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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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The
Art of Travel Photography "The matter of art in photography may come down to this: it is the capture and projection of the delights of seeing…" Walker Evans, 1969 We all have memories of our travels we’d like to save. Of the senses that capture our experiences, the most evocative are said to be smells, but they’re not easy to collect, or the ones we’d necessarily want to keep. My only camel ride (once was enough) was on the fringe of the Sahara in southern Tunisia visiting the cave dwellers of Matmata (used as a location in the early scenes of Star Wars). I remember the equation of a camel ride, plus the desert and the month of June shouldn’t have equalled rain, but then I’ve not exactly been lucky with weather… The smell of the camel’s breath may well be the most evocative trigger to my memories, but I can’t imagine anyone else appreciating it except, perhaps, for another camel. The magic of photography for me is that it’s a selective process, and you’re the one with the choices. You may not always be in control of what you can take or when you can take it, but you can decide which moments you would like to preserve. The seeing eye of a photographer makes you look more closely, explore a little further and get involved more. For me this is the ideal accompaniment to travel. There are already lots of books which cover the subject of travel photography so I won’t try to write one here. I’ll just try to offer some guidance and as many tips as I can squeeze in before my limited literary skills dry up completely. Some of the most oft repeated clichés about photography are, "The secret of how to achieve stunning photographs is a better camera/lens, an exotic destination, or a few simple instructions which anyone can learn in 5 minutes - after all anyone can take a photo – all you do is point a camera and press a button or two". These assurances are made by those who are sure it’s easy to achieve, but haven’t yet figured out how it’s done. Exotic destinations may make for more interesting subject matter, but if you take disappointing pictures at home, you’ll take them abroad too. The route
to better pictures is the same as the route to increasing competence in
just about any other pursuit i.e. learn the basics, have some degree of
talent and practise, practise, practise. It sounds like hard work and
it can be, if you regard it as work. On the other hand it is very rewarding
to see that your growing knowledge and thoughtful approach, coupled with
imagination, is producing better and better results on every trip. Don’t waste money by buying a new camera or lens unless you’re really convinced that your skill level has gone beyond your current gear. Master what you have before you move on and save your money. Unless a film camera is faulty, the camera body itself has negligible influence on picture quality (quality is mainly due to the film, the lens, the exposure and how the film is developed). A top-drawer camera won’t turn you into a top-drawer photographer overnight, just as a better car won’t make you a better driver. If you use a digital camera you can practice cheaply - you get ‘feedback’ straight away and can delete the duds as you go along. It is, of course, preferable to get it right first time by good practice, rather than this trial and error approach, but this is an effective learning tool. With digital cameras, improvements in image quality can be gained by buying a better camera but this will only help the resolution of the image (they won’t help poor composition, or shots which are ill conceived or badly-timed). So, as with film, don’t see a better camera as a cure-all for problems. Light is the essential ingredient of photography, so how a subject is lit can make a world of difference to your shot. Research into the sights you intend to visit, with the largest scale map you can find (plans in guide books are often the best source), trying to see in which direction the light will be at the time of day you intend to visit. It’s best not to shoot straight towards the light if you can help it, as you will end up with a silhouette (which will only make a good shot with a strong outline and very careful exposure). Also, try to avoid shooting in the middle of the day, when the sun is high and the light is harsh. The most flattering light for buildings, landscapes, clouds etc. is early or late in the day. This is also the best time to avoid the crowds at most popular sights. If you want to see what an area has to offer and where to take the best views, you can see how someone else did it before you by checking out the postcards. Take your own versions of these shots if you wish to, but also look for one-offs; small details often overlooked, people on the streets, unusual angles - try to think laterally. As I mentioned previously, look for shots from different heights - shoot from ground level, or get up as high as you can. A high vantage point is useful for street scenes or for capturing buildings without having to tilt the camera upwards (so that the sides of the building are parallel). Look around the area for paths or steps, or for balconies or windows (of cafes etc) overlooking the subject. This will help you to see over most obstacles (e.g. parked cars). If you do need to point the camera upwards, and are not squarely facing a subject, it is often the case that we look for a vertical line in the subject and align this to one side of the frame. Unfortunately, this means that although one side looks okay, the other is a long way out of true. The verticals will converge towards the top if you are looking up (or diverge if looking down) and should, ideally, tilt equally. Look instead at the centre of the frame and align that to a vertical. Try to capture the essence of a place rather than a grand view. Wide vistas are awe-inspiring when you’re leaning over an adrenalin-inducing precipice, but the details of the picture are rendered small and distant which dilutes the impact when you view them later. Constable was famous for a style of painting where composition and content always led the eye through the picture; from something in the foreground, on into the middle ground and settling on a focal point in the distance. These elements are still as visually satisfying today as they were then. In fact, finding something of foreground interest often makes a picture not only more satisfying, but can also help to hide unwanted elements. Showing pictures without people in them may well start to look sterile after a while. Including people in a view, even if they are quite small, will help to animate a scene and bring it to life; it also serves to give a sense of scale. If you do make someone the main subject of your shot, try to ask permission first. A gesture and a smile may be enough to get around a language barrier and a picture is never worth upsetting someone for. Once you have taken a picture with consent, a more natural pose should be possible. Showing them their picture on the screen of a digital camera, or on a Polaroid, can help to break the ice. Pictures of people going about their business are more natural than a forced smile, so ask if they want to carry on with whatever they were doing before you arrived and then move in a little closer. There is a lot to concentrate on with the subject, camera settings, where the best light is etc., but also try to keep your eye on the background too, moving around the subject if possible for an improved backdrop. The photo with a lamp-post etc. growing out of somebody’s head is a trap we’ve all fallen into and a less distracting background will improve the shot. If there’s no way around an intrusive obstruction, try to move in closer and point upwards to isolate the subject against the sky. Where possible, framing a subject against a smaller area of the background by stepping back and using a longer focal length lens (telephoto) will also help to avoid distractions. This will also make more flattering portraits, as shooting from too close can distort the features. Most of us take shots of friends and family, but only plonk them in front of a camera when we see a great view (this is so and so blocking out the best part of the view, with the usual ‘just hurry up and take it – I can’t hold this smile for much longer’ expression). If we already know what they look like, perhaps we don’t need to have all of their features recorded for posterity. In fact, do they need to be in the foreground, facing the camera? Positioning them a little further away, doing something, or at least looking at something would be better; perhaps off to one side, a third of the way into the frame (horizontally and vertically). This ‘rule of thirds’ is a popular compositional ploy in photography and it can help but, as with most other rules, can be broken. The ‘thirds’ rule makes a composition look harmonious and tranquil, but tranquillity may not always be what you want. Pictures with impact often have a jarring, thought-provoking quality that is aided by an unusual composition. Try filling a frame diagonally, or point straight up or down to add a little variety. Most photographs are taken with the camera horizontal, not many of us think if a vertical shot would be better, even with a portrait. One ‘rule’ with groups that usually holds true, is that subjects look more balanced in odd numbers rather than even. Position the horizon below the middle of the frame if the sky is interesting, otherwise try to find an interesting foreground and place the horizon higher up in the frame. Some views can be transformed (and some positively improved) into scenes of shapes, lights and colours at night, as the sky turns from blue to indigo after sunset. Shooting after dark when the sky is black, however, will lose the colour in the sky and unlit parts of the skyline will disappear. The best time is when you can just see some light in the sky and can make out the skyline silhouetted against it. Nearer to the equator the sunset and twilight are over much faster, so the shooting period is therefore shorter. A small torch is useful, not only for setting up the camera, but also for finding your way back now that it has gone dark! Evening shoots are probably safer when accompanied. Taking pictures in low light, such as at dusk or in dark interiors, is best done with a tripod. Of course you may not want to carry one on your travels unless you’re a masochist and I don’t usually carry a full-sized one, but there are alternatives. The simplest is to brace the camera against something solid, preferably with the camera strap or a tissue between the camera and the support to protect the camera from scratches if on a rough surface. Then press the camera against the support with your non-shooting hand (taking care to keep it out of the shot) to steady it. Sitting the camera on something soft (on a raised surface - rock/litter-bin/wall/fence etc.) works well when the camera is horizontal. A beanbag is a favourite of many, but any bag, coat, scarf, hat, etc. will often suffice. If you have a sufficiently high and reasonably flat surface available, then a small tripod may be used (keeping hold of the camera’s strap if it is in a precarious position). I often carry a 6” wire tripod, which is small, light and cheap and can be used in lots of places where a conventional tripod can’t (because one isn’t allowed or because there isn’t room); unfortunately it can only hold an SLR horizontally, but it may support a lighter compact camera vertically. I have used one in all sorts of situations, from a wall in the Viking ship museum in Oslo, to a rail on a hotel balcony above Sorrento. A cable or remote release will help to prevent camera-shake under such conditions, but using the camera’s own self-timer (if it has one) works just as well for static subjects. If you do carry a tripod it may be worth investing in a carbon-fibre model as these are about half the weight of metal ones, but just as strong. The downside is that they are about twice the price. Extend a tripod’s legs first, and then if you need more height, extend the centre column. Extra stability can be added to a tripod by adding a bag. Many modern tripods come with a hook on the lower end of the centre column to facilitate this, but it’s a trick that’s been around for many years. You can use your camera bag to steady the tripod, looping the strap around the head of the tripod so that the bag dangles between the 3 legs, so to speak. This provides some vibration resistance and lowers the centre of gravity to aid overall stability. This may cause a problem in strong winds as the bag can swing, knocking the legs. If your camera bag is unsuitable, or you prefer a little more weight without having to carry it around with you, try using a plastic carrier bag. This can be filled with whatever comes to hand – rocks, water, sand, a water bottle - and then emptied again before you move on. If the height of the camera is not an issue (as is often the case when using a telephoto lens), the legs of some tripods can be splayed wide so that the camera is then lower down and thus more stable. Using flash may seem essential sometimes, but is best avoided if you can, as flash mounted on the camera creates unflattering shadows. However, it can be the only option if you’ve got to shoot in the dark or with moving subjects in low light. In the dark, flash on the camera can cause ‘red-eye’ where the light reflects off the subject’s retinae to give an eerie red glow. Cameras with ‘red-eye reduction’ (usually one or more pre-flashes) can help by closing down the eye’s iris, but raising the overall light-levels or separating the flash from the camera (if possible) will be more effective. Flash is often useful when you’re close to your subject, in bright sunlight. It may sound ridiculous to use flash in broad daylight, but the sunlit parts of your pics won’t be affected; however the areas in shadow will, and it’ll put some detail and colour back into those areas which would otherwise be black. Most cameras can be forced to fire the flash whatever the weather; if in doubt, consult the instruction booklet (yes, I know it’s a last resort, particularly for us blokes who feel as if we’re admitting defeat just by opening them!) Pictures of people on sunny days will usually look better with the sun coming over their shoulder. See if you can angle the camera so that the sun doesn’t hit the lens and cause flare spots (a lens hood will help), but also use the flash to put some light back into the shadowed face and a sparkle (catch-light) in the eyes. Sun across the face will leave one half light, the other dark; sunlight straight into the face will give a wonderfully lit picture...of someone squinting into the sun. Part 2: protecting yourself and your equipment Up to a reasonable amount, many home contents insurance policies may include your camera, but check to make sure you’re adequately covered (especially outside the home) in good time before you leave. For high value kit, specialist photographic insurers will usually work out cheaper (I use Glover & Howe - 01206 814 502). Which equipment to take will depend on how serious you are, and how much damage you want to do to your back and shoulders (many old photographers have a bad back). The more equipment you carry, the more flexible your options, but the weight soon mounts up. You’re also an easier target for muggers, the 5 or 7 kilo limit for hand luggage on many flights is soon exceeded and what you’re meant to be doing for pleasure can become a chore. An important part of my photography is my long-suffering and very helpful wife. Another pair of eyes works well both as a spotter of potential images, as someone to watch my back…and as someone to sympathize when things go wrong. Changing lenses means more chances to drop them and for foreign objects to blow into both them and the camera (more about equipment protection later). One zoom may well be all you need and modern zooms are of good quality, if you avoid the most basic ones. One way to tell if you really do need another lens, and whether that should be a telephoto or a wider angle one, is to study your recent pictures. If they are often taken with your widest option, it may be time for a wider-angle lens and vice versa. A wide-ranging zoom may be a better bet and is lighter than lots of lenses, but there’s a trade off in the brightness of the lens (and hence its flexibility in poor light) and, to an extent, with its quality. A good bag is essential both for impact protection and to keep out the elements. Choose one which will allow your collection of equipment to grow a little and, if possible, one with a waist-belt to spread the load from the neck & back to the hips (this also adds extra security). I use a Lowepro rucksack that is small enough to be taken on a plane as hand luggage. It has a padded compartment in the bottom half for my gear and a separate compartment above for food/water/fleece etc. The disadvantage is that it has to be taken off your back and opened up whenever you want to take the camera out, but it spreads the load wonderfully between your waist and both shoulders. There are lots of other options out there, from small cases for compacts that attach to a belt leaving the hands free (and reducing the risk of being left behind, or snatched), all the way up to custom-built wheeled and waterproof cases. Lowepro cases, along with CCS, Tenba and Tamrac, are well adapted to the photographer’s needs; their style suggests that they contain hiking equipment, thereby giving no clues as to their expensive and desirable contents. Bags with Nikon, Canon etc. emblazoned across them are best avoided, as they make the contents a little too obvious. Using your neck-strap not only prevents you from dropping the camera, it also increases security and leaves both hands free if changing lenses. One way of making all but the lightest cameras more bearable is to use a wide, stretchy strap. I like op-tech straps (see next page for supplier), which are made from neoprene foam similar to scuba-diving suits, costing around £15 for the bigger version (classic), or around £10 for the narrower EZ strap. Light colours reflect the sun better than the standard black which, with the insulation properties of the foam, can be hot on the back of your neck. They’re also available through Jessops.com, as is Jessops’ own version. Most modern equipment uses batteries that can, and will, fail at the most inconvenient moment (my last occasion was during a sea-plane ride above Luxor). If your camera uses lithium or button cells, remember that you have to buy your next couple of batteries at some point, so if you do it now there are advantages – you can take your time and look for the best prices (try www.7dayshop.com). You’ll have them ready to carry on shooting straight away. They’ll have been fresh when you got them and won’t have languished in the back room of a souvenir shop for many years. They’ll also be genuine Duracell or Panasonic etc. not ‘copies’. With batteries, as with most other items, carry spares whenever possible (at least back at your hotel if not actually on your person). For photographers one of the best of recent inventions is the NiMh rechargeable battery. They cost less in the long term and are more environmentally friendly than disposable or NiCd batteries, and also have a much longer life. They’re invaluable in digital cameras, which are particularly power-hungry, and in flashguns (they may halve the time taken for the ‘ready’ light to return). Remember to take your battery charger on a trip, and also a plug-adapter for the country you’re visiting. For those of you using film (including myself, for most of my work), these are my choices: for colour negative I prefer the sharpness and strong colours of Fuji Superia. For portraits or handling high contrast e.g. snow scenes or weddings (white dress next to a dark suit), then Fuji Reala gives a more natural rendition, with softer tones and faithful colours. My black and white choices would be either smooth-toned Ilford Delta, or punchy Kodak T-max. Colour transparencies are the travel photographer’s traditional film of choice - Fuji Sensia is a good all-rounder in 100, 200 or 400 speeds. It is available as a ‘process-paid’ film meaning that the developing and mounting are included with the purchase price. This offers a saving in cost and convenience over non process-paid films, and uses Fuji’s own lab which is quick and reliable (about 3 days from posting to return). Fuji Velvia 50 is a very sharp and fine-grained film with spectacularly rich colours. A good value slide film with vivid colours is Kodak Elitechrome Extracolour; it would be my favourite if it were as sharp as the Fuji professional range as it brings warm rich colours into any scene, and retains details in highlights and shadows even in very contrasty conditions. These film suggestions are only a guide, as the resultant effects of each film are largely a matter of personal choice. Most outlets give a discount for bulk buying (usually for multiples of 10); see the website as www.7dayshop.com and also the one at www.MX2.co.uk and compare prices with other outlets. At the time of writing, Fuji Sensia 100 process-paid slide film was £5.25 a roll. It is best not to buy a new piece of equipment just before a trip, unless you allow time to test it and familiarise yourself with it beforehand. Run a film through the camera to test a new body or lens, preferably in various conditions (bright, dull, indoors etc.) and get it processed before you leave. You wouldn’t want to find a fault only after returning from a trip of a lifetime. The same test should also be applied to a camera that has been stored in a drawer or in your attic for over a year. Subjects to avoid photographing depend on where you are heading (check a guidebook beforehand) but will always include airports, military installations (including naval ships), police stations, power stations, and embassies. They are innocent enough to us, but all high-risk terrorist targets to those at the other end of your lens. I once managed to defuse a crisis with a policeman in Tunis, by producing what was luckily the right passport (and speaking French, as he spoke no English). All I had done was to photograph a magnificent old doorway near the entrance to the main souk. Okay, so it was an embassy, but fortunately it was British and my passport matched. It makes sense to protect yourself when travelling in all the usual ways, but especially so when photographing. Not only are you more vulnerable, but also your attention is not on those around you, nor on traffic or indeed any of the myriads of other hazards. I know someone who walked off a Cornish cliff with a camera to her eye, fortunately straight into the sea, missing the rocks below. She survived to tell the tale, but the camera was later pronounced dead on arrival, due to the effects of the salt-water. Airport x-ray machines are a bone of contention for photographers. Film users are at a disadvantage here, as digital cards are not affected as far as we know. The important thing to remember is to keep all film in your hand luggage. Hold luggage receives much higher doses of x-rays and will fog film. The modern machines for x-raying hand luggage are safe up to around 8 passes with slow and medium speed films. It may be worth asking for hand inspections if you know you’ll be passing through lots of airports on the same trip, especially if the x-ray machine appears antiquated (these are often refused, but it is worth a try), as the effects are cumulative. It is therefore probably best not to travel by air with any film faster than 400ASA. The lead-lined bags, which are sold in travel-shops and photographic outlets, have little effect on x-rays and the operator may simply pass the items back through again with a higher dosage if they don’t penetrate the bag the first time. The films may well end up with a higher dose overall, plus lead isn’t the lightest of materials to carry – my advice is not to bother with them. Another effect of hold luggage being routinely scanned now is that cameras, lenses etc can be identified and stolen at the airports; this does happen, even in Britain (Manchester airport was the worst offender according to the last statistics I saw), so carry these in your hand-luggage too. A skylight or UV filter on a lens will help to protect the lens’ front element against impact and from scratches whilst being cleaned. If you add a second filter (e.g. a polarizer) you may find that vignetting occurs (unfortunately nothing to do with wine, it means that the corners of the picture darken) especially with wide-angle lenses. You may need to remove one filter before you fit the other to prevent this. Dust, grit and salt-spray are a particular problem, especially in windy conditions. Try to change films or lenses (thus opening the camera to the elements) only when you are out of the wind, and angle the open camera downwards if you can. If you do try to clean equipment yourself, be very gentle as rubbing grit into surfaces can cause more damage than the cleaning prevents. If you take a lens off a digital SLR camera and get detritus on the sensor, it will show up as a shadow in the same place on every photo. In wet weather, or in the humidity of the tropics, condensation can damage your equipment. Sealing cameras and film in plastic bags will protect from moisture while they acclimatise to the ambient temperature (for example, going from an air-conditioned room or car, out into tropical air, or even the other way round when you go from dry cold air outside into a humid, heated room). It may well be better therefore to keep a camera inside a clothing layer in very low temperatures, so that the lens and eyepiece do not fog when you put them near your eye/nose/mouth. This will also help the batteries to last longer as they flatten much more quickly in cold conditions. If you can’t get the shots you really want and you’d just like a record or a memento, then why not cheat a little? Fill gaps in your albums with postcards, pictures from the tour operator’s brochure, tickets, business cards from your favourite restaurants, or even leftover small denomination banknotes. They’ll all serve to bring memories flooding back and if the banknotes are Egyptian, you’ll also be including evocative smells, which are almost as strong as a camel’s breath. If I’ve whetted your appetite for more, you may wish to try Lonely Planet’s publication Travel Photography by Richard l’Anson, or join other photographers in an local society, or a national/international one like the Royal Photographic Society (they have ‘groups’, similar to SIGs, including travel photography, amongst others). The information offered by organisations that are specific to camera marques can also be very useful, and most offer discounts on services such as insurance. The best of these is EOS magazine for Canon owners (see www.eos-magazine.com). Try to keep these final thoughts in mind: * Consider
each shot carefully. First published in VISA issues 56 and 56A (June 2004) |