Lessons 3–4: Stephen Alvarez—Adventure
One of the most enjoyable parts of any sort of expedition is working with
the people who live in the places you’re exploring. You’ll be amazed at
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things done.You can also, of course, go on adventures without traveling to the other
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has seen before. And you can go on adventures within just a few miles of
your home. Search out extreme landscapes or unexplored areas of a city,
challenging yourself to view familiar sites with fresh eyes. One of the goals
of photographers is to surprise people and bring them worlds they don’t
expect. Anyone can achieve this goal by applying the idea of exploration and
adventure to everyday life.Scene Setters
In any set of photos, one of the most important things you need is a scene
setter. This would be the opener in a magazine essay, but it also applies to a
family album. It’s nice to have an image that sets the tone for everything that
follows. You might simply shoot a scene in the fog to give a sense of mood
or use a long exposure to capture the blur of lights and the frenetic energy of
a city. Whenever you’re traveling, look for a hotel room with a great view so
that you can shoot right outside the window.If you’re doing a scene setter that’s a landscape, consider putting people
in the image to give viewers a human element to identify with and an idea
of the scale of the environment. You might also try adding a nonhuman
element, such as a plane, to prompt viewers to imagine what it would be like
to experience that landscape in some way. A panorama is another interesting
way to photograph a large landscape; you can assemble one out of multiple
still images or use a camera that shoots panoramas automatically.6KRRWLQJLQ'LI¿FXOW6SRWV
In adventure photography, you often have to think carefully about where to
position yourself to get the image you want. Consider whether you want to
shoot from above or below. In some cases, you may not have much choice
about where to stand. For example, if you’re shooting a mountain climber
from a distance, you may be standing on a small ledge, and your instinct