Originally posted by c.a.m I had the grand fortune of visiting Gettysburg a few years ago.
On the recommendation of one of my American associates, I hired a guide for a personal two-hour tour of the battlefield. I didn't carry my camera while I was with the guide, but bought a nice book from the shop instead.
I'd highly recommend taking such a tour. My guide was deeply knowledgeable, personable, and welcoming of my questions. I'd say it was the best guided tour that I have ever taken anywhere.
- Craig
I second this idea. To just visit the battlefield without a lot of prior knowledge how the battle progressed can get frustrating. Even though you are there for photos, the story of the battle itself is just too compelling to ignore. The battlefield itself is very quiet and peaceful. To me it feels like I am visiting a sacred place where so much violence occurred that a reverent silence now permeates the landscape.
The guides are awesome and the roads around the site can become confusing pretty quickly. The guides undergo a lot of prep and have to pass a pretty thorough exam before being certified.
As to photos, the view from the top of Little Round Top is very good and the area around the Devil's Den has many photo ops. The statues an monuments offer plenty of photo ops too when shot from different angles. As C.A.M mentioned above, the guide will take up most of your time so getting a book from the visitor's center filled with photographs may be a good alternative. If you have any time left over, return to those places that you want to do more photographic justice too.
Here is an early morning shot from Little Round Top that I took with a Canon PowerShot A590 IS in August 2009.