Travel Photography
When you are traveling you are often interested, inspired, or intrigued by many of the sights and sounds of another culture. But how does a photographer capture them on film. The challenge is often taken up by gusto by tourists as they click cameras merrily at everything that catches there eye. The stereotypical image of a tourist is having a camera strap around their neck.
But there is a vast difference between a good travel picture and a great travel picture. I still get a frightening chill down my spine when I visit a recently returned friend, who announces that they had travel photos. Over 300 frames of out-of-place people in dull locations and in some cases I am looking at a wasted opportunity.
Always remember why you are taking the photograph
There are unlimited photo opportunities when you are traveling. Two of the main photograph mediums are landscapes and people. They are two subjects delved into more deeply in this article.
Landscape photos:
One basic principle of landscape photography is segmenting the photo into clear foreground, middle ground and background. For example, taking the photograph of a snow-capped mountain reflected in a lake. The foreground is the lake shore; the middle ground is the lake and the reflection; and finally the mountain itself in the background.
Although landscapes are broken into segments it does not mean any one is less important than the other. All good landscape photographs require the three segments. For example, taking the shot without the foreshore (foreground) diminishes the perception of the lake. Removing the mountain (background) would diminish the impact of the photograph because you would simply have a reflection.
What if the background is the sky, can it be removed? Any part of the three segments that can be removed should not be in the photo in the first place. Fitting as much in the photograph does not always produce the best results.
Using a wide-angle lens does increase the ability to fit more into the photograph, but while traveling having such a specific piece of equipment is sometimes impractical. Photographers who have a clear focus about what they are after should be able to use a telephoto lens to capture the scenery.
Look at perspectives and try and focus on what inspires you about the landscape. Each segment should help to promote meaning in a photograph. While on a tour of New Zealand I hiked in the Mt Cook National Park on the south island. The area was wet, cold and windswept in a mountainous and rocky terrain, but despite all the difficulties I noticed a small delicate plant with a large flower. I was amazed that such a plant could survive in the environment. The photograph I took was of the flower (foreground), Mt Cook middle ground and the low cloud covering the peak (background). The subject was the flower, but the mid-ground and the background added meaning to the photograph. To get the perspective I laid on the rock to capture the delicate plant which gave the mountain a monstrous look.
Photographing people
Part of the traveling experiencing is meeting different people and discovering their culture. Although taking photographs of people can be tricky there are a few measures you can take to improve the image and subject quality.
Always ask if you can take a person's photograph, remember to always be respectful of cultures because take photograph of a persons can be intimidating and, in some cases, insulting.
Try and use a zoom lens of about 200mm, because you are trying to get close to your subject. Having a whole body shot of a worker in a field might be interesting, but a close up on the worn features of your subject give a better representation of hard work and capturing the eyes really tells the story of that person. If you use a lens of 80mm or smaller you might need to enter their personal space, affecting the shot and ultimately coming home with a catalogue full of nervous-looking people.
Choose your shot carefully, be selective and try and capture the person's feature that first drew you to the subject. If it is a cultural tattoo then get your subject into a position that presents the tattoo well. If a person leans up against a wall then take the shot before they move, if you are caught be friendly and show them the shot. These are simple things, but people do tend to line up or pose looking straight at the camera. If this happens and it is not the best shot tell your subject.
The greatest contrast of cultures between your own and the one you are visiting is everyday life. Try and capture a moment in your subject's life. Have your camera ready with a high shutter speed. The last thing you want is to interrupt and get a subject to repeat an action. Also remember in most cases your subject is moving so keep shutter speeds at 1/1000 for a sharp images. If you want to capture the speed of your subject cut shutter speed to 1/500 or 1/250. This will blur the rapid movement but will keep the rest of the picture relatively sharp.
Packing the camera case
Make sure you take what you need, know how to fix some of the common problems, and make sure your equipment is reliable.
Firstly, you should do your research. The days of carrying around rolls and rolls of film are long gone, but still you should have a good supply of memory cards and batteries. Not all countries have supplies of digital equipment, nor the means to print hard copies of your images.
A 2x teleconverter might seem like a good option because it is light and can effectively add another lens to your camera bag. However, expensive lenses are calibrated to reduce distortion, adding a converter can create distortion in the photo. Leave it at home; invest in a good quality 200 mm lens and learn how to use it rather than a 100 mm lens and converter.
Always think practically and logically when packing for a trip, remember you are meant to be enjoying the trip, not agonizing over the details and missed opportunities.
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Travel Photography
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