Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-10-18)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 12 October 2019 39

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Getinsured!

Skippinginsuranceis justnot

worththerisk.Makesureyouhavegood

camerainsurancewhenyougoabroadand

lookintothetermsandconditions.Havea

goodshoparound.If you’reworried

beforehand,contactthecompanybyphone

anddiscussyourparticularneeds. AP

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Researchbeforehand

Theinternetis a greatresearch

toolfortravellers.Whetherforreadingup

onthemainsightsandattractionsyouwish

tosee,orknowingwhenis thebesttime

togo.Youcanalsolookatthephotosthat

otherphotographershavetakentogiveyou

anideaofwhattoexpectandwherethe

bestviewpointsmaybe.Butdon’toverplan

tothepointthatyoulosethespontaneity

andforgettofollowyournose,anddon’t

setouttosimplyduplicate the images you

havealreadyseen.AP

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Packwisely

Dependingonthekindoftrip

you’reon,chooseyourkitaccordingly.If you

havea basesuchasa hotelyoucanpack

moregearknowingyoudon’talwayshaveto

carryit withyouallofthetime.If youdon’t

mindthehassleofswitchinglenses,three

orfourfastprimelenseswillgiveyoumore

creativeoptionsthana singlezoom.A good

walkaboutzoomsuchasa 24-105mmoffers

moreconvenience(thoughmaynotsave

muchweight).Butif youchoosethisoption

trytoalsotakeonesmallfastprimelens

suchasa 50mmf/1.4whichwillcomeinto

itsownforlow-lightphotographyand

shallow-depth-of-fieldportraits.AP

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Takeashoulderbag

Whilebackpacksareidealfor

carryingkitfromA toB theyaren’tgreatfor

accessingyourkitin a hurryandarealso

morevulnerabletotheftin busyurban

environments.Shoulderbagsareeasier

tokeepaneyeonandofferquickaccess

toyourkitsoyoucanquicklygrabyour

cameraorswitchlensesasopportunities

presentthemselves.AP

77

Lookforahigh

viewpoint

Whenvisitinga newcityforthefirsttime

trytofinda highviewpointfromwhich

togetanoverviewofthesurroundings.

Observatorytowersandrooftopbarsand

restaurantsareidealplaces,buttrytopick

open-airspotswithnoglassin thewaythat

wouldcauseunsightlyreflections.Trytogo

firstthingin themorningorlatein the

afternoontogetthebestlight.AP

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Shootportraitsinshade

oragainstthelight

If shootingportraitsofthelocalcharacters

trytophotographthemin theshade,to

avoiduglyshadowsandsquinting.Failing

that,turnthesubject so that the sun is

behind them.AP

Travel

Fromwhattopackto

approachingstrangersand

buyinginsurance,we

have a whole host of tips

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Approachpeople
forportraits
You’llmeetsomeinterestingcharacters
onyourjourneybutmanytravellers
areshyaboutaskingthemfora picture.
Mostpeopleareflatteredtobeasked
andsayyestosuchrequests,especially
if youhavetakenaninterestin what
theyaredoingorselling.In some
touristyplaceslocalswillwanttocharge
forphotos,andyoumayconsidera
modestpaymenttobea fairtrade.
Alternatively,if thesubjectis a trader,
buyingsomethingfromtheirstall or
shop may be preferable.AP

69

Goattherighttimeofday

Whereveryougoduringyourtravelswilllook

completelydifferentdependingonthetimeof daythat

youvisitandthedirectionthatthelightis comingfrom.

If you’retakingthetroubletomakea specialvisitto

a majorlandmarklookonGoogleMapstoworkout

whetherit is bestvisitedin themorningorafternoon.

Otherwisebesuretoexploreyoursubjectfroma variety

of anglestocapturethewaythelightfallsonit. Don’t

beafraidtoshootintothelighttoo– youcangetsome

veryatmosphericimagesthisway– whileside-lightingis

great for revealing texture and casting long shadows.AP

71

Localknowledge

Althoughguidebooksaregreat

foradvicethereis nothingquitelikea

local’sknowledgeforgettingthebest

locationsandviewpointswhenit comes

tolandscapes.Thisvolcanoshotin

EcuadorBañoswastakenearlyone

morningontheroadsidewiththehelp

of a localtourguideto offer advice on

thebestspot.AP

72

Photographthe

details

Totellthestoryof a destinationand

holdpeople’sattentionyouneeda

variedsetof pictures.Don’tforget

tointersperseyourwideshotsand

landscapeswithclose-updetailsof

buildings,food,jewelleryandtrinkets,

interestingsignsandanythingelsethat

catchesyoureye.Thesehelptobuildup

a pictureof a culturethatyoudon’t get

from just the scenic shots.AP

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Juxtapositions

Lookforinterestingjuxtapositionsthatshow

contrastingsidestoa culture.Forexampleanold

buildingnexttoa modernone,orsomeonein traditional

dressusinga mobilephone.Keepaneyeoutfor

interestingsigns,billboardsandpostersthatare

incongruousoraddhumourtowhatis happeningin

frontof them.Youmayhavetowaitfortherightperson

to step into the scene to make the image work.AP

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