Taking Travel Photos

Hi there! The June theme for the Photography group is 'Travel Photos'. Many of us go somewhere for vacation may it be abroad or just in town near you. Of course we take with us a useful gadget- the camera. We take photos of ourselves, families, places and things we do during the trip. Now, you have seen the photos of the place in postcards and you're in awe on how beautiful the pictures were compared to your perhaps blurry, shaken, and out of focus pictures. I'm not saying all the time since I am a victim of this myself. It's fine if you have a digital camera and you have the patience to delete the ones you didn't like but if you use a roll of film in some case it's a total waste of money. Ok, the experience is still the important thing but if you are interested in making the most of your travel by capturing essential and worth keeping images, have a read through.

I found these helpful tips and have shared them to the group. I'd like to share it here too.

1. Look for typical scenes in the place you are visiting. This picture of the Rialto showed the number of tourists who flocked to Venice. However you have to be careful not include distracting images and in this picture the woman's face.

2. If the subject is too far look for relevant foreground framing. Although in this picture the rooftop of the restaurant below wasn't the most pretty foreground, I thought the horizon, blue sky and the deep blue sea showed the beauty of Lanzarote, Spain.

3. Take pictures when there's less people about. If you are in a beach and a good sunrise is expected then get up early. The picture on the left was taken in San Jameos del Agua in Lanzarote, Spain. It's also better to take photos in a higher point to capture the full length of the surrounding.

4. Although it is hard to beat postcards pictures you can always try. Let's say this picture of Singapore at night. I remembered taking it several times due to camera shake and also had to remove the flash to capture the lights in each skyscraper. Only use flash when needed.

5. Take time to get a better viewpoint. This picture of the waterfall in Gordale Scar, Malham in Yorksire is uninteresting. The other photo showing the second waterfall, surrounding wall and some greenery gave a true feeling of depth compared to the first.

6. Watch out for funny moments. Also include people and quirky photos of animals or plants. This one I call it, 'Lily and a friend.'

7. And if you love the food, don't forget to take photos of it. Makes me hungry now.

8. Try to take photos based on your own observations and feelings. I like this picture of my hubby and our dog while resting during a climb on Malham Cove. They were obviously exhausted but my dog seem to be full of energy. When I included this for the 2009 calendar, relatives wondered why they were in the calendar.We didn't tell them beforehand I made it.

9. If you like the place take plenty of pictures of it. Include locals, architecture and way of life. In here the house of the artist Cesar Manrique is a haven of all his works as an architect and metal artist. He designed his house and had it built in a solidified magma under the ground. The sitting area, kitchen, pool and garden were all incorporated using the structure and contours of the surrounding. Enjoy your pictures. Source:Take Better Photos