Whether you're off on a city break or planning a more extensive spate of travelling somewhere exotic, here are five things to try. Use public holidays to your advantage Public and national holidays can be a huge source of inconvenience when travelling.
Public transport may be busier, accommodation tends to be more expensive and some of the places you might want to visit may be closed. Still, if you happen to be travelling somewhere at this time, you may actually be able to use this to your advantage.
For example, if it’s a national or religious holiday, you may be able to capture images of certain festivities that would otherwise not be happening. There may be a procession passing through the city or events at places of worship that would perhaps only take place once a year.
Places of worship can be great for the photographer – just remember to be respectful
Alternatively, if the weather is fine and everyone has used the day as an opportunity to head to the coast, this may give you an opportunity to photograph somewhere that would usually be busy, without the usual crowds getting in your way. Those keen on capturing modern architecture, for example, can head for the city’s financial district, something that’s also worth bearing in mind on weekends.
Out of business hours are best when shooting modern architecture in financial districts
Use your shots to boost your social following
If you have the opportunity to create images you wouldn't normally be able to, you also have the chance to gain exposure outside of your usual audience.
This is great if you’re trying to grow your social media following, so it pays to consider how best to maximise your chances of gaining more interest.
When visiting museums or other notable landmarks, including official social media handles in your posts is well worth doing, particularly if those accounts have sizeable audiences and frequently share contributions from visitors.
If you’re travelling somewhere where English isn't the native language, also remember that some places may go by a different name to one that you’re used to, which you may want to include for discoverability too. Some places may also be commonly referred to by a completely different name, perhaps one based on its form (The Bean in Chicago, the Gherkin in London and so on).
Find out official social media handles for museums and key landmarks
Program a shooting mode for spontaneity
You never know when you might want to take a photo, and travelling through unfamiliar locations only increases the extent to which this is the case.
In such situations you may only get a very brief moment before the opportunity is lost, and even if you do manage to get your camera out in time, there’s every chance it won't be set up appropriately.
For this reason, you may find it useful to have a custom shooting mode that’s designed for these occasions and can be accessed at the twist of a dial. So, Canon’s C1, C2 or C3 options, Nikon’s U1 or U2 options and so on.
What’s possible here will depend on your camera but programming one of these to, for example, shoot in Raw and JPEG, with a fast shutter speed, burst shooting and so on can save you from adjusting these parameters individually when you only have a few seconds to spare.
The image was captured with a compact camera through the window of a moving train
Don’t overlook local markets for the more obvious ones
Whether they sell food, fabrics, antiques or something else, markets are some of the more fascinating places you can photograph when visiting an new location.
Most of the better known ones are geared towards tourism, and so they may well contain plenty to occupy and intrigue the photographer. Nevertheless, it’s less likely that you’ll capture something as authentic as you might do when visiting a market frequented by locals.
Consider researching these lesser known markets prior to your arrival so that you can easily drop by if you happen to be in that particular area. Depending on exactly where it is you’re travelling, it’s possible you’ll be hassled less here too than in a market well used to tourists, and this in turn can allow you to just get on with shooting whatever it is you spot.
Visit local markets for alternative images
Quench your thirst somewhere productive
There’s nothing wrong with shooting Hong Kong from Victoria Peak or Chicago from the Willis Tower, but many cities have less obvious vantage points that will allow you to capture something different to the norm.
Many major cities, for example, have sky bars that can provide a different point of view over a city, and these tend to have a significant advantage over the observation decks in skyscrapers in that many of these are actually outside. This means you won’t necessarily have to contend with reflections and other restrictions you might encounter when shooting through glass.
Naturally, it’s possible you won’t be able to set up a tripod and take the same kind of time and consideration as you would a landscape, but with a half-decent modern camera, effective image stabilisation and maybe a smaller support such as a Gorillapod, it’s perfectly possible to come away with good results.
Matt Golowczynski is a journalist and photographer who has written for a wide range of magazines and websites over the past ten years Follow him on Twitter or see more of his work at www. mattgolowczynski. com
. digitalrev.com2017-3-22 03:00
