Jim_Tardio

Wonderful thread, Howard. As someone who makes a portion of his living through travel photography, all I can say is even the photos I take for someone else have special meanings for me.

Everytime I see them I instantly remember the moment I took them, who I was with, where we were going, the weather...everything. And I have to agree that serious photographers are acutely aware of their surroundings. I'll sometimes just park myself, and wait for all the elements to come together.

I also find myself looking into doorways, down dark streets, into windows above me, hoping to capture some bit local flavor.

About people in photos...I feel that I don't get enough people in my shots. The human element is what makes others relate to your photos. But, if you're patient, you can even capture "people-less" pictures at very crowded tourist sites.

I think photography really does help us remember our journeys better. I'm amazed at how many times I'll pull out some old slides, and my wife will say something like, "Oh, I forgot we stayed there."

Postcards are too impersonal. They're someone else's moment.

lyb

Jim Tardio,

>>I also find myself looking into doorways, down dark streets, into windows above me, hoping to capture some bit local flavor.<,

How so very true!! I find that I see things that non-photographers don't see.

Which brings up a question? Does anybody know of great tours tailored for photographers? Because I am a single female and often travel alone, I sometimes feel that tours are safer. However, that doesn't always allow for enough time to take the best pictures. If there were tours tailored for photographers, I would jump on it big time. Not necessarily workshops, but just tours for photographers. If anybody knows of any, please let me know.

crazymina

Enjoyable thread...great to see the detailed reasons why photos are special to people.

My digital camera helped me come back and figure out what I did each day. I didn't keep a detailed journal, but upon my return, I relived the trip by making a quick calendar and highlights of the day for all 116 days which will go in my scrapbook. The date and timestamps really helped!

I also have kind of a funny rule. First day in a place, I bring along the camera, but don't take it out unless something strikes me. I never take a map and just amble along, soaking in as much as possible. I do this because I used to get excited at every famous/pseudo-famous thing and go nuts taking pictures, only to find I could get a better angle two steps down. So now I just "scope" out the place, enjoying views through my eyes, and then take pictures later (unless I find that special shot!)

That being said, now I actually don't take many pictures at all, which is kind of strange.

Jim_Tardio

Lyb...National Geographic has some tours that place more emphasis on photography, but they are expensive.

Travel photographer, Bob Krist...http://www.bobkrist.com...also has some workshops in Tuscany.

There's also the Mentor Series...http://www.mentorseries.com/
They have trips to several locations.

Debbie

In addition to helping me remember what is what, I take pictures of the signs for places -
* The sign from the road for the B&B,
* the signs for the entrace to places I am touring / seeing (ie. Middleton Distillery tour, or Nicholas Mosse Pottery, or Glendalough Vistre Center)
* Signs for restauraunts we really enjoyed.

This proves many uses - remembering what a place was called, what it looked like etc, but most of all, when I put my pictures in my scrapbook- one less thing to write - I can use the picture that labels it, as I saw it there.

From traveling in Ireland , I found that they see even simple signs as works of art - especially for pubs! so I like to include that aspect of the trip in my scrapbook too!

dan_woodlief

Beautiful thread!! Just reading this gets me in the photography mood. I was thinking exactly what Bob the Navigator, Jim Tardio and others said even before I read their posts. Photography definitely enriches my whole experience by making me look at things all around me. Without thinking about photography I am much more likely to overlook beautiful things like the way light plays off a scene or even more mundane things like interesting manhole covers. Like Jim, I do wish I could incorporate more locals in my photos, but there often is just not time when traveling with others. When traveling alone with a camera, I usually end up with better shots. I will usually set aside a couple of mornings to go out very early and alone on family vacations for good light and more concentration; then I go back and wake everyone else.

I have long used a camera to help me remember my trips as well. Until I had a child (about to have the second), I had time to label them all in good detail. I would use travel guides to indicate what was in each shot, and I can relive each trip by pouring through the albums. Now I put all the effort into putting them on the Web. Still, I often never get around to taking those photos of the train stations, airports, hotels, restaurants, and other non-sightseeing parts, without forcing myself. I am working on doing better with those parts of my trips because they will be some of the more meaningful photos later. When I do take photos, I explore different light and angles.

I am also a big postcard buyer. I just buy them as another reminder of my trip, not to replace the photos; they can never do that.

Barb_in_Ga

I have to agree that you can learn to look at places differently when you take photographs. My husband is the real camera artist in our family, but I encourage his hobby, which gives me even more material to work with when I put together the scrapbook of our trip.

Since we were in many different cities and towns this trip, we made a game of finding interesting doors to photograph, and it really caused us to look at things differently.

For most of us here, travel is not a stand-alone pleasure. As active participants in a travel board, we have chosen to plan, discuss, and relive our experiences. Our photography does that also--reminding us of the intimate and the spectacular moments and sights of our travels.

HowardR

Barb, I too love to photograph doors. You might pass along this suggestion to your husband about an interesting way to frame them. I've done this twice with great visual success, once with "the doors and windows of Assisi" and the other time with the "little canals of Venice." Get a set of eight 4 x 6 photos (They must be all verticals or horizontals for this to work.) Have a 16 x 20 mat cut out with eight openings. Mount and frame. It's incredibly effective! (Incidentally, I make them 16 x 20 because that's a standard size and you don't have the expense of a custom frame.)
I want to again thank everyone who has contributed to this thread. Collectively, you have truly made my day (and week and year)!

lyb

Jim Tardio,

Thank you for the websites re: Travel photography tours. It sounds wonderful! I guess I have one more trip to add to my "to do" travel list.

Giovanna

What a joy to ready this thread, particularly since we picked up our 16 rolls of film last night (cost almost as much as the trip LOL). I will now spend the next couple of days putting them in albums along with all the bits and pieces I picked up along the way: a napkin from a cafe we liked, a gelato spoon, ticket stubs, business cards, pressed flowers, etc. When completed I can then return to that/those countries/cities and relive the trip. I too intersperse with post cards which balance out the albums.

I was delighted to see that others love to photograph doors and windows as I do. I think my best photos in that regard are from the California and Texas Missions we have visited, but I do have some terrific shots from Europe too. I'm certainly not a great photographer, but I do very much enjoy taking pictures when we travel. It's nice to be part of a group that share my interest.

Figaro

I, too, love taking pictures of interesting architecture - like doorways that I would never see at home - even close ups of some really cool doorknobs and keyholes! When my husband and I wander, and that's the way we like to experience things, and he says "wow, look at that!" I usually take a picture of it - it was interesting enough at the time to comment on it, so it's worth remembering. We have pictures of some of the greatest parts of our journeys - which have nothing to do with the "big" scenery.

I do buy postcards of places where photography is not allowed, or in locations where I know that my camera is not going to do the subject justice (especially inside dark buildings).

clrossi

Howard great thread! I agree with everyone. I just returned from two months in Italy. I took 24 rolls of film. I love to look over every photo and remember being there and exactly why I took that particular shot. I, too, compile an album with all my photos, ticket stubs, business cards, pamphlets, etc. I also buy many postcards (which I like to collect) and use them in my album also to supplement my photos, especially when cameras weren't allowed someplace or I couldn't get the whole site into the frame of the camera. I had my purse stolen on my recent vacation -- my camera included. And although having credit card, ATM card, and license stolen was a hardship nothing compared to the loss I felt over the camera and roll of film in the camera. I had to go out the next morning and buy new a camera, battery and film!! I could not be without a camera for the rest of my trip.

HowardR

I hate to see this thread fade away. Any more comments?

sandy_b

I'm also a picture taker, wish I had a better eye so my photos would look professional but they are mine and I love them.

I take one photo from each trip and enlarge it to an 8x10 and frame it in a plain black frame (no mat). All my trip photos are frammed alike and are hung on 3 walls of my game room . . . everyone who comes to my house spends time looking at them and comments on how great they look.

Sandy

Nikki

I have many albums of photos I have taken over the years, and when I show them to people I frequently hear, "But there are no pictures of you". To which I always answer, "I'm the one on the other side of the lens."

That's why I don't put post cards in my albums.

smueller

Believe it or not, the opinion that "looking at Europe through a camera lens" can only diminish your perspective has been stated in this forum more than once. Anyone that truly believes such nonsense must have a small and uninteresting mind.

Several posters in this thread have mentioned that they wish their pictures were better. The best advice I can offer is to study travel photographs taken by others and try to develop a sense of why some images seem more striking to you. I have gotten great ideas from studying pictures in calendars, postcards, guide books, and travel magazines. Occasionally, I even learn something new about a place. For example, while trying to determine where certain (and, in my opinion, very dramatic) pictures of Neuschwanstein Castle were taken from, I discovered that there is an extensive system of trails in the hills above the castle.

sognatrice

Howard-this thread is such an inspiration! I love to take lots photographs when traveling, and it is probably my favorite way to keep certain moments fresh in my mind. I love to take photograohs of people as well as intimate corners of the places I am visiting-like capturing the light as it falls across the texture of an ancient stone wall in a small italian village. Last year I had a wonderful time taking Black and white shots of all the Easter processions around Naples. For the ones that occured in the middle of the noght, I tried using some very high speed film, and got some beautiful, grainy images which I am using for a series of paintings. I also handcolored some of them and sent them back as postcards to the people I photographed as gifts. I like to photographs doorways too, with and withiut someone in the frame. When I make a photo album, I usually use the photos along with some written thoughts about the experience. But I also really love to collect unusual postcards, and have severzl albums filled with both vintage and present-day postcards. Your exhibit sounds wonderful! Compliments on creating such a great thread!

amyb

This is a great topic. On my first trips abroad, I could take 20 rolls in a week, easily. They weren't great shots, but covered everything from the scenery in Ireland to us filling our tank of gas for 36 Irish pounds! That was our way of remembering all the minute details.

15 trips later, I've really made use of a travel diary, but not just to chronicle the itinerary, but more to capture how I felt when I saw something or when I was somewhere special or with someone special. That helps immensely to relive a trip, not just "went to Notre Dame today, then got on the metro to Montmartre."

Like another poster, I also keep gelato spoons (and giggle like a school kid when I find it in my wallet when getting ready for the next trip), ticket stubs, metro passes, museum passes, etc. It's all part of the experience for me.

A lot of people don't like "non-people" pictures. I prefer my scenery without including me mugging for the camera, but will do the occasional obligatory "here we are" shots as evidence we were there.

But back to the pictures...I still take more than the average person (9 rolls in 6 days last week in Scotland, Ireland and N. Ireland). I will take multiple shots of one location or sight, mainly because I enlarge a select few and hang in my office. It's refreshing to remember while you're chained to your desk that somewhere something beautiful exists and that you're working toward getting back there!

HowardR

smueller has made a good point about researching examples of good photos before a trip. I do mine on the internet. For example, before our trip to Italy last fall, I did google searches entitled "Photos of Tuscany" and "Photos of Umbria." I printed copies of interesting photos--not so much to take the exact same photograph, but to get ideas on a type of picture and/or subject or perhaps taking a photo of a site from a different or unique angle, etc. When I exhausted those searches, I refined to "Photos of Assisi" (or Pienza, Siena, etc., etc.). I put all of these photos into a notebook and would periodically review them. When I had the photos developed after my trip, there was no question that the research paid off. I think they were the best pictures I ever took.
I highly recommend the activity.

Scarlett

I agree Howard, I have looked at your photos and those of others like Mina who have taken lovely interesting photos from their trips..that inspire me to do as well.