Hi Everyone

After many years I recently spent a few days in the wonderful Hamburg, Germany.

Below is not a photo of the cannels, the lake, interesting side streets, port or the shops... instead the light caught a great reflection in a curved building. I just like it and so I have decided to share. I took a few shots and had to wait for a break in traffic and position myself to avoid the clutter of the ground level surroundings. This is the opposite of what I normally do, get some low level info to "ground" a shot. But these rules are meant to be broken and this is a great example of how removing the ground helps a shot. It's the same with my Christ the Redeemer in Rio, avoid the ground clutter of all the other tourists, helps massively.

A

Hi Everyone

When in a new location it's quite nice to do something that captures the spirit of the country. In Argentina, see a Tango, in London or New York maybe see show. And so in Madrid consider seeing a Flamenco Show. I will caution that often these sorts of things can be very touristy, expensive and the quality could be questionable. But do your research online, avoiding the adverts, or better still get some advice from friends.

Most of these shows do not allow photos and I have to admit I support this as it does detract from the show. However this show in Madrid did allow photos. I was in the back row of an intimate theatre so my camera screen did not disturb others and using a few different modes I was able to capture a little of a great show. The key for me is to get some movement but also enough sharpness to get a drift of the subject. But this is art, you can do whatever you want. Try a slower shutter speed, maybe a filter, maybe not, experiment and see what you get. Enjoy the experience....and on that note I do find that if you are taking photos you can get so engrossed in the photo process that the experience of enjoying the show is missed. So sometimes just don't take phots, just enjoy the moment.

Until next month

A

Hi Everyone

So there I was, walking up Mount Etna, at least the first part, the second I took the bus. And boom...smoke rings like you have never seen before.

It turned out that they are a natural result from what is a live volcano. The perfect circles were really quite distinct and able to be captured on a basic camera. The same day I was taking this shot it was covered on International News with an article on the BBC. Now a smoke ring, or three as below is easy to take but trying to get it with some foreground to give some idea of scale is a bit more tricky.... for the record these things are quite large. I would estimate 50 - 100m diameter, but my first photo does not convey this very well. I know because my mind remembers when I took the photo and this is the learning point. If you have a subject, try and get something else into the shot to give is scale. This is just the same on a big building, a few people walking by really helps to give the person who has not visited it before a feeling of size.

So my second photo I tried hard to get some foreground even at the expense of the quality of the smoke rings. The cable car cabins can be seen as really quite small and thus the size of the smoke rings is really a lot clearer.

All the best

A

Hi Everyone

What I have learned recently is taking the time.

Over the last six months I have taken photos in Italy, France, UK & Sweden on various trips...but I have waited until the last few days to edit. And when I say edit that's download from the camera onto my laptop, delete the obviously weak photos and then select those to share. This is usually about 5 - 10% and these are edited at speed. I crop, level, adjust the colours a little and then boom its done. I have found a few issues with my editing software not linking with my oldish camera...the result was some shooting modes eg HDR not being usable....and this was the downside of waiting to edit. However the upside is massive....I was able to be much more critical about my shots...time leads to a mental distance from the shooting experience and therefore it was easier and quicker. I have heard Tom Way, the brilliant wildlife photographer, talk about this so its not just my idea.

Below is a shot of a building taken in Stuttgart Germany. A town known for its awesome Mercedes and Porsche museums, its also a great town to wonder around.

See you soon

A

Hi Everyone

If you are able to get to the same position at different times of the year why not challenge yourself to taking the same photo. I have an example below and it shows that it's not actually that easy to get to the same spot or composition. You really need the first photo to hand to get to exactly the same shot. In this example I was also beaten by ice underfoot and needing a better set of crampons, yes it was getting tricky. But the general feeling from a similar view is still interesting to compare.

A

Hi Everyone

The weather was closing in with visibility dropping. I just felt the drama of the moment and took a quick photo in the general direction of the light.... and boom, for once I managed to get something I liked. So often this fails, but for me this caught the feeling. Again it's not massively edited, taken with an old action camera, but you know I like it. So if you just feel a bit of drama, take the shot and if it works for you then that's success!

A

Hi Everyone

Well this photo is all about the person. Without the skier it would be nothing. So next time you have a landscape or city scene consider waiting for a person. You will be shocked, yes shocked as I find it only takes a few minutes for the someone to be where you want them, OK not always but generally it works out. Again without the skier this photo would not have even been kept let alone published.

A

Hi Everyone

I just love a staircase, the lines and often the chance to capture a bit of blur!

Ok this is not the best example but it does indicate the sort of thing you can achieve. If you have a ND filter, use it or switch it on in settings. Set your speed to around 20th of a second but that's just a start, test, try and see what results you get. Each location will be slightly different. Wait for people to get into the shot and take lots of photos using different settings. Try and have a check of the results on location but be ready to only really see the results when home and on a bigger screen. I have examples from Italy, France, Spain and the UK. This shot was taken in Valencia Spain and gives the feeling of motion and action to a building. Best of luck taking your staircase shot.

Hi Everyone

Well the weather is set to snow over the next few days so I thought I would have a topical photo. I have to admit I took around 100 photos today and this is the best I could get. I am using an action camera so the quality is not as good as a traditional camera, but still.... maybe it was the light, good but not quite enough to give a big WOW.

So how can we do better? Well I watched Mont Blanc all day and how the light changed it's character. So the learning point is keep studying your subject and be ready to capture when the light just gives it a WOW. But be quick as it might only last a few seconds. We can help ourselves by knowing when the sun is generally illuminating what you want. Plus changing weather with shafts of light and a darker background appears to give a bit of drama.

I'll keep learning and studying Mont Blanc and if I get something good of course I will share it with you first.

A

PS I do not know why but when this blog was posted the photo was missing. I checked and everything look fine at the backend. Anyway just in case you thought I was going mad, I've deleted it all and reposted. 

the light Hi everyone

This is not the quality of photo I wanted but it is a good effort. The light had just illuminated the mountain side and it was wonderful to see. I've done my best to capture the feeling but for me it falls short of what I saw. Maybe its the being 2000m up a mountain, the air, the light and in real life it was so dramatic. Maybe I've had the wrong settings on my camera, or my editing could have been better, I just don't know. The lesson is just try, yes keep trying and enjoy the journey, even when along the way you fall over a little and do not get the results that you expected.

A

Today is the 8th Jan 2024 and it is 10 years

since I started www.greattravelphotos.com web site.

I've travelled the world and shared the journey with you. 

Now which photo to share?

Of the over 100 destinations and 1000's of photos from all around the world which photo should I pick.....

It's not an easy choice but I've gone with a feeling and also a similar photo that I have on my wall in front of me.

I say similar as there are a few different versions. The one I've selected has a man walking towards the camera and that for me is interesting.

So taken in Petra Jordan a wonderful world class location that if it's not on your bucket list it should be.... 

So that was the last 10 years...where will the next 10 take us.

Join me and together we will have an adventure, discover and learn.

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Hi Everyone

The lesson for this blog is to try different things. Often they will fail but do try. Here I was walking under a major road and found the two people ahead walking into the light captured a feeling and I just had to try and get a shot. Now its not quite what I expected as a result and in many ways I did not know what I wanted. So if you see something that just feels right and worth a photo, don't delay if its moving, shoot it. But also try shooting not on AUTO but using different settings, experiment, see what works for you, stuff everyone else, see what you like and do more of it. 

A

Revolution Square

Hi Everyone

So you find yourself in a one of the best museums on the planet but the real image is not of the works of art but the square outside. An advantage of a phone or small camera is that held well it can often fit through a gap in a window. Thus capturing a shot without the risk of reflection, glare, or dirt from shooting through a window. On this occasion I distinctly remember a slightly open window allowing enough space to get a camera through and boom a record shot from Saint Petersburg resulted. Now I'm not saying this is a great photo, that's not the point, but it is a lot better than one shot through the window, or not taken at all.

A