in the northern hemisphere but it is not a wilderness. It is a tamed landscape. It has hotels, a golf course, petrol stations and a main road going right through it.

There IS isolated wilderness in California, and vast parts of California are beautiful; but you are never far from man and the evidence of man.

What is odd is that the article does indeed contain your quote, yet we are shown photos of ski resorts and mountain roads which could have been taken in virtually any of the US states; indeed nearly anywhere in the world.

Edited 45 seconds after posting

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Thanks for the discussion everyone! And correct @ncsakany. In terms of actual remote wilderness, I have seen very few places as remote as some of the Idaho wilderness areas are. And I have barely been able to explore most of it.

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@BadScience very true, but I post those photos to show that as a nature lover, photographer, snowboarder, etc, I have alot right here in my own back yard to keep me happy.

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I just got back from Idaho. I have friends that live in Northern Idaho and they'd like to move back to California, but can't afford to. When they moved they never wanted to return to California but after 5 years and low paying jobs and interesting people they are ready to bail. I live in Oregon now and still owe a house in the Sierra's of California. Idaho didn't show me a thing that I couldn't find in California or Oregon. That's the same for my photography. Maybe Michael should shoot some of the people in the rural area's of Idaho if he wants a new and exciting experience, hope you can run fast.
Roger

5 upvotes

I never said Idaho showed me anything that can't be found in other locations in the US. The article is simply a statement piece about why I chose to move my life here. It's not for everyone, just like California isn't for everyone. It's just a matter of what makes you happy in the moment.

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As an Oregonian I don't have a horse in this race but having spent plenty of time in both states I can think of no photographic justification to leave California for Idaho. California is a photographic wonderland with prime opportunities for just about every kind of photography. Idaho is pretty...in places. The best thing about it IMO is that you are only short drive from Oregon or Montana.

Now if Michael justified his move with a concern about taxes, cost of living, a scarcity of water, the impending big one, or any number of other things I would have nothing to say. But photographically there is nothing Idaho has that California can't better.

7 upvotes

But I never said I left for photography reasons only. In fact, I travel international about 8 months a year, so the majority of my photography is actually out of the US. Cost of living, my family living here, feeling stircrazy for change after 26 years of living in California all contributed. But it's more of a visual story article, so I didn't want to bore everyone with my life story! :)

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Fair enough, Michael. I'm glad the move has been successful for you.

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People always complain about California when they can't afford it. I live in beautiful Los Angeles (Beverly Hills) and people always want to compare because you know....p@nis envy.

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LA's a hole. Worst place I have ever had the misfortune to step into. Traversing downtown at night with a girlfriend was a depressing experience. You walk into a restaurant when the sun is up and the streets are busy. You walk out hours later into a dark wasteland. Literally hundreds upon hundreds of the destitute (an inordinate number of which are black women who have suffered christ knows what indignities) pushing their belongings in shopping trolleys to find some corner to doss down in. The crippled, the sick, the mentally ill, the lost. Hundreds and hundreds of poor souls. I've worked in Africa and did not see such deprivation and inhumanity - maybe because it is set against the backdrop of the richest country in the world? Every big city has its problems with homelessness. But LA takes this to another level (Denver was (utterly surprisingly to me) terrible too). It's become so common place that it is not even noticed by the locals. LA is a hole.

Edited 2 times; latest 2 minutes since posting

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Sounds like a great place for photography....

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Sounds like a great place for photography....

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To make yourself feel good about your hobby, or to bring attention to the scandal that is skid-row?

Plenty of photo-journalism exists to record human misery. No problem with that. That such an enormous well of human misery occurs in the middle of LA IS A BIG problem. It's a problem of such magnitude that it has become wallpaper. In LA people step over the human beings just like people in London step over litter; with apparently just as much thought. When something is ubiquitous, and is ubiquitous for so long, it becomes invisible. Be it litter in London, cowshit in Calcutta or the homeless wretches in LA.

The City has recently declared a state of emergency due to the recent drastic increase in homelessness. 50,000 people; 2/3rds of them with no shelter, not even an overnight doss-house.

LA = hell hole

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Nice!

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Well done Michael! Absolutely love your photos! Lived here in Idaho for almost 12 years now and never looked back (lived in Abu Dhabi/Dubai). Indeed California is bigger and beautiful, but Idaho has it's own charm. Idaho is blessed to have good weather all year round (yes, that includes winter) too. We don't have a lot of earthquakes, drought, forest fires (we get them once in a while), flooding and standard of living isn't as high as Cali. :-)

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So, in short, nothing interesting happens in Idaho☺

Edited 1 minute after posting

2 upvotes

Idaho is beautiful, but California is a big state. You don't have to go out of California to get this scenery (in Sierras and Shasta). You also don't have to go out of state to get cheap rent. Just move out of major coastal urban areas.

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Of course not! California is an insanely beautiful place and I LOVE it and will miss it dearly. But, I have been all over the state in the 26 years I lived there. I do travel for work alot, so when I am home, quick 3-5 day road trips all were the same for me because I had done them so many times before. I have explored very little of the PNW (Wash, Ore, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming), so while it's all beautiful, it's a new, different type of beauty for me.

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WOW...there are always a couple of arrogant critics in these types of threads. I enjoyed the photos and there IS a story being told here by Michael Bonocore. Michael has traveled the world with his camera and he's certainly an accomplished photographer and writer. I just spent an hour browsing Resource Travel's web site...some awesome photos from Michael and others from around the world.

2 upvotes

And there are always a couple of bigoted trolls bashing and insulting whoever doesn't have the same tastes as them, so that's a moot point.

1 upvote

Thanks so much for the kind words!!!

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Let us know how you like the black flies come summer.

6 upvotes

Not sure the shot of the skier belongs in this edit.

1 upvote

I had three reactions to these photos: nice; nothing I couldn't have shot myself if I had been there; and too cold for me to want to have been there. I could be wrong about the first two.

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Why did I know I wouldn't find any even before I pressed your handle link to search for some photos?

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/russ-w/

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Lol, enjoyed looking at your pics.

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In my opinion, Michael Bonocore's photos are better. You are technically proficient, but he has a good eye. There is more to photography than having good equipment and pressing the shutter button. Your photography seems to be a documentary tool, while Michael's photography is taking on an artistic edge. I think he edits his photos better too.

6 upvotes

You need to see the full article to see a better representation of his photos.

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killing it with the bird photos.

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My original comment was tongue-in-cheek. In any case, I appreciate those who took the time to look at my pics.

1 upvote

I had a look through Russ's stream. I'm not all all taken by the many photos of ducks etc - but that is my preference, nothing to do with Russ's ability as a twitcher (or whatever they are called! ;)

Amongst Russ's images are some landscapes which CAN be compared to the ones in the article: and frankly, Russ's are way-way better. In every way.

This is the wonderful thing about digital photography. It has democratised what was once a (semi) skilled technical craft. Equipment that can produce consistently professional results is now cheap and easy to use. And it allows snappers like Russ (and myself) to take photographs, that are on the day, as good as anybody can take.

I really enjoyed looking at Russ's (non duck) photos. The ones here, not so much.

Edited 41 seconds after posting

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Badscience, did you look at Michael Bonocore's photos in the original article, which has a much better representation of his photos?

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Yes I did. They are okay. Nothing special. I've taken better, I've taken worse ( I could make a selection of the same number of my photos that could look as good - as could most people I think ).

That's the thing about landscape photography - so many people are SO good at it; for an image to be rise above the crowd it has to be pretty special.

The skiing shots, same sort of thing. Flicking through a ski mag (such as Fall Line), and there is page after page of mountain-porn, and so an image has to be really special to stand out (and mags like that are FULL of special photos) That sort of photography requires extreme skill in the skier and extreme patience in the photographer for the image to be anything other than a snap.

Edited 3 minutes after posting

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I suppose it's all subjective, isn't it. Michael Bonocore's photos are edited/processed, which means he probably puts more work in for each photo. In my opinion, artistic merit often has a correlation with the amount of time/work that is spent on the artwork (in addition to other factors).

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So..., stick that wide angle to your camera, wait for the right time and light (a challenge), judge your exposure (a challenge), press that shutter release! (not a challenge).

Sorry, not impressed. Postcard stuff as far as I'm concerned.

1 upvote

No worries! My photography isn't for everyone. I take photos because they help me tell my story and it's a therapeutic experience for me. It is nice when some people like them, but there are a million better photogs out there with a million better photos. And that's what inspires me to keep getting out there and challenging myself.

0 upvotes

Idaho has its charms but judging from his photographs he is transfixed by snow.

Trust me, it does not get better. :/

Using SF as a comparison for affordability is not helpful. Everything looks cheaper than SF.

Edited 4 minutes after posting

4 upvotes

True, there are many very affordable places to live in the US. I only could use SF as a comparison though since I have never paid rent in a location outside of Northern California.

1 upvote

Not many of the towns in Marin County. San Rafael and Novato maybe, because they are the low rent district. Sausalito and others way outprice the City.

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Yeah, for sure. There really isn't many normal places in the Bay Area to refer to when discussing rent. :)

0 upvotes

Based on conversations we've had with others here, Idaho is one of several places on the radar of soon-to-be burned out Silicon Valley refugees (along with Washington state, Oregon and Montana), myself included. (I've heard of complaints of all the ex-Californians driving up real estate prices in Oregon...) Though these shots, stunning as they are, are giving me pause: I am a "Diaspora Buffalonian" who has been running from winter since high school. Maybe just a cheaper area of California after all. :)

Edited 2 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

The California influence on real estate prices in Oregon and the Pacific NW started decades ago. I remember in the early 80s there were so many Californians moving from the Bay Area to Ashland, Oregon, that the local joke was that Ashland was the northernmost city in Marin County.

5 upvotes

Haha well winter can be cold. But it's incredibly beautiful. But the spring, summers, and fall are also beautiful and much warmer. I really haven't experienced seasons in 26 years, so this will be interesting.

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Well, to each their own. Living a state over from Idaho, having gone to college there, and with in-laws who live there, I've seen a lot of it. Not that it isn't pretty, but to me California has all of that and much more. But I wouldn't want to live in California. :-) Beaches and deserts for me.

Edited 38 seconds after posting

2 upvotes

Likewise, Utah, AZ, CO, were my favorites for many years. Now that I'm finished with the desert, I'm enjoying Hawaii. Idaho was never on my radar for many reasons.

2 upvotes

Problem with Utah is the people.

2 upvotes

As a foreigner, I have nothing but great things to say about the people of Utah. Loved my time travelling through the state.

I've visited a lot of the states, and if I was giving advice to somebody as to what state to visit, I would say Utah every time (I'd extend that to the four corners) Coming from the UK, I am lucky to live on an island with sublime scenery and be a short hop away from Europe with sublime scenery too. We have mountains and forests, countryside and seashores and cities, towns and villages as fantastically beautiful as anywhere in the world (nowhere have I seen mountains as spectacular as the Bernese Alps). However, there is nothing in Europe (except say tiny tiny pockets in the south of Spain like Tabernas) that looks like Utah, which I why I found it so spectacular. These photos of Idaho could really be anywhere. Go to Utah and you are seeing something truly unique.

1 upvote

Lovely stuff, I had no idea, looks just like the areas around Anchorage and the Matanuska Valley up in Alaska, but more rural!!!

1 upvote

Thanks Chris!!!!

1 upvote

Lovely. I'd move there in a heartbeat.

0 upvotes

Very nice set of photos.

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As somebody who lives outside of the US, if I ever visit he US, I think Idaho will be top of the list of places to visit! Great photos of the state!

3 upvotes

You should visit! Let me know when you come out :)

2 upvotes

Finally normal pics...

5 upvotes

Good pictures, they make you want to see more. Great linked article too!

Edited 60 seconds after posting

1 upvote

Thanks!

0 upvotes

Total comments: 73

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