Iconic, Cliché, or Original?

I've taken a lot of short, 2-4 day trips lately. With my cameras of course, and I do at least a little bit of research as to where and what I may have a chance to photograph. For certain places there's going to be the iconic photos that come up, think Ansel Adams and Half Dome. For many other locations, there's the clichés such as a million photographs of Half Dome that say "I was there too" and a feeble attempt at duplicating Adams' work. Then of course, there are the photos of a location that seem original, a way of seeing it that no one else has put out there.

I'm all for taking that "iconic" yet cliché photography. It gives yourself and others a frame of reference as to where you were. After that, I try to see things MY way, a bit original. Sometimes I have success, sometimes I think I have success yet find out otherwise later, and since I'm a details type photographer, I sometimes do have success. For instance, one of my "I have a good one here" photos that I took, only to find out later, that many, many others also took similar photos was in Prague. I noticed that the sewer lids in the streets were frequently works of art, so I photographed some. When I returned home and searched, I found that I was only the millionth person to notice the sewer lids.

I recently returned from a few days in New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, you tell me which are the iconic or cliché photos and which veer toward original.

New River Flows Through the Gorge

Weathered Pine Above New River Gorge

Turkey Vulture Soars Above New River Gorge

New River Gorge Bridge

Fungi Along Stone Cliff Trail, New River Gorge National Park

Caterpillar Along the Trail

One Rock is Different From the Rest