Digital SLR Photography - UK (2019-10)

PhotoMasterclass

Masteroftravel

goingabouttheirlivesin theirnatural

environment.What'ssofantasticabout

travelphotographyis youneverhaveto

venturefartofinda newstorytotell.

WhenI firststartedtravellingwitha

camera,theideaofwalkinguptostrangers

andaskingif I couldtaketheirphotograph

filledmewithdread.ButonceI overcame

thatinitialfear,shootingportraitsoflocal

peoplebecameanimportantandrewarding

partofmywork.I alsorealisedthatthe

peoplewhoinhabittheplacesI travel

throughsayasmuchaboutthoseplaces

asthearchitectureandlandscape.

Thekeywhenphotographingpeopleis

nottofeelintimidatedorrushedsoyou

end-upsnappinginsteadoftakinga

controlledandconsideredportrait.Slow

down,staycalmandthinkaboutwhatyou’re

doing.Mostpeoplelovetoseetheirimage

onthebackofa digitalcamera,whichgives

youtoperfectopportunitytocheck

progressandsuggestyoutake‘justa few

more’ if you think you can do better.

IT’SEASYTOPRODUCE T RAVEL

IMAGESLIKEEVERYONEELSE,

BUTNOTSOEASYTOCOMEUP

WITH SOMETHING NEW

S

UCCESSFULTRAVELPHOTOGRAPHY

beginsat homein theformofresearch

andplanning;themoreyouknowabout

a placebeforeyougetthere,thebetter

equippedyou’llbetogetthebestfromit.

Checkguidebooks,visitpicturelibrary

websitesandimage-sharingsitessuchas

Flickrand500pxforideasandinspiration,

speaktootherphotographersandcompile

shotliststhatyoucanreferto.If youhave

Wi-Fi anda laptoportablet,thatresearch

cancontinuewhileyou’reonthetriptoo.

Thequalityoflightis usuallywhat

differentiatesanaveragetravelshotfroma

greatone,soasalwaysit shouldbegiven

priority.If youhavea lazylie-inandheadout

at 11am,you’renotgoingtogetthebestlight.

I muchprefertobeoutforsunrisewhenthe

light’sgreatandeverywhereis quiet,then

relaxortravelbetweenlocationsduringthe

middle/hothoursandventureoutagain

around4pmuntilsunset/twilight.

It’seasytofindthesunriseandsunset

timesforwhereveryouarein theworldby

checkingonline,andit reallyis worthmaking

theefforttodragyourselfoutofbedbecause

thequalityoflightonlygoesdownhillonce

thesunrises!Yourresearchshouldalsohelp

youtoestablishif keysubjectsorviewsare

betterat thebeginningorendoftheday.

Themostinterestingplacestovisitand

photographtendtobesointeresting

becausethecultureis verydifferentfrom

ourown.Wehavetheopportunitytowitness

howotherpeoplelive,andgeta glimpseof

theirownuniquetraditions.Lookforways

tocapturethis.Attendfestivalsorother

celebrations,visitlocalhomes,markets

andreligioussitesandfindoutif there

arecustomsuniquetothearea.

It’seasytoproducetravelimageslike

everyoneelse,butnotsoeasytocomeup

withsomethingnew– especiallywhen

you’revisitinga populardestination– so

be prepared to take creative risks. Try new

techniquesandideas,shootsubjectsthat

arealientoyousoyourskillbaseexpands.

Youshouldreturnfromeachtripfeelinglike

you’velearnedsomethingnewandyou’rea

betterphotographerforit.

Goodtravelphotographsshouldtella

storyandinformtheviewer.Obviously,not

everyshotyoutakecandothat,butyou

shouldalsolookforopportunitiestocapture

imagesthatrevealsomethingabouta place

beyondwhata particularscenelookslike.

Streetscenescantella storybecausethey

includesomuchinformation.Socan

portraitsthatcapturetheinteraction

between local people – at work, in markets,

LEE FROST

ForthelasttwodecadesLeeFrost

hasbeenregardedasoneofthe

UK’sbest-knownlandscapeand

travelphotographers.Hespends

severalmonthsa yearexploring

theglobewithhiscameraandhisimagesare

marketedworldwideforusein travelbrochures,

magazines,books,advertisingcampaigns,

postersandcalendars.Leeis a prolificauthor

withover1,000articlesand 20 bookstohis

nameandhasorganisedandledmorethan

200 workshops and tours.www.leefrost.co.uk

BIOGRAPHY

PROFESSIONALLANDSCAPEAND

TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHERLEEFROST

SHARESHIS INVALUABLE EXPERTISE

ALL

IM

AGE

S: LEE

FROST

66 DigitalSLR PhotographyOctober 2019

MYANMAR:FormerlyBurma,thisAsiancountryis just

amazingandit’speoplefriendlyandwelcoming.There’s

a greatvarietyoflocationsandsubjects,fromtheancient

templesofBagantotheleg-rowingfishermenofInle

Lake.Therearealsogreatportraitopportunitiesandthe

youngBuddhist monks are great fun to photograph.

CUBA:I’vebeentoCubamaybe 15 timesnowandit

stillfillsmewithinspiration.I usuallystartin Havana–

I’ma suckerforoldAmericancars– thenheadtoVinales,

themaintobaccogrowingregion.TheVinalesValleyis a

UNESCOWo r l dH e r i t a g eSiteandI lovethesmallfarms

there to shoot portraits of the farmers and their families.

LEE’S FAVOURITELOCATIONS