My Traveling Shots

Rule #2 – Take lots of shots

So how do I get that shot I really want when I only have a few minutes?  The truth is if you are like most people you probably won’t.  The biggest mistake I see people make is not taking enough pictures.  You have just a few minutes and most people take 1-2 pictures and think “well, I got a picture of it, that should be enough”.  When you get and load it up on the computer (you aren’t still printing them are you?) you find out that someone stepped in your shot, you forgot the flash, you moved the camera.  Bottom line your 1-2 pictures did not get your picture that you wanted.

One of the things that people tell me all the time when I show them pictures from my trips.  “I wish I could take pictures like you.  Mine did not turn out nearly that good”  What they don’t realize is how many of mine did not make the cut.

When I used to shoot 35mm film I made it a habit to take enough film with me to be able to shoot 500 images for a one week trip.  I would meet people going to the same destination and they would usually shoot one roll of film, if they got really carried away two rolls.  I really thought that when digital cameras became the standard that people would start shooting more pictures, but that turned out not to be the case.

I have never really understood that.  You are using a camera that literally costs the same to take 2 shots as it does to take 22 or 222.  If you are stepping off the tour bus for that 5-10 minute stop you should be clicking from the minute that you get off till you get back on!  You can always delete the ones that did not turn out, but you can never get the ones that you did not take.

Many, many times I have been on a tour and step off take my shots and get back on and the person next to me says “Wow that was a great place, I think I took five pictures!”  I usually don’t say how many I took, because I know the answer.  When I get back I find that in the time that they took five pictures that I usually have taken 70-80 pictures.  It is not uncommon for me to take 1,000 or more shots in a single day.  As I mentioned years ago I would plan on taking 500 for a week.  That was still far more than most other people were shooting and it gave me far more choices.  Now usually have 500 (or more) per day to choose from. 

When I get back I take just the best ones, believe me, I still move the camera, people still step in my shots, I forget the flash, etc.  The difference is that I have other shots to choose from.  When I shot 35mm I usually would keep about one for every ten I took.  That meant that of 500 shots I took for the week, I kept 50.  Now to be honest, I kept the other 450, I just don’t show them to anyone else.

Now, the pictures I keep to show has fallen from one in ten to one in fifty or one in a hundred.  Am I getting worse?  NEVER!  Actually I am getting better.  I know that from looking at the pictures I got back.  The difference is I am now taking so many more pictures I can select REALLY good shots, rather than settling for one that was just OK.

So what do you take pictures of?

Most people (and believe me this was me as well) only see one picture.  Point it in the direction that you want and snap, ready for the next stop on the tour.  Well, that is not what “Traveling Shots” are about.  The difference between travel photos and “Traveling Shots” is that you came home with something different.  You stood right next to your next door neighbor, you both took photo’s and when you get back your shots are the ones that people are going to want to look at.

Take a look at this shot of the Opera House in Sydney, Australia.  We walked down to the Opera House and I took most of the “usual” pictures.  I used my post card trick and followed the path along the bay to a point where you could see back to the Opera House and the harbor bridge.  This was a great shot and there was a lot of people taking the same shot I was.  I took all of the “standard” shots and then started playing with options.  I changed the angle, high, low, side to side, etc.  I tried zooming in and out and eventually took this.  I shot several rolls (yes old days) of film just from this one spot.  I put several in the album, but I like this one best.  That is what a Traveling Shot is, something that sets your photo’s apart even with only a few minutes to shoot. 

So it begins.

I guess the first question I need to answer is “what is a traveling shot?”

Well to me the best way to answer that is with an example.  You are far away from home and your tour bus pulls up to a great view of the Eiffel Tower (fill in Grand Canyon, Royal Palace, etc.) as you get off the tour guide says that you need to be back on the bus in 10 minutes.  This is it, your one chance to get the shot.  That is a traveling shot.  You have just a short time and you probably won’t be back here anytime soon so you better get it right.

 Well for me that is most of my photography.  I go someplace on vacation take a few minutes and its over.  When I get back all I have is memories and the photo’s I took.  The problem that I had was that I did not get the shots I was looking for.  Something went wrong.

I moved the camera; got way to much sky and not enough subject; cut off half the building, whatever it was, my photo’s were not what I wanted.  So what can you do.  Well, I got frustrated and bought a few postcards.  Those were the shots that I wanted.  The “classic” shot of where ever I was at the time.  That would be my photo to remember the place.  The problem was my photo’s just did not say what I wanted them too. 

As I was buying some postcards the clerk told me that the picture I had bought was taken near by.  I asked for directions and decided to go there myself.  Within a few minutes I realized the problem.  The professionals that live there KNOW the best spots.  That is why the postcards look so good.  Being at the same spot gave me some chance of trying to show something that they missed, something that said I had been there.

As I started to take my pictures I came up with my first rule of “Traveling shots”.  Get the right location.  That was 25 years ago and even today when I arrive at a location that I want to photograph I go to the tourist shops and look at postcards.  These days I have already looked at the pictures on-line, but that can only tell me so much.  Often it just says something like “View of Big Sur”.  What good is that?  I need to know exactly where that is.

One thing that I have found is that if I stop and buy a few postcards I can strike up a conversation with the clerk and ask where the picture was taken.  At this point they already have made a sale (even if it is only for a few postcards) and they are usually happy to tell me.  I take the cards and start moving to the location he/she told me.  Along the way I have my cards to ask if I am on the right track.  “Oh yes, down this street and just around the corner.  You can’t miss it”.  Great my few dollar investment is paying off.

Now that I have found “THE” spot I am ready to start shooting.  These are my pictures, but I first usually try to get something similar to the postcard.  After all there is a reason that it was shot like that.  If it has snow on the ground and I am here in summer, if it was sunset and I am here at noon, it does not matter.  This is my one chance, I need to make it work. 

I pull out my camera and get to work.  I have achieved Rule #1 - Get to the right place.  The tour buses are another great way to do this.  They know the right spots.  They can get you quickly from one to the next, but you have to be fast!  Your next spot is only a few minutes away.  I like the postcards though.  I can take my time.  When I can I like to mix it up.  Take a tour one day, find the great spots then the next day I can go back to just the places I like. 

Like most tourists, there is not enough time.  So how do I get that “perfect” shot when I only have 5 minutes???

Rule #2 of course!