Living on the road as a travel photographer has its fair share of ups and downs. As the seasons change and the cold draws in I’m certainly beginning to feel it, but they do rightly say that bad weather makes great photos. In a recent post I explained my vanlife decision. Today I’m dropping back in on that subject with more detail about how my van is made for travel photography.
How Blaine Harrington makes a full-time living as a travel photographer
Blaine Harrington began his career in photography in the 1970s after a brief stint of racing motocross. His connections to the racing world led to assignments covering races around the country and in Europe – piquing his curiosity about travel. After studying at the now-defunct Brooks Institute of Photography, Harrington spent a few years working in fashion photography, but eventually pivoted to travel photography to sate his desire for the more authentic subject matter. His network and skill as a photographer allowed him to live a peripatetic life working for publications like National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, Delta Sky, and many more.
I am leaving my home to photo-travel in a Mercedes van I built myself
I’m Dave Williams, a writer here at DIYP and a travel photographer, writer, and educator from the UK. For many years, just like a lot of other photographers, I worked a full-time job and shot on the side as a way to fund new gear. I progressed from funding gear to fund my life, with clients and partners forming throughout my journey. That hit a bit of a roadblock during the COVID pandemic and my travels ground to a halt – I suddenly went from around 20 trips a year to zero. That’s when I decided to make my daydreams a reality.
In March I took a hard-earned £5,000 and invested in a used Mercedes Sprinter 170 313 CDi. I spent four months converting it and making it exactly the way I need it to be and now it’s my full-time accommodation and off-grid, on-road office. The conversion wasn’t easy – I spent a night soaking wet during torrential rain with a leaking roof, I changed my mind on batteries and water tanks mid-build – but now it’s ready to roll.
Days Inn Hotels seek photographers, offer $10,000, paid travel across the US, and more
As if traveling and taking photos isn’t the perfect lifestyle already, Days Inn by Wyndham offers you cash and paid travel on top of it. If you’re a talented US photographer looking for a gig, this may be an opportunity for you to take photos and travel across the country for two weeks.
Take a trip around the world with Travel Photography of the Year 2020 winners
If I should name only one thing I’ve missed since the pandemic began, traveling would be one of the first things to remember. Thankfully, we can still travel locally and look at magnificent travel images from abroad. So if you’d like to take a virtual trip around the world right now, join me on this journey through the winning images of Travel Photography of the Year for 2020.
This T-shirt is an “auto translator” for traveling photographers
As traveling photographers, we often encounter locals who don’t share our language(s). If you prefer human interaction to googling everything, there’s now a perfect T-shirt for you. ICONSPEAK (see what they did there) has launched a line of clothing and accessories that will make interactions easier, more fun, and help you get the information that you need.
Travel like a photographer – advice for the soul
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind. ” -Anthony Bourdain
This headline might come off a bit pretentious for some of you, I mean how do photographers travel any differently than the rest of the population? Fair question, but for better or for worse, we are different in our own way.
2019 Travel Photographer of the Year brings breathtaking photos from all over the world
Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) has just announced the winners of its 2019 competition. Among tens of thousands of submissions, the judges have selected the best of the best. The winners come from all corners of the globe and show us just how incredible, diverse, but also harsh our planet is.
Take a look inside the van of photographer who lives on the road 24/7
Living on the road sounds scary for some, while others see it as a dream come true. Photographer Christian Schaffer falls into the second group and she’s been traveling for years now, living in a van. In this video, she takes you on a tour of her home on wheels, which may be small, but it has everything a home needs to have.
Ten tips for traveling photographers in Germany
Planning a photo trip to Germany? After three years of living in Germany and visiting countless cities in the country, I have a handful of tips for you. No, they are not about the best shooting locations and what photographic gear to pack. They are more of a practical nature.
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