13 of America's most photogenic places

Get to Arizona's Antelope Canyon when the sun is at its highest, travel photographer Gary Arndt says, to see this light streaming through the slot canyon.

Utah's Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, which is part of the Navajo Nation's parks and recreation system, has been a backdrop for countless Western movies.

The most popular national park in the United States, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hosted more than 9 million visitors in 2013. The park straddles Tennessee and North Carolina.

Chicago's Millennium Park features cutting edge architecture and art, including Cloud Gate, shown here, which is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work in the United States.

Skagway in Alaska was the starting point for the Klondike gold rush, which is why it swells in the summer months with cruise ship passengers. Book a trip on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad to travel the same route prospectors took to get to the Yukon.

Everglades National Park in Florida is the largest protected wilderness area east of the Mississippi River.

The Grand Canyon should be on everyone's list of places to visit, says Arndt. "It is hard to take a bad photo of the Grand Canyon," he says. "Most people visit the South Rim of the canyon, but consider visiting the North or East rims as well. For the more adventurous, also consider rafting down the Colorado River or hiking to the canyon floor."

Because North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park manages a herd of about 100 feral horses, visitors can experience the badlands as it was when Theodore Roosevelt visited for the first time in 1883.

Arndt likes to visit Yosemite National Park in California in early to mid-May, avoiding the summer crowds, but still witnessing the waterfalls at their peak.

The Golden Gate Bridge, which connects the city of San Francisco with Marin County, is named after the Golden Gate Strait. The straight is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean.

While the Big Apple offers plenty of landmark buildings and space to photograph, "I think the most photogenic parts of New York isn't the skyline or the buildings, but the small things you can see walking around almost any neighborhood," Arndt says.

Visitors to Glacier National Park in Montana shouldn't miss driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a 50-mile road which crosses the park from the borders of its east to west entrances.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park has the "most beautiful cave in the United States," says Arndt. "The stalagmites and stalactites are lit up to enhance their beauty."

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• Travel photographer shares his picks for the most photogenic spots in America


• "If you go to the Grand Canyon, it's pretty hard to screw up," he says


• Avoid shooting in the middle of the day for the best light, he suggests

(CNN) -- Photography-wise, you really can't go wrong in a national park or a big city.

They "tend to be the best places to photograph," says Gary Arndt, a blogger and photographer who sold his house in 2007 and has been roaming the globe ever since. The Society of American Travel Writers named him 2014 Photographer of the Year, and he has already visited 25 countries this year.

This week, Arndt will surpass mile 11,000 of this summer's North American odyssey.

Arndt has picked more than 20 of the most photogenic spots he's visited to highlight on Pinterest. A selection is featured in the gallery above. Visually rich and undeniably gorgeous, these American destinations are ripe for photographers of all skill levels.

"If you go to the Grand Canyon, it's pretty hard to screw up," Arndt said.

Here are three tips from Arndt to get you started:

-- You don't have to be in the photo. "Everybody wants to have a picture of themself in front of something, no matter what that something is." The majority of the most interesting travel shots are not the proof-of-visit variety.

-- Avoid shooting in the middle of the day. "You want to try to take your photos within say, two hours of sunrise or sunset," Arndt said. There are exceptions to every rule, but these hours tend to yield the best shots in most situations.

-- A little familiarity with your camera goes a long way. You don't need to master every setting and the science behind it, but definitely "experiment a little bit before you go somewhere." Don't let technical difficulties get in the way of your chance to capture something truly spectacular.

50 states, 50 spots: Natural wonders