Hi Everyone

So the context is I'm in Rome near the Pantheon, a simply brilliant area with a cool vibe. I notice a professional photo shoot taking pace, model, lighting, various outfits ready in the wings. I just cannot help myself as the image I can visualise is just too good. I wait at a respectful distance and when the model looks me in the eye, boom I get the photo I wanted. It's all in the eyes, that brief glimpse is enough for me to make a photo. So be respectful, often I have walked on not wishing to disturb, but if you can wait until you get the eyes looking at you. That works for almost every portrait photo I can think of, after all the eyes are the window into the soul. 

A

Hi Everyone

So here we have two photos for a quick challenge. Instead of me telling you what I think, have a look at both and decide what you think works and why. They are similar but at the time I knew I was going to use the shots for this post so made a couple of differences just for you. Do you prefer the train in or out, the leading of the eye with the track, the crop.... what works for you, take these thoughts away and apply them to your photos.

A

HELP!

Hi Everyone

Often we take photos on holiday and they are rubbish. But you know sometimes we capture something that is a bit special. This photo actually captures the feeling of YES I'M ON HOLIDAY. However when it was in a competition the judge felt that the title "Help !" was more appropriate. So the learning for all is that you can have a great photo but it can mean different things to different people. Only I knew the context of the photo and the feelings behind the physical image. I often see frankly average holiday shots entered into competitions because the photographer has the emotional baggage and history known only to them of a great holiday, which is fine...but don't expect everyone else to get it too.  

A

Shibuya crossing is a great place to see people rushing about

Hi Everyone

Here we have a photo taken at the world famous Shibuya Crossing, a multi directional people crossing point at the heart of Tokyo. 
What I will always love about this photo is that it captures for me the essence of the location. Frenetic, busy, fast, commercial, with the style of dress and the motion. What we have is a slightly slow shutter speed, looking down at the ground at the legs of people rushing over the crossing before the lights changed. This was not a grab shot. It took a few visits and a good few hours to get the right light, position, shutter speed and then a bit of luck.

To capture the essence of a location can take a few days of walking around until you get the feel for it. I have a photo in Grand Central Station New York that frankly took multiple visits and a whole day in hours to capture. Yes sometimes you have to put in the time, but I have always found when you do that the photo to be much more personally valuable.

So don't just try to record a location, try and capture the essence of what a location means to you. 

A

Hi Everyone

If your eye catches something, your mind almost stops itself with a spike of ouhh I like that. Then follow through on this emotional reaction, stop and take the shot. In fact my tip is really stop, evaluate the shot, take a few and don't rush. Often I've just grabbed a shot without having the courage to really stop, compose the shot, get the right settings and squeeze the best out of scene.

Here we have two bikes in Bologna Italy which caught my eye. Maybe it's the interrelationship between the wheels, maybe the colours, I don't know. I stopped took a few photos, although I should have taken longer, but at least I stopped as I still like this photo.

So keep looking out for images and if you like it, shoot it! 

A 

Hi Everyone

Here is a photo from a South American town. It was an autumn day and a bit grey. So instead of fighting against the lack of colour I used it and switched the photo to Black & White. When we travel we cannot hope to emulate all the images we see on the internet, taken in great light, by a pro photographer, who has been waiting all year for the right moment. We have to deal with what we have, be it rain, dull clouds...whatever. So when you look at your photos consider a switch to Black and White to see if they look better, sometimes it does, sometimes not, but it's an options that is often ignored. 

Hi Everyone

Well here we have a photo of Christ in RIO. It's a great photo that makes me smile remembering a happy holiday.

I actually sold this photo to the Rough Guide......but why. Because with the wispy clouds it's slightly different from the norm and this gives the feeling of being high up.

Also what you do not see is the great mass of people all around the base of the statue. So when you see something on your travels that is surrounded by people try and lift the shot a little and keep them out - they often distract from the real subject.

Here is another example. The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, to the right is a crowd of people all taking photos from the path. I walked down onto the rocks, out of the way and got a different shot without the people. Now mine is not the greatest photo, it's weak for a lot of reasons. But it's a lot better than if I had followed the crowd and taken the standard photo. Just an idea to help you get a better shot the next time you are on your travels standing in front of an iconic statue or building. 

Hi Everyone

So here we have Time Square New York, a simply brilliant place for street life and photos.

The key point here is when Darth Vader steps out in front of you be ready to get the shot. OK this is not an awesome photo, but I did at least get a good record of what it was like at the time.

My camera is generally set on AUTO and I adjust the setting off that when doing something specific. I shoot in RAW so I can edit better, but you may wish just to stay in JPEG setting. My phone has the option to double click the ON button and the camera function opens immediately. 

So know your gear, have your settings pre set and when you are in an area that has lots of potential have your camera or phone in hand READY!

I also have a great shot of Harrison Ford taken just after this one. You just never know who or what is around the corner. Enjoy 
 

For my regular visitors you will notice I am giving my web site a refresh. For new ones, welcome.  I am still aiming to Inspire World Travel through photos. But I am also updating my travel guides and other travel tips / hints. My Blog has a few more examples of what I have learned, with a few more posts in the pipeline. Be kind to me as this is taking a lot of time, but I hope you enjoy the results.  

Hi Everyone

The photo learning for this blog entry is simple, give your subject space. Especially items that move, eg a boat, plane or car. Here is an example from Hong Kong and the world famous Junk with its red sails. Notice how I have intentionally given it space to sail into on the right. 

If I had not done so then the photo for me would not be as good.

As background I saw the junk approaching the dock but I was not in a great position. So I had to run, and I mean run about 200m to get to a spot on the elevated dock. It was worth it as this allowed me to see onto the deck and it just works. It's also a great memory of a wonderful holiday and this photo has also done well in a competition.

Hi Everyone

There you are on holiday and a great landscape is all around and you are just so excited you cannot stop taking photos, but stop... here is the challenge. Simply taking the shot at head height is good, as you can see below.

However if you drop down low and get a bit of foreground into the shot, for me, its just so much more interesting and puts the whole scene into more context. It's not prefect as too much grass and flowers can create a sort of barrier to getting into the image. Try it for yourself, experiment and see what balance you prefer. 

I did adjust the odd blade of grass to try and give a channel too look through. If I was doing this again I would take a few more shots and each time remove a few more bits of grass. This could be done in editing software but for me that's just time consuming and I prefer to get it right in the camera/phone. 

Until next time.

A

Hi Everyone

Well here I am walking along with my compact camera or phone and I see this shot. However it's nothing special, and that's the lesson. All the photos we take cannot be brilliant, or should I say GREAT. It's a pretty shot up a gorge that has some climbers traversing. I did a 30 second edit and cropped into a portrait orientation to try and help emphasise the height. The light on the trees is sympathetic and it's all really nice, but it would not win any competitions. I will keep it and I share it here with a smile as I had a lovely walk and the climbers added a bit of drama.

Climbers

Do not be scared of taking and keeping a photo you like, remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you like it then that's all the counts. However the other side of the coin is on balance I bet we take many more photos, especially on our phones, than we really should. We can easily become overwhelmed. Try and have a sort through and delete the really duff shots and only keep the ones that mean something, notice I did not say good ones, the ones that mean something. I often find if you leave it a few weeks and then sort through your photos it's easier. I think the emotions have reduced and one can be more self critical and sort quicker.

For this sort of shot I would say try and get it right at the time. Look, think what you are trying to achieve and only take a few, then maybe change location as who knows around the next corner could be an even better view point. 

A

Chaine des Aravis, FranceSunset Shot of the French Alps Hi Everyone

I took over 150 shots over the course of a month to get this one...yes to get the shot you want takes time. Now I am not advocating taking lots of photos. I would take a few, have a look, adjust some settings and then stop for the day. I was and am in search of the right sky, a one awash with colour, yes the great travel photo. It's annoying as we all want it now and frankly this is still not the shot I want. I used a phone, a compact camera and a mirrorless camera shooting in Raw but the kit is not really the issue here it's one of timing. Then suddenly one day the sky was just a step up from the norm and over a period of ten minutes I shot about 20 photos and all were quite different. The key lesson, and that's what my blog is all about, is things change quickly so be ready! Be ready to shoot a lot to capture the changing environment and edit/sort afterwards. It's like you have 23 hours and 50 minutes of not much and then 10 minutes when the light is changing so fast its hard to comprehend. I generally advocate less shots but sometimes rules need to be broken and this for me is one occasion.

There is a second lesson, and never think I am an expert or talking down to you, this is what I am learning and after sharing. The photo shot in RAW looks like nothing dramatic. It's only a 30 second edit pushing the colours does the photo develop more into art than a representation of what I saw or photographed. In a way this is the image I wanted to see and editing software allows me to create it. So yes I really like the result but it's not the end of the journey for the photo I want from this location.....

A

Hi Everyone

A night shot taken on a light show in a French forest. A wonderful experience that was really hard to capture as a photographer. Sometimes you just have to experience things and accept that a photo cannot convey everything.

Walking in the hills around Le Gets, I just loved the soft grey tones of the roof and the grass.