If we use the Top Travel Photo Ops destinations in Part I as examples of typical travel destinations, you can learn some specifics about what travel photos will sell. The first step, starting weeks or more in advance, is to do research. What are the best seasons to visit for weather and events? Possible to connect with any one there to help find a good guide or translator/driver if the situation requires? If you want your images to stand out, you are going to have to forgo shooting the backs of heads. The most desired images have released people, both tourists and residents, engaged with the camera. Refer back to this earlier blog for some good references.
A local person can help you the most to smooth those initial conversations to convince someone to let you take your pictures and get the releases signed. Use your connections. Sometimes there are even fewer than six degrees of separation from us all even when trying to find a contact on another continent. Tell everyone in your blogs or other networking sites where you are planning to travel. Ask everyone from your grandmother to the barista that fixes your morning java shot who they know in that place. You’d be surprised at the connections you might make.
Not only are trends in travel spots indicators, so are other social developments. Travel is all about green this year; consider how environmental sensitivity might impact destination photography in other ways. TripAdvisor’s annual travel survey was reported in the Travel Industry Wire: ‘Twenty-six percent of respondents said they will be more environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in the coming year. The green trend may be evident in their choice of transportation -- 22 percent said they'll go biking while on vacation this year, compared to 13 percent, last year. Forty-seven percent of travelers plan to go hiking this year, up from 43 percent, last year’. Include bikes and hikes in your shooting plans, for certain. (No more hikers/bikers shot from behind unless they are headed toward a great scenic.)
Using a Nicaraguan popular destination as an example: you’ll want to drive through sweeping rainforests and visit its famous surfer beaches. If you shoot from the beach, use a long lens or max zoom. A tiny surfer in the image isn’t going to say, “surfer” nor will it compete with stronger close-in images. When boards are in the shot, ensure that the trademarks and copyrighted art on the board are not visible or remove in post. Step up closer and if the lens can’t zoom in enough to capture the action and the emotion focus on something else.
Take shots as you pass through agricultural areas. Nicaragua’s main agricultural crops are coffee, cotton, sugar, and bananas. These type of images are useful in textbooks and for non-tourist related uses.
In Guatemala a ‘must photograph’ region is the Lake Atitlan area. Author Aldous Huxley famously described this lake as ‘the most beautiful lake in the world’. In the blue image of the lake here, we have the best of scenic destination images: a famous location, great mood and terrific composition with the isolated fisherman off center. On the shores of the lake is the Nature Reserve of San Buenaventura. The Reserve is committed to encouraging and preserving the vast biodiversity found there. There are butterfly and bird refuges on the site. With luck and planning you will get images of tourists in an important ecological tourism location and also document them observing colorful animals.
Now that globalization has imposed identical styles of clothing and kinds of food, across the world, handicrafts and indigenous art are gaining in popularity. Not only are displays of handmade goods icons of a culture, they often present colorful graphic displays. Visit the best markets for native handicrafts and steer clear of the real tourist traps. You will usually be able to determine which is which by asking around. Engage the people around you in conversation. Ask the waiter, the bus driver, the guy who rents bikes where they go to shop for fresh food. It may be a supermarket but you may instead discover an open air market off the beaten track. I always look for hardware stores. In fact the people in hardware stores seem to know where to find almost anything in my experience.
End of Part II. Next: why you should know how to shoot snow in Dubai and those promised travel photography references.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Top Travel Photo Spots-2008
The travel publications are out with their predictions for the top travel destinations for 2008. We searched them for spots that Dreamstime photographers had not yet covered comprehensively. Seven hot destinations for 2008 to visit and create images to fill out the Dreamstime collection are: Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Columbia, Tunisia, Albania and Dubai. (Destinations in North America, Asia and Africa later).
The major shift in travel images this coming year is away from the tried and true to responsible/eco and adventure travel. Whether it’s to emerging tourist destinations where it is possible to live green while living it up or a jewel of the Arab world, new destinations are on the photographic map. Americans will be seeking places where the battered dollar still buys a good bed while Europeans will continue to shop in the US in droves, subjects for a later blog.
No matter the location, you want to capture the essence of a place in your photos and, more importantly, why tourists would want to be there. Plan for images that tour groups and other tourist oriented sites and publications will seek. For the Central and South American countries below that are being promoted as ideal eco and responsible tourist destinations, you will want to get as many images as you can of the natural environment.
Even though visitors seek unspoiled rain forests and beaches, their very presence can diminish the place. Nevertheless, you must be prepared to get people into the images. Both tourists and native residents should populate your images. How to get model releases? If all else fails, hire a guide for a day that can translate a release and smooth the way with strangers in their native language. In the remote lodges, you can usually meet up with people that work there to use as models and use your great personality to talk some fellow tourists into posing. Take releases along that are in the local language, if at all possible.
If there are beaches, capture more than sunning beauties. Talk to the surfers at the great spots in Central America. Images of them in the water are difficult if you aren’t also a surfer but compelling and fun images can be made of them with their boards just hanging out. Is there fishing? Parasailing? What are the dominant animals and the most beautiful flowers and plants? Local crafts?
The ingredients of the national cuisine may be easier to photograph at a market. Displays of fresh fruits, vegetables and fish will solve the typical food shot requirement better than a poorly lit image of unappetizing prepared food. (The food you are served for dinner hasn’t been styled for photography and it will be really difficult to shoot a money shot under the typical restaurant conditions.)
People often take religious pilgrimages to historical churches and temples. Be respectful of worshipers but photograph interiors as well as the easily accessible exteriors. History bluffs want to see ruins and archaeological sites. Learn why these sites are important so that you will understand what and why you are photographing a site.
Remember, get up early to shoot while others are sleeping away the hours around dawn and skip the cocktail hour, staying outside in the great light. Always get as much color into your travel shots as possible. Pack a small foldable reflector to use for fill light if you must shoot people in the heat of the day. Next week specific details about shooting in these next new hot spots.
The major shift in travel images this coming year is away from the tried and true to responsible/eco and adventure travel. Whether it’s to emerging tourist destinations where it is possible to live green while living it up or a jewel of the Arab world, new destinations are on the photographic map. Americans will be seeking places where the battered dollar still buys a good bed while Europeans will continue to shop in the US in droves, subjects for a later blog.
No matter the location, you want to capture the essence of a place in your photos and, more importantly, why tourists would want to be there. Plan for images that tour groups and other tourist oriented sites and publications will seek. For the Central and South American countries below that are being promoted as ideal eco and responsible tourist destinations, you will want to get as many images as you can of the natural environment.
Even though visitors seek unspoiled rain forests and beaches, their very presence can diminish the place. Nevertheless, you must be prepared to get people into the images. Both tourists and native residents should populate your images. How to get model releases? If all else fails, hire a guide for a day that can translate a release and smooth the way with strangers in their native language. In the remote lodges, you can usually meet up with people that work there to use as models and use your great personality to talk some fellow tourists into posing. Take releases along that are in the local language, if at all possible.
If there are beaches, capture more than sunning beauties. Talk to the surfers at the great spots in Central America. Images of them in the water are difficult if you aren’t also a surfer but compelling and fun images can be made of them with their boards just hanging out. Is there fishing? Parasailing? What are the dominant animals and the most beautiful flowers and plants? Local crafts?
The ingredients of the national cuisine may be easier to photograph at a market. Displays of fresh fruits, vegetables and fish will solve the typical food shot requirement better than a poorly lit image of unappetizing prepared food. (The food you are served for dinner hasn’t been styled for photography and it will be really difficult to shoot a money shot under the typical restaurant conditions.)
People often take religious pilgrimages to historical churches and temples. Be respectful of worshipers but photograph interiors as well as the easily accessible exteriors. History bluffs want to see ruins and archaeological sites. Learn why these sites are important so that you will understand what and why you are photographing a site.
Remember, get up early to shoot while others are sleeping away the hours around dawn and skip the cocktail hour, staying outside in the great light. Always get as much color into your travel shots as possible. Pack a small foldable reflector to use for fill light if you must shoot people in the heat of the day. Next week specific details about shooting in these next new hot spots.
Photographing mosques in Cairo
I never realised how photogenic mosques are until I visited Cairo. In fact, I started my holiday thinking the pyramids would blow me away, while I was only fairly excited about visiting the mosques. My idea of photographing a mosque was snapping a minaret silhouetted against a deep orange sunset. As it turned out, the pyramids didn’t disappoint but the mosques far exceeded my wildest expectations.
I always lumped mosques in with churches from a photographic point-of-view – decent architectural subjects, which don’t particularly inspire from an aesthetic point of view unless there is an unusual cloud formation or a storm-darkened sky. From the moment I arrived at Ibn Tulun Mosque in Islamic Cairo, my opinion changed.
The most impressive aspect of this particular mosque (and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Cairo) is the spiral minaret. This is apparently a rare feature and was inspired by the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq. The mud-brick quality of many of the minarets in Cairo lends the architecture a timeless and authentic quality. The Ibn Tulun minaret reminded me of illustrations I’ve seen of the Tower of Babel, the way it winds upwards like a snail’s shell.
Climbing it was an adventure in itself, especially when I got to the highest viewpoint and found myself balancing on two short, wobbly planks. But I was so captivated by the sprawling views on every side that I didn’t care.
The courtyard of Ibn Tulun is also of photographic interest. It features arches, crenellations that represent soldiers and a massive dome or fountain in the centre. The interior features a lectern from where the calls to prayer are made and the sombre atmosphere of the mosque provides a refreshing contrast with the noise and chaos of the streets outside.
It’s no surprise this mosque is one of the largest and most important in Egypt.
Next I visited the famous Mohammed Ali Mosque in the Citadel complex of Cairo. Externally, this is a visual treat, and has, more than any other mosque, come to symbolise modern Cairo. It can be seen from many different viewpoints in the city (including Ibn Tulun’s minaret) and is usually one of the first sights many visitors see.
Locals call it the ‘alabaster mosque’ because of its beautiful silver domes, which gleam in the sun – when the city is not shrouded in smog. It is a fairly recent addition, though, having been built only in the 19th century.
Despite the number of schoolchildren milling around outside the mosque when I visited, it is a relatively peaceful place from which to watch the sun go down over the Sultan Hassan Mosque, which is situated outside the Citadel walls, and which I unfortunately did not get to visit.
Close up, Mohammed Ali Mosque is indeed impressive – I would not have been able to photograph it without a wide-angle lens (10-22mm). The interior is equally impressive but the ambience is altogether more tourist-orientated than Ibn Tulun, which marred the experience slightly.
Just before I left Cairo, my taxi driver suggested I visit the Mosque of Amr ibn al-Aas near Coptic (or Christian) Cairo. This is particularly special to Muslims because it was the first place of Islamic worship in Egypt and therefore the first mosque in Africa. Actually, the original mosque is no longer standing; the current one was rebuilt on the same site.
I visited early in the morning when the smog was thick in the air. I didn’t get my best photos here but the ‘religious atmosphere’ (if there is such a thing) was far stronger than in the previous two mosques. The Koran sits on many of the benches inside and there are other holy books in piles, emphasising the mosque’s importance as a place of learning.
I was pleased I got to visit all three mosques as they were each unique and provided a rounded overall view. And I did get that shot of a minaret silhouetted against the setting sun but it simply doesn’t tell the whole story of these mighty, magical edifices.
I always lumped mosques in with churches from a photographic point-of-view – decent architectural subjects, which don’t particularly inspire from an aesthetic point of view unless there is an unusual cloud formation or a storm-darkened sky. From the moment I arrived at Ibn Tulun Mosque in Islamic Cairo, my opinion changed.
The most impressive aspect of this particular mosque (and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Cairo) is the spiral minaret. This is apparently a rare feature and was inspired by the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq. The mud-brick quality of many of the minarets in Cairo lends the architecture a timeless and authentic quality. The Ibn Tulun minaret reminded me of illustrations I’ve seen of the Tower of Babel, the way it winds upwards like a snail’s shell.
Climbing it was an adventure in itself, especially when I got to the highest viewpoint and found myself balancing on two short, wobbly planks. But I was so captivated by the sprawling views on every side that I didn’t care.
The courtyard of Ibn Tulun is also of photographic interest. It features arches, crenellations that represent soldiers and a massive dome or fountain in the centre. The interior features a lectern from where the calls to prayer are made and the sombre atmosphere of the mosque provides a refreshing contrast with the noise and chaos of the streets outside.
It’s no surprise this mosque is one of the largest and most important in Egypt.
Next I visited the famous Mohammed Ali Mosque in the Citadel complex of Cairo. Externally, this is a visual treat, and has, more than any other mosque, come to symbolise modern Cairo. It can be seen from many different viewpoints in the city (including Ibn Tulun’s minaret) and is usually one of the first sights many visitors see.
Locals call it the ‘alabaster mosque’ because of its beautiful silver domes, which gleam in the sun – when the city is not shrouded in smog. It is a fairly recent addition, though, having been built only in the 19th century.
Despite the number of schoolchildren milling around outside the mosque when I visited, it is a relatively peaceful place from which to watch the sun go down over the Sultan Hassan Mosque, which is situated outside the Citadel walls, and which I unfortunately did not get to visit.
Close up, Mohammed Ali Mosque is indeed impressive – I would not have been able to photograph it without a wide-angle lens (10-22mm). The interior is equally impressive but the ambience is altogether more tourist-orientated than Ibn Tulun, which marred the experience slightly.
Just before I left Cairo, my taxi driver suggested I visit the Mosque of Amr ibn al-Aas near Coptic (or Christian) Cairo. This is particularly special to Muslims because it was the first place of Islamic worship in Egypt and therefore the first mosque in Africa. Actually, the original mosque is no longer standing; the current one was rebuilt on the same site.
I visited early in the morning when the smog was thick in the air. I didn’t get my best photos here but the ‘religious atmosphere’ (if there is such a thing) was far stronger than in the previous two mosques. The Koran sits on many of the benches inside and there are other holy books in piles, emphasising the mosque’s importance as a place of learning.
I was pleased I got to visit all three mosques as they were each unique and provided a rounded overall view. And I did get that shot of a minaret silhouetted against the setting sun but it simply doesn’t tell the whole story of these mighty, magical edifices.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
