Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Well executed travel photography can definitely be exhilarating, but it is not as leisurely as most people imagine. Here are some suggestions that should help maximize results.
First and foremost is research; do plenty of it beforehand. Trying to find that little-known road or hike while already on location will cut into valuable shooting time. Lack of research will also increase the chances of one just driving by a turnoff that could have yielded amazing vistas.
Our world is a magical place filled with beauty. Following the Great Silk Road, photographer Alex Pflaum ended up in Bulunkul, the coldest town of Central Asia and one of the most remote places in the world. He had a Leica Sofort camera with him and used it in two best possible ways: to tell the story of this wonderful place and its villagers, but also to break the language barrier with them.
As a landscape photographer, I travel a fair amount. As a human being, I travel quite a bit. Travel is a passion in my family. Whenever we get the opportunity, we love to visit new places or revisit old ones. Family vacations aren’t photo trips though. Sure, photos are taken – lots of them. However, these photos are mainly to capture the memories of our travels. And rightfully so. Family trips are first and foremost to spend time together, relax, and experience new places together.
I have to keep my inner photographer in check. Many times we are visiting beautiful places with iconic shots.
Over many trips and travels, I’ve found a pretty good balance that allows me to capture photos without annoying the heck out of the non-photographers in my family (which is pretty much everyone else!).
I’m a great fan of prime lenses. They are faster and sharper than zooms (at least the zooms that I can afford). Plus, they force me into being more creative and they bring out my problem-solving side, because they limit me with their fixed focal length. When I travel, I always bring them and pack a kit lens just in case. I almost never use it.
But recently, I was forced to travel light. And I mean, super-light: I was only able to bring one lens attached to my camera body. I love primes and almost always use them – but this time I screwed a kit lens onto my Nikon D7000. The lens is a Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G and it’s rather crappy when compared to my primes. But in this article, I’ll explain why I chose it and why, sometimes, your kit lens may actually be the best choice.
Imagine coming to the gate at the airport and the staff forces you to check in your camera bag. There is thousands of dollars’ worth of gear, and checking it in means it can get lost or damaged. We recently covered the story Michelle Frankfurter shared, claiming that American Airlines lost her $13K worth of gear. Inspired by Frankfurter’s story, Matt Granger shares two ways you can avoid checking in your camera bag at the airport.
Traveling for thousands of miles without money, paying for food and accommodation with nothing but your photography. It sounds like a great adventure, but also like a scary task full of challenges. Australian photographer Edwina Robertson did it. She recently finished her 3-month trip around the most rural and regional areas of Australia. She dove for 27,000 kilometers (17,000 miles), trading her photography for food and accommodation. Her dog Jordie was her only companion, and she shared with us some photos and details of this amazing journey.
Have you dreamed of traveling the world with the help of your photography? I must admit it sounds like a dream come true. Chris Hau is living this dream and photography has earned him some free trips. He shares the story about how it all started, that can get you inspired to try this yourself.
Next up in our ongoing Photographer Spotlight series we have Micky Wiswedel.
Micky is a Cape Town, South Africa based documentary, travel and outdoor adventure photographer.
His work has been featured by Red Bull and Outside Magazine. He is the winner of the 2016 Red Bull Illume photo contest in the Wings category and he is currently working with free solo climber Matt Bush.
Every once in a while you come across a photographer who’s work really speaks to you personally. It might be the subject matter, artistic skill, technical perfection or just plane cool photography.
In the upcoming Photographer Spotlight series, we are going to profile the work of a number of photographers along with question and answer sessions.
We hope that their work will inspire you and that you might get a bit of insight into who they are and why they do what they do.
Our first photographer is Peter Hoang.
Peter is an Ontario, Canada based rock climbing and adventure photographer. Ontario isn’t exactly known as a climbing hot spot – but it does have some pretty amazing sport and ice routes and Peter manages to mix his work locally at home with his travels to more exotic climbing destinations.
Peter’s work has been featured by Ontario Climbing, Gripped Magazine and Patagonia and he’s sponsored by Arc’Teryx and WoolX.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
Find my work on My website or follow me on Facebook or My page
