Simplifying travel photography

[casper]

On our first trip to the UK in 2013, I carried 12kg of camera gear everywhere I went, and almost turned our holiday into a photography walk. So, when we went again last Jul-Sept, I took an Olympus EM-10 and 14-42mm lens, and tried to point and shoot without thinking too much. The holiday was excellent, but the photos tended towards “ordinary holiday snap” (a few examples attached). OK with that, but in hindsight, I think I could have recorded the places we visited better (without too much additional effort). Can anyone suggest their checklist of, say, three simple things that can be done before every shot - particularly, while travelling, and when either you or the subject can't hang about too long.
1. Funicular Railway, Bridgnorth


2. Tramway Museum, Crich


3. Market at the Moon, Bristol


4. Waterloo Station, London

[Shadowman]

1. Breakaway from the group and do it on your own; even if it means getting up earlier or staying up later.
2. Research the area before you get there.
3. Ask someone local to show you something interesting.

Nice shots, I think you were on the wrong side of the street for that 3rd shot, try to get within the throng of people when photographing a market.

[DickyOZ]

A few years ago we cruised the Rhine and I took a Fuji HS20 superzoom - it did a great job, IQ adequate for the purpose. Plenty of reach and light to carry.
Since you have the E-M10 take the 75-300mm II as well the 14-42mm. It is light, cheap and is a much under-rated lens. It will give you no excuses for a missed shot.
1. The best camera is the one you have in your hand.
2. Separate yourself from the crowd.
3. If you're standing in the middle of the road learn how to say "You've got a steering wheel mate - use it" in as many languages as you can.
Dicky.

[Manfred M]

and tried to point and shoot without thinking too much.

It seems to me that you have already identified the problem...

I travel a lot, often to some rather out of the way places around the world. The equipment I take is driven by how I travel. I had far less and smaller gear when we spent 2 months backpacking through South Asia than the 4 weeks in Namibia, where we had a 4x4 truck to haul the gear around.

On the ground, I shoot the same way I would at home, making adjustments for the gear I have with me, and get some pretty compelling images.

[Mike Buckley]

Can anyone suggest their checklist of, say, three simple things that can be done before every shot - particularly, while travelling, and when either you or the subject can't hang about too long.

My mental checklist is the same whether in that situation, the extreme opposite situation of working in my makeshift studio or anything in between:

1. Compose to emphasize the subject, whether that means filling the frame with it, using the Rule of Thirds as a guideline, or whatever.
2. Estimate as best as possible the ideal exposure (and if you have time after taking the shot, check the histogram and adjust the exposure if necessary to retake the shot).
3. Set the ideal aperture and shutter speed using the lowest ISO possible. (I use Aperture Priority combined with Auto ISO to make that happen though not when working in my makeshift studio.)

As Manfred implied, it doesn't matter whether you're using a cell phone, a point-and-shoot or a full-frame DSLR; you still have to think before releasing the shutter to ensure the making of an effective photo. Your second photo is effective in my mind. Not so with the others mostly due to issues with composition.

[Donald]

Can anyone suggest their checklist of, say, three simple things that can be done before every shot - particularly, while travelling, and when either you or the subject can't hang about too long.

Good suggestions above, to which I would add only one:-

Be aware of how long you do have at a location. Spend the first 80+% of that time looking and trying to see as a photographer (You'll actually get more out the experience even if you don't take any pictures because you'll be studying the subject(s) more closely). 'See' and compose the shots you want. For the remaining 20% of the time, get your camera to your eye and shoot that which you had planned as you were looking and seeing.

[ShaneS]

I love Donald's advice! I try too keep the camera away from my for the first little while when I arrive at a location, It serves two purposes. One, it allows me to enjoy the experience rather than just photographing it and two, it allows me an opportunity to get a feel for the place which usually results in better images.

[Donald]

I love Donald's advice!

Thank you.

Extend that to a period when you know you are going to be in a place for a while and will have all the time you need. I apply the same rule. When I go to a place that is not home, even if I've been there before, I don't take the camera out of the bag for the first 3 or 4 days. I've got to feel myself into the place: Get into the mood and the pace of the place - Identify possible shots (not precise details in terms of composition, but at least what weather conditions and time of day will make the best shot) - Look at what the light does when.

It's one of these things, I find, that you know when the time is right to get the camera out and go picture-hunting. It just feels the right time. Can't explain it any better than that.

[Mike Buckley]

When I go to a place that is not home, even if I've been there before, I don't take the camera out of the bag for the first 3 or 4 days.

That's a great example of the luxury we amateurs have that, ironically, the pros under typically intense deadlines don't have.

[Manfred M]

Strangely enough (?) I do the opposite of what Donald and Shane do. I have my camera out and am taking shots as I wander around. Each shot will be composed and executed as well as I can, given the circumstances.

I do this for two reasons. Often I will be wandering through an area that I will not get back to, so I will only have the opportunity to get the shots that one time. The second reason is that I will use these shots to review places I might want to revisit at another time, under different conditions.

As an example; this was my scouting shot:





I came back later (next day?) to take this shot at around sunset and got the unexpected bonus of the fog rolling in.




In the case of this final shot, I only had a very few minutes to get the shot and leave. I knew exactly how I wanted to frame the shot when I got to the site, set up the tripod, took a couple of shots and left, knowing I had nailed the shot I wanted. The main issue was waiting for the lighthouse lamp to rotate so I could catch the green edge of the light's fresnel lens.

[SamRothstein]

Strangely enough (?) I do the opposite of what Donald and Shane do. I have my camera out and am taking shots as I wander around. Each shot will be composed and executed as well as I can, given the circumstances.

I do this for two reasons. Often I will be wandering through an area that I will not get back to, so I will only have the opportunity to get the shots that one time. The second reason is that I will use these shots to review places I might want to revisit at another time, under different conditions.

I agree with Manfred here, simply because I usually don't have time to wait 3 or 4 days before shooting. Many times I only pass through an area once and do not return, so I'd miss 100% of shots if I weren't taking pictures then and there. If I'm going to be in an area or place for a little while, I WILL try and do as Donald does and "take it in" before firing off shots. Otherwise, I try my best to work with what's presented. Then again, when I travel, it's for vacation purposes and I focusing on photography isn't the top priority, I usually only carry my 18-200mm "travel" lens, and my "quality" output pales in comparison to most!

[rpcrowe]

I try to research the area before I arrive and try to formulate a plan for some of the images I plan to take.

I knew that there would be a People's Army soldier in front of Mao's large portrait in Tienanmen Square, Bejing. I planned to get a shot of this soldier with Mao's portrait in the background.

"Best laid plans of mice and men" I was on an organized tour to China and when we visited Tienanmen Square, I wandered away from the group only to have my wife screaming at me to come back. Thinking that something was wrong, I cut short my shooting (I had planned to cover this shot more extensively) and returned to the group. The images were close (but, close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades) but not quite what I wanted. I wanted to take the time to put my 1.4x TC on my 70-200mm lens and get a head and shoulder's shot of the soldier with Mao in the background.





I found out, much to my displeasure that my wife wanted me back for the group portrait. I have not looked at that portrait anywhere as much as I have the soldier's image.

My wife was afraid (yes AFRAID) to travel on our own from the Port City of Piraeus to Athens and then to tour the areas that I wanted to see. Instead, she booked a bus tour of Arhens. Riding on a bus, looking out a window is all my wife wants to do in most cities. She really is a timid traveler. Anyway, the tour stopped to view the Evazone Guards at the Parliament Building. I started shooting and noticed that the guard detail was just about ready to change.





However before the guard began to change, my wife was again screaming at me to come back to the bus which was leaving. I sullenly came back, missing the guard change. If I had organized the travel myself, I'd have visited the Parliament Building on a Sunday when the Guard is in their fancy dress uniform and the guard change is far more elaborate and, obviously, I would have scheduled more time to shoot...

Photographically, I do far better when I am not on an organized tour which limits my time in any location and certainly limits my locations. My best photo day of my China Tour was the day I played hooky from the group and did my own thing in Shanghai...

https://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Other/Ch...ghai/i-jWS5f7X

[Shadowman]

I like it when a tour starts at 5AM, either because it takes a couple of hours to get to the destination (Vegas to the Grand Canyon) or there is a particular reason (Ganges River morning prayer) you need to be at the location. Evening tours are also good but very rare, usually tours are scheduled for daylight hours, how else are they going to get you in and out of those shops, and the photographer is limited to high contrast-sun bearing down on you shooting conditions.

[pnodrog]

I love Donald's advice! I try too keep the camera away from my for the first little while when I arrive at a location, It serves two purposes. One, it allows me to enjoy the experience rather than just photographing it and two, it allows me an opportunity to get a feel for the place which usually results in better images.

Just be careful with delaying your photography as some of the things that first catch your eye and seem novel may not strike you as novel after a few days of getting accustomed to seeing them. After a week in Thailand I found motor bikes and shrines far more ho-hum than when I first arrived. Make sure you get plenty of photographs that portray your first impressions.

[Clactonian]

Strangely enough (?) I do the opposite of what Donald and Shane do. I have my camera out and am taking shots as I wander around. Each shot will be composed and executed as well as I can, given the circumstances.

I do this for two reasons. Often I will be wandering through an area that I will not get back to, so I will only have the opportunity to get the shots that one time. The second reason is that I will use these shots to review places I might want to revisit at another time, under different conditions.

I'm with you on this one Manfred, grasping the opportunity, not knowing what tomorrow or the following days might bring.

[Tronhard]

For me there are two issues that I would need to define:
1. What are you able or prepared to carry with you, pretty much all the time. There is little use having a nice big DSLR and a honking zoom lens if you can't be bothered carrying them. Furthermore the bigger the gear the more people will react to your photos, perhaps impacting on your candid shots. Also the more you have the bigger target you make for those who would like to relieve you of your gear or valuables.
2. What kind of output do you want? That goes a long way to defining the camera body you take. If you are going to make massive blow-up prints you want high definition and you will want a big sensor and really good lenses. If you want decent prints of a modest (say up to A3) size or you intend to produce soft copies for publishing on the web or your monitor then you can get away with a much smaller sensor. In that case I would strongly recommend a bridge camera. They still have the same controls as their bigger cousins, they do great HD video and you get the full viewfinder/rear screen options. The lenses can have massive ranges: the Nikon Coolpix 900 has an optical zoom range equivalent of 24-2000mm, while the Canon SX60HS does 21-1365mm and the ones I have used are pin sharp. Also because the lenses are fixed you have far fewer joints in the body for dust and moisture to penetrate. If you get an adaptor for filters you can add a protective UV or any other filter.

No matter what, take extra batteries and a charger! Take several cards and a mass storage device, such as a pad, or a laptop. A camera that does WiFi is an advantage when transferring files to an IPad or similar...

With regards to the discussion on when to photograph, I tend to take a camera with me everywhere, so I can take advantage of opportunistic situations. When you are travelling you may not have the luxury of longer waiting times or the chance to go back tomorrow... I agree with the idea of a monopod, and if you get a bridge camera a Gorilla Pod, plus a remote (you can cheap cable or wireless ones).

With regards security, I would suggest an inconspicuous bag that will take your camera, plus valuables and never let it out of your sight. I had a Tenba bag that was like a schoolbag and it carried my money, passport and other critical docs in a back pocket closest to my body. The main body held the camera and lenses (pre-bridge camera days), plus spare film (I am a living fossil) and small tripod. I slept with it as my pillow in insecure places (the padding worked fine as a pillow). One thing I discarded right away was the brightly coloured name-brand neck strap. A policeman told me it was like hanging out a "target me" sign...

[casper]

Thank you to everyone that read and contributed to the discussion, all very helpful and much appreciated.
I will do my best to respond to all questions and comments in one post, here goes.
We planned and organised the trip ourselves, staying up to a week at a time in each location and day tripping in various directions from each “hub”. Except for locations very close to where we were staying, there was not much opportunity for return visits. We had researched what attractions were within reach, and what to expect (but not near as impressive as Richard Crowe’s research). Except for the occasional guided tour, my wife and I were mostly on our own – although many locations are quite crowded, and not easy to escape. I did try pulling out a camera in a crowded market, and from some of the looks I got, there may have been a few prison escapees present – hence the Waterloo Station shot was taken from the gallery..
Locals and cab drivers are certainly a great source of knowledge. One Shrewsbury couple on a hop-on hop-off bus tour gave up much of their day to ensure we saw the best of their city.
I also have a 40-150mm lens (and, DickyOz, I will get the 75-300mm). However, I took the 14-42mm because I thought the 2x crop factor would give me enough for a walk-around. This would also allow me to shoot wide and crop later to improve “composition”, although perhaps at some expense to image quality (e.g Market shot, where I was mainly interested in the sculpture, and crossing the road was not an option at the time). Shoot wide/crop tight was not suggested in the thread, so I appear to have been off track with that idea.
I did pay attention to settings, shooting mostly in Av and making adjustments from there. On some occasions (indoors/low light) it was difficult to get enough shutter speed for hand held and I had to look for a suitable flat surface for the camera.
The examples I posted are unedited versions and were not quite typical, but selected for the challenges they presented. For the cliff railway shot, there was a wall at my back and not much space in front. However, I also got some better shots of it in other positions, and some great shots over the Severn and Bridgnorth Low Town from the same viewpoint.
I think Donald raised a great point about forcing yourself to “smell the roses”, but also agree with Manfred, Sam and others that this needs to be within limits. Great final shot, Manfred, but if you hadn’t got back there, you still had the first one.
Trev, thanks, all great travel tips. I do have a bridging camera, a Fuji S100-fs. Excellent camera, with 28-400mm lens, but a bit bulky for this trip.
Special thanks to John, Dick, and Mike for their checklists, and thanks again to everyone else for their input and suggestions.

[jcuknz]

I have never been on a travel tour but should I go on one [ heaven forbid ] I will take my GH2 and 14-140 lens which is what I use all the time at home and similar to when I took my bridge cameras on overseas trips in the past ... different trips different versions
And oh yes along with spare battery and cards I will have my two dioptre CU lens which live with the camera.

[pnodrog]

The gear you are using is incidental.

To improve the photographs you need to be far more specific about what is of interest. The first photograph more or less does it, the second does it well but the last two are confusing. Road, car, artist? I did not even notice the blue sculpture until I read your comment. In the last I was interested in seeing the activity on the platform but it is largely blocked by a sign which helps with the setting but is given far too much significant.

There needs to be only two things on the check list.

1. Does the subject matter dominate the photograph? - by dominate I mean in getting the viewers attention not necessarily in size.
2. Have I reduced distracting elements as much as possible?

[William W]

. . . Can anyone suggest . . . three simple things that can be done before every shot - particularly, while travelling, and when either you or the subject can't hang about too long. . .

1. Always carry a camera with me

2. Change the ISO before moving into any new lighting scenario

3. Balance being annoyed about the shots I miss with learning from the experience and being more aware and better prepared next time



“Eye Contact” - Lyon France - January 2016
Canon 5D; 24 to 105 F/4 (@ FL = 73mm)


“My New Selfie Stick” - Paris Café - New Years’ Eve 2015
Fuji x100s

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