Photos While Traveling
Text and Photos by Dave Hilbert
When I travel I like to make a self-assignment to write an
article on speculation and to make photos to illustrate
that article. I love to travel and I love to make photos.
I try to travel light but still make travel photos that I can
sell, print large for exhibition, or sell as part of an article
for a travel magazine. I will also plan to place photos with
stock portals on the web and with stock agencies.
If you would like to make better travel photos but still
travel light, try these tips and techniques.
Even if you photograph for pleasure you can use some
of these techniques to generate travel content good
enough for magazines and newspapers.
• Whether digital or film based, you need low ISO,
good saturation and sharpness. Film speed and digital
ISO settings are best kept no higher than 200.
1. Think about ways of getting sharpness without a
tripod. Forbidden in many places, the tripods extra
weight makes it hardly worth lugging except for
landscapes and low-light shots. Although the tripod is an
essential tool in many situations, for the traveler, the
tripod can be just more baggage to lug.
Learn to use a beanbag instead. With this handy
stabilizer of wedding photographers placed on walls,
restaurant tables, or the top of a vehicle for camera
support, you might never lug a tripod again.. Buy the
beans locally, donate them when done.
Carve a walking stick and use it like a mono-pod. Steady
the camera against light poles, window frames, or
benches to gain a stop or two of shutter speed and
depth-of-field. Sharpness is critical as is depth of field.
Look into the great little tripod, the Joby Gorillapod
Joby Gorillapod. small enough to fit in your camera bag.
Tripods are not
allowed in most
ruin sites; the
bean bag can
help to steady
the camera
allowed in most
ruin sites; the
bean bag can
help to steady
the camera
Freeing, yes but there are situations when a tripod
comes in handy.
When in low-light situations like the slot canyons of the
Southwest,lighthouse at dawn, windmills on Cape Cod
at sunset, the Grand Canyon at dusk, and twilight
street scenes, you will need to steady the camera.
Although a tripod is the preferred tool for making sharp
images, the bean bag and your camera's timer will
stand in for those who want to travel light.
The photos on this page of the cannon, the church,
and the twilight street scene were done in this method.
A curb side rubbish container steadied the camera for
the street scene, a bean bag on the ground gave
support for the cannon and church.
The camera's timer gave hands-off steadiness.
comes in handy.
When in low-light situations like the slot canyons of the
Southwest,lighthouse at dawn, windmills on Cape Cod
at sunset, the Grand Canyon at dusk, and twilight
street scenes, you will need to steady the camera.
Although a tripod is the preferred tool for making sharp
images, the bean bag and your camera's timer will
stand in for those who want to travel light.
The photos on this page of the cannon, the church,
and the twilight street scene were done in this method.
A curb side rubbish container steadied the camera for
the street scene, a bean bag on the ground gave
support for the cannon and church.
The camera's timer gave hands-off steadiness.
Copyright SoftSeatTravel
Dave Hilbert's SoftSeatTravel Make Photos That You Can Sell
Travel Photography
Make Better Travel Photos
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
The average scene contains three or more stops of
light on a sunny day so you must balance your
exposure. You can do that with a two-stop graduated
neutral density filter. The screw-on type has dark
material on one half absorbing two stops of light then
transitioning into clear glass. Amazing, but the sky
stays saturated while the foreground remains properly
exposed, especially in sunrise and sunset photos.
Leave it on the camera. Compensate for it by using a
matrix setting on your metering which should
compensates for the dark material's absorption of light.
Check your image exposure and make adjustments
accordingly.
The GND doesn't turn skies black nor does it absorb
the stop and a half of light that a Polarizer would gobble.
3. People. People in the scene give interest and
scale. A camera-mounted flash unit set on auto during
the day will light faces under hats or in shade, putting
catch lights in the eyes, punching up the color, and
elevating your people shots to pro status. Get up close
with a wide-angle lens; shoot high, shoot low, varying
your point of view.
Dusk shots at markets, plazas, and beaches produce
nightlife, dining, and recreation scenes. The beanbag
and the camera's self-timer prevent camera shake.
You can editorialize with selective sharpness, expose
automatically, determine the light levels, and then go
manual, varying the shutter speed for effect. The GND
will moderate hot spots like street lights or bright sky.
When using flash, you can use the GND to darken the
foreground areas which are closer to the flash and
often burn out.
4. Match Your Shutter Speed to Your Lens. When
hand holding your camera, match the shutter speed to
the focal length of the lens. Example: a 60mm lens
requires a shutter speed of 1/60 of a second or higher
to avoid camera shake. Match your 210mm zoom with
at least a 1/210-shutter speed.
5. Lens Hood. Shade the front lens element to prevent
lens flare; retain crucial color, saturation, and contrast
that you would loose if the slightest bit of direct sunlight
light enters the lens.
How Freeing. Four pounds of camera gear, half of it
battery charger and batteries. Be more mobile and
quicker at getting the photos that tell your travel story.
light on a sunny day so you must balance your
exposure. You can do that with a two-stop graduated
neutral density filter. The screw-on type has dark
material on one half absorbing two stops of light then
transitioning into clear glass. Amazing, but the sky
stays saturated while the foreground remains properly
exposed, especially in sunrise and sunset photos.
Leave it on the camera. Compensate for it by using a
matrix setting on your metering which should
compensates for the dark material's absorption of light.
Check your image exposure and make adjustments
accordingly.
The GND doesn't turn skies black nor does it absorb
the stop and a half of light that a Polarizer would gobble.
3. People. People in the scene give interest and
scale. A camera-mounted flash unit set on auto during
the day will light faces under hats or in shade, putting
catch lights in the eyes, punching up the color, and
elevating your people shots to pro status. Get up close
with a wide-angle lens; shoot high, shoot low, varying
your point of view.
Dusk shots at markets, plazas, and beaches produce
nightlife, dining, and recreation scenes. The beanbag
and the camera's self-timer prevent camera shake.
You can editorialize with selective sharpness, expose
automatically, determine the light levels, and then go
manual, varying the shutter speed for effect. The GND
will moderate hot spots like street lights or bright sky.
When using flash, you can use the GND to darken the
foreground areas which are closer to the flash and
often burn out.
4. Match Your Shutter Speed to Your Lens. When
hand holding your camera, match the shutter speed to
the focal length of the lens. Example: a 60mm lens
requires a shutter speed of 1/60 of a second or higher
to avoid camera shake. Match your 210mm zoom with
at least a 1/210-shutter speed.
5. Lens Hood. Shade the front lens element to prevent
lens flare; retain crucial color, saturation, and contrast
that you would loose if the slightest bit of direct sunlight
light enters the lens.
How Freeing. Four pounds of camera gear, half of it
battery charger and batteries. Be more mobile and
quicker at getting the photos that tell your travel story.
The Joby Gorillapod
supporting an RB 6x7 at
the Glanum ruin site in St.
Remy Provence
supporting an RB 6x7 at
the Glanum ruin site in St.
Remy Provence
And glommed onto a
bench in a church in
Marseille.
bench in a church in
Marseille.
The Graduated Neutral
Density material in a
Cokin brand Professional
holder screwed onto the
front of the lens
Density material in a
Cokin brand Professional
holder screwed onto the
front of the lens
Graduated Neutral
Density filter
Density filter
Although the sun is
shining you can use the
flash unit to fill the
shadowed areas of
your subject's face and
to lighten the eyes.
shining you can use the
flash unit to fill the
shadowed areas of
your subject's face and
to lighten the eyes.
Camera on a beanbag
tripped the camera's timer
tripped the camera's timer
On a sunny day you still
need the camera flash
unit to fill the shadowed
areas of your subject's
face and to lighten the
eyes under a wide-
brimmed hat.
need the camera flash
unit to fill the shadowed
areas of your subject's
face and to lighten the
eyes under a wide-
brimmed hat.
Shoot low and shoot
high to vary the point
of view
high to vary the point
of view
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |