COMMUNITY

Travel Writers: Travel Photography: Why and How by Indranil Sinha

Travel and Photography are intimately related. Travel photographs are memories for us and can serve as the media through which we can share our travel experience. They reflect our feeling, understanding and intimacy towards travel destinations. They may also serve as historical or political evidence.

Photography copyright Indranil Sinha 2001

The Goddess Durga, Calcutta during Durga Puja Festival.

Equipment

The minimal requirement for travel photography is a camera. Be it simplest point-and-shoot or 35mm SLR (Single Lens Reflex), APS (Advanced Photo System) or digital camcorder, there are some basic considerations common to all types of
photography.

Camera selection depends on personal choice and convenience. Some people like to carry less weight and take snapshots while others prefer to take sell quality great photos and do not mind the weight and expenses. Considering 35mm SLR cameras as the standard photography equipment during travel, it has several advantages. SLR cameras let you control the exposure by changing shutter speed and aperture, accept a wide range of lenses (from ultra-wide to super telephoto), give “what you see-what you get” vision through the viewfinder.

Do your Homework

Thoroughly reading up on the place you are going to visit is important if you are a serious traveler. Visit local libraries, travel bookshops fand use the internet to get well read. Reading makes you more familiar with the place even when you are not there. It also helps you to choose subjects to photograph. Try to coincide some local colorful events (weekly local market, local fair, festivals etc.) with your time of staying. Considering lunar cycle can also be helpful in some cases. For example, photographing the Taj Mahal under the full moon can be rewarding. Once there at your destination, if you are not sure what to photograph, take a glance at picture postcards, talk to locals, hotel staff etc. and ask them if there are some local events going on.

Photography copyright Indranil Sinha 2001

A man collecting soil from the Ganges, Calcutta, India.

Photographing People

One most important part of travel photography is people. Try including locals in their traditional dresses in your pictures. Including people in your photo may also serve as scale. If you include visitors in the picture of Taj Mahal or Pyramids in Giza, the viewer will have a known reference to get a feeling about the height of the main subject.

Including people in the photograph may always not be a pleasant experience. In some
countries, because of social or religious reasons, people, mainly women, do not like to be photographed. If you have confusion, ask before you shoot. If you don’t speak the same language with the locals, a smile and raising your camera will do the job. If refused, just walk away. There are thousands of other subjects waiting for you. But if you want to picture a vegetable market, there's no need to ask permission from everyone. Hang around with your camera until people start ignoring you; then shoot. Including people in travel photos has enormous importance in terms of
liveliness of pictures. If you are shy to ask for
permission, a longer focal length lens (ideally between 200 – 300mm) will do the job for you. You can be meters away, shooting somebody without letting him/her know.

If you want to picture a person or two at work of play, be gentle, polite and patient. Try discussing something about what they are doing; show your interest in their work. Leave your camera outside to accustom them with that and finally ask if they are interested to be photographed. Once you're done, don’t leave immediately, and remember to thank them. If they ask for a print, note down their address and mail them a copy. These courtesies will help the next photographer to get even better photo opportunity. While shooting people, try to be quick. Don’t fumble with the settings of your camera. Learn your settings well and check your equipment prior to your trip.

Security of your equipment

Apart from insuring your expensive camera gear, you can take a few measures in order not to let your stuff stolen.
- Try considering an old bag (be it camera bag or backpack) to carry your equipment. This will not attract would-be thieves towards you. Don’t take an expensive new bag, which screams by itself that you are a tourist, carrying expensive camera gear.
- Don’t ever leave your camera bag unattended, while asking for permission from people you want to shoot.
- Always take the camera bag across your body; in that way it is difficult to snatch away.

Films: What kind of films is to be used?

Print films or Slide films – again the choice is yours. Each has their pros and cons. Print films are best for showing to family and friends, widely available, cheap, easily and quickly developable. They are very convenient for displaying. If you want to work on available, low
light situations (inside a cave, or church or temple etc.) high speed print films (such as ISO400) are preferable.
Film sensitivity to light varies widely and is represented as ISO (International Standard Organization) numbers. ISO 100 is 0.5 times sensitive as with ISO200. ISO400 is twice more sensitive as with ISO200 and so on. As the light sensitivity increases, the resolution goes down. But you will only notice the decreased resolution if you want to enlarge your photo. However, in 4X6 (inches) print, you will hardly notice any change in resolution between different ISO number films.
An advanced amateur will prefer using slide films as will experienced and professionals do. When the light is recorded in the slide film (i.e. you take a picture), the same brightness/contrast is achieved after developing the film. In case of print film, brightness/contrast, color saturation varies between different photo labs. If you have plans to submit your photos for publication, slide films are recommended, since most of the publishers and photo editors accept slide films. Slide films are generally expensive and may not be available and developed everywhere. It is not recommended for slide films to use ISO number higher than 200; otherwise you will notice the grains of the film.

At the airport, when you are waiting for security check, put your films (both used and unused) in a clear plastic bag for hand inspection. Some CT scanners may harm the film and it is wise to ask if the scanner is “film Safe”. Since you may not get your preferable film at your destination make sure to have extra films. Nothing is worse than missing an excellent photo opportunity by just not having any more films! This is true for batteries also. Carry spares.

Catching the Right Light

Although early morning and late evening lighting is preferred and recommended by professional photographers, it will be unwise not to shoot in between. For that case, in order to make your pictures as good as possible, you will need to use a polarizer filter and fill-flash. A polarizer filter will cut away the glair from reflected surface, water and result in enhanced blue sky (depending on the direction of your camera compared to direction of sunlight). When using a polarizer filter, you have to override the exposure by 1-1.5 stops.

Fill-flash in daylight is a must while shooting people or subjects within a range of two to seven meters. Fill-flash will illuminate the eye of the subject, resulting in more live picture and will wash away the shadow around the eye region. This technique will also freeze movements by the subject, resulting in sharp picture. Do not use flash when you take landscapes or cityscapes. If you enjoy taking nature photographs, consider investing on a good tripod. Set your camera on a tripod, compose your picture, keep the aperture between f/11 to f/16 (not necessarily at f/22), set a slower shutter speed and use a cable release to press the shutter release button. If you want to avoid all these, lean against a stable surface, hand held the camera, take a deep breath and hold, and then shoot. After a few trials, you will get more sharp and crisp pictures.

If you have plenty of time to hang around, use mid day to choose for photography subjects, good locations etc. Once you are sure what to photograph, use the very best of the sunlight in early morning or late evening, when the shadows are long, light is soft, warm and soothing.

Photography copyright Indranil Sinha 2001

Priest praying to the Goddess Durga, Calcutta, India.

Composition - Vertical or Horizontal

Composing a picture reflects your taste and artistic intellect. Don’t be depressed if you find your pictures not appealing. There is always next time and scope for learning and improvement. When you see through the
viewfinder, take a second, ask yourself what is more suitable – to position the camera vertically or horizontally – try in both positions, check which orientation is better to 1) cover and highlight your subject, 2) leave minimal empty space, and then shoot.

Try to keep your subject off-centre in the frame for more appealing picture. This is easy to do with today’s high-tech cameras with “focus lock” facility. You can focus your subject, press the shutter release button halfway, pan the camera little bit and fire.
Keep it Simple. Pictures are most interesting when their contents are simple and straightforward. Including as many things as possible in a picture often confuses the viewer, what to look at exactly. Try to keep a “centre of interest” in all your compositions and you will get self-explainable photos.

Finally, take a break while shooting. Look around; try to feel of being in that place. Do not let the camera viewfinder be your guide; instead guide your camera viewfinder by your taste, choice and willingness.