Travel Tips – Travel Photography 101

By Bill

Like you, I love to travel.

And while traveling, photography plays an important part of what I do.  Like you, I want to come home with photographs to remind me of where I was, what I did, and what I remembered most about my holiday adventure.

Thus, travel photography may encompass more than just landscapes, it might include other things.  Animals, small things, buildings, or something I encountered that made the trip meaningful.

For example, I love castles and every time I see one I must take a photograph.

Note: Click on any photograph to see the larger, original version.

Course, if I am in Africa, castles are few and far between.  I might want to capture an animal, maybe not something scary, but just something special that came my way on a dusty trail.

Or, while on the road, I might find someone interesting, you know, just a man sitting, looking, waiting.  Course I did have to pretend I was shooting something else until he turned.  But, I did manage to get him relaxed.  You gotta love street photography.

Or maybe I might find something interesting at a county fair in England.  So what is a Zulu warrior doing in England?  I dunno, but I liked his smile and it made me remember a wonderful day.

Or, while trying to find a Moose along a roadway in Alaska, I just happen to be at the right spot when a train goes by.  Lucky me.

Or, while lost somewhere in South Africa, I stumble upon a Steenbok. Not that the Steenbok cared much, but I love to remember the trip and the shot brings it all back to my mind.

Or, just a boat sitting in a loch near Lochinver, Scotland.  I love Scotland.  And the peace that comes from looking at the shot is something very special for me, it brings back great memories.

And a peaceful scene found overlooking the Crocodile River in South Africa, while sipping a glass of fabulous South African wine, wondering what the rest of the world was doing while I sat there watching a group of Elephants enjoying the water and the close of the evening.  What a night that was!

Or, a morning at South Beach in Miami, while awaiting a flight to Ecuador.  One can find light anywhere.

Or, something simple, like these colorful bowls on display in a market in Ecuador.  The shot makes me recall the splendid colors of South America, and the music that was playing as I walked through an amazing open market filled with goods one cannot describe.  Another wonderful day remembered because I made a photograph along the way.

One does not need to fly thousands of miles to find photographs that remind one of a special day.  In fact, one might find something in a friend’s garden that helps one remember how good the coffee and conversation were.  Just a reminder of friendship.  What more does one need than that?

One piece of advice.  Never, never pass by a rainbow.  Make sure to take lots of shots of it.  Rainbows are special.  They remind us that even in troubled times, there is beauty in our world.  Course, that’s the whole idea of Travel Photography, isn’t it?