Watching and waiting

Even when you only have a short period of time it's worth waiting a couple of minutes here and there to complete a picture.

I was in the middle of a mad rush around the Japanese countryside on assignment for a magazine. Because it was a writing as well as photography assignment it meant I had to cover quite a few things in a few short days.

I also had my wife and two young boys along for the ride so it was bedlam all round! One place we visited was an aquarium called Marine Park Nixe. It was a cloudy old day and not much good for outdoor photography but the inside of the aquarium provided some interesting compositions.

I really liked this tank and the contrast between it and the bright blue tanks in the background. I took this shot but one look and I knew without any people in it there wasn't that much life in the image, or any point in having the background tanks. By themselves they weren't much of interest because you can't rally see any fish in them from this distance.

So I hung around for five minutes or so and waited. Sure enough a couple of people started walking through. I already had my aperture, zoom settings and composition set so as soon as this woman walked into the frame I quietly lifted the camera up to my eye and clicked.

When you have people (or any object really) in a silhouette you need to make sure that it's really clear what the object is, otherwise it's just a big black lump.

With people you need to have them in profile so you can see the outline of a human face clearly.

What do you think? I think the second shot is a much better travel image with a person in it. The first one is more a shot of the tanks themselves, whereas the second one is a picture of people interacting with the tanks. A subtle difference that's worth waiting a couple of minutes for.

Oh and in case you're wondering why I didn't use my family as models. If you think they're gonna sit around and wait while Dad takes pictures you've got another think coming! They head off to do their own thing. Saves a lot of tears and arguments. :)

Have a great weekend and don't forget to get your entries in for the photo comp. Scroll down to the kookaburra for details.

Guest Blogging

Here at Have Camera Will Travel I try to firmly place the emphasis on photography and the subject. I'm a hushed voice in the background and I try to give insights into how I work but I'm not the main subject. Well I wasn't until today. I was asked to do a guest blog over at PSI Tutor on how one goes about following a passion to make it a career and this is my effort. Enjoy!

Markets

Over the past few months I've made quite a few posts about photographing people in foreign countries, and usually I recommend that you approach people to form some kind of rapport with them first. I find that this often leads to the most pleasing portraits.

But not always. As with everything in photography there's no hard and fast rule. That's why whenever I'm out photographing people I always tend to have a telephoto lens on the camera. It enables you to quickly grab something that catches your eye.

I find that most photographs that require a wide-angle are slower happening, giving me time to change lenses if I need to. The things that require a longer lens are usually fleeting moments where you need to have the camera up to your eye in an instant. That's why I always have a telephoto attached to my camera when it's in the bag as well - so I can quickly pull it out and snap.

Take these guys counting money. Now I could just as easily have walked up to them, had a chat and totally ruined their count! You know how hard it is to count money when somebody's yabbering at you? I decided that his income was more important than my photo and sat back.

It's pretty hard to be inconspicuous in these sorts of situations so they knew I was there but weren't perturbed in any way. As I usually do I gave a quick smile and asked with my eyes whether it was OK to take a shot and they were fine. Originally I thought about focussing in tightly on the three bean counters but then pulled back to include their surroundings, including the two guys at the top of the frame - one fast asleep and the other watching the world go by. I like the contrast between the three so intent on commerce and the other two just lazing a Saturday morning away.

This was taken at the Saturday bazaar in the Nepalese town of Namche, high in the Himalayas. It's a wonderful place to find colourful characters selling everything from chillies to yak's heads. It's quite touristy these days but in some ways that makes it even easier to photograph because the locals are used to crazy foreigners with big lenses.

The main thing you have to be careful of when using the telephoto lens is your shutter speed. If it's quite dark your shutter speed will drop dramatically and you'll end up with camera shake. Keep an eye that you're not going too slow and if necessary bump up the ISO. Photography like this really calls for natural light so you want to avoid flash if you possibly can. It's hard enough to count the day's takings when you've got a foreigner yabbering at you, but even harder if you've just been blinded by the light!

And if you missed yesterday's post we've got a photography competition going - scroll down for details!

An early Christmas present!

I'm actually surprised I haven't posted this pic before now. It's one of my all-time favourites, and one of my most popular prints. I love the cheeky grin on this kookaburra's face and the lovely blue sky.

When I started this blog just a few short months ago I had no idea it would be so well received. I am truly grateful for all those who have taken the time to comment, email me and even stop me in the street to tell me they love the blog. It truly is humbling and, time and health permitting, I certainly plan to keep on blogging away.

As a thankyou to all my readers I want to give you something. Well unfortunately not all of you because that would be a little bit impossible. I've got a gorgeous 8x12 inch print of this beautiful little guy that I would like to give away as a thankyou and early Christmas present.

I figured the fairest way to choose the recipient would be to have a little competition. A travel photography competition. I want you to hit me with your best photos and show me how you've used a technique or an idea you got from the blog. Show me that all my waffling on about the difference between a telephoto and wide-angle lens has sunk in, that you've discovered how to approach strangers for a photograph.

When you've got your masterpiece you can stick it up on the Flickr group (tag your entries kookaburra photo comp) for others to see and enjoy, or if you're feeling shy just email it to me at info at dymond dot com dot au. If you decide to email it to me keep it reasonably small - say full screen (1024x768) size and make your Subject Header Kookaburra Photo Comp.The competition will be open until the 24th Decemeber when I will make a decision and send the lucky winner their print. I'll even sign it if you'd like!

Unlike other onerous photo competitions I'm certainly not going to use your photograph for anything, take away your copyright or otherwise do anything nasty. :) So come on all you 1000 or so readers - hit me with your best travel pics.

It's raining, it's pouring...

and the photographer better not be snoring! Just because it's raining doesn't mean you should put your cameras away.

This post is inspired by the tropical downpour that turned my back yard into a swimming pool this morning. Here in far north Queensland we're headed into the wet season. This means thunderstorms, torrential rain and the possibility of cyclones (hurricanes or tornadoes depending on where you're from.)

Now all of this sounds rather gloomy for the outdoors photographer but it's actually really good news. Wet weather is a great chance to get out and get shots that nobody else has - because they're all hiding indoors in the dry!

Take this photo here. Taken during some recent flooding, there's actually a bike path next to that sign which is completely underwater. I was sitting on top of a bridge looking down and watching as cars tried to make their way through the floodwaters. A car and a bike sign - not so interesting.

Then I noticed a couple of likely lads come under the bridge and, lucky for me, they were on bikes. I held my breath as I watched to see if they would go anywhere near the sign and they did. Hooray. Now we have a great shot with a bit of humour and a lot of insight into what life in Cairns is like during the wet season.

Now of course you need to be prepared. It sounds pretty obvious but firstly you need to keep yourself reasonably dry so you don't catch a cold. But keeping your camera gear dry is just as important. Rather than be changing lenses all the time I actually find it easier to have the camera out and around my neck with a short telephoto zoom on. How do I keep the camera dry if it's out? With a plastic bag.

It sounds silly I know but bear with me. Get a big ziploc plastic bag - one that will fit your camera and lens inside it. Cut a whole (for the front of the lens to stick through) at the bottom of the bag. Put your camera in the bag lens first and poke the front of the lens through that hole then get a rubber band and wrap it around the front of your lens, sealing the plastic bag to your camera. Now your camera is fully rain proof and you can put your hands up through the mouth of the ziploc plastic bag to operate it.

If you have a lens hood you can put that on the lens over the plastic bag to further protect the front lens element.

Works like a charm. Ziplocs work really well but any old plastic bag will do. If you're not really familiar with the controls of your camera you'll want a clear bag so you can see what you're doing, if you know your camera inside out then the bag can be any colour you want.

Doing it this way saves you having to hold up an umbrella every time you get your camera out. For my camera backpack I have a rain cover over it that protects the gear inside. It came with the bag but if you don't have one just go to a camping store and get one for a regular backpack - or for those who like to DIY another big garbage bag should do the trick.

Always wear either big gumboots or beach sandals so that you can wade through water to get to the best position for a photo. Don't worry too much about getting wet and get out there and get some shots that nobody else will have. Just remember that these are all going to be travel shots, not commercial tourism shots. It never rains in tourism ads so don't expect the local government tourism body to come knocking down your door to license the photos!

Using your family as models

No doubt about it - photography is a pretty solo pursuit. We get up at horrible hours of the morning, have our eyes stuck in a viewfinder all day and can be heard to emit incomprehensible rumblings about f stops and shutter speeds.

Which is great if we're on our own, but often when we go on holiday we take the whole family with us. And their idea of fun is not to sit around while Mum or Dad spend twenty minutes setting up a tripod and waiting for the light to change.

So how do you balance the needs of your family with your need to take photos? Bribery is the answer! You need to photograph your kids as much as possible because your other half will never complain that you're taking too many pictures of the precious little tykes. :)

Seriously though, how your children react when on holiday is a story in itself and one that needs to be told. From a commercial point of view kids on holidays are popular sellers, and more importantly from a personal point of view you'll have lots of great memories for the future.

My son is quite used to being Dad's lackey. Stand here, look that way, smile, wave. You get the picture. I really liked the way the fence led off into the distance so used a telephoto lens to compress the perspective. The shallow depth of field from the telephoto also means that my son Mirai is very sharply in focus and everything behind him is blurred. That combined with the lovely backlight putting a halo around his head and you've got instant Mum-pleasing portrait shot. Which then gives you some leeway when you want to go off on your own and photograph.

Don't lose the dreams

Travel is a dream for all of us. Although I don't look like it here as I struggle to breathe in the rarified atmosphere of the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro - I'm loving it!

Not only is this my job, it's my passion. It was my love long before it was my profession. Before I even had half a thought of making it a living. If I had to give up either photography or travel I would chuck the cameras in the bin and keep that passport full of visa stamps! Actually I'd sell the cameras on eBay to pay for another trip. :)

Heresy on a photography blog I know. Having said that though, my photographs aren't just examples of what I did and saw, they are records of a fantastic time. They are pictures of wonderful experiences in my life - as are all of our travel photographs.

Where I'm going with this is....the other day my son's teacher's computer crashed. She lost all the images she'd taken of the children in their first year of school. Hundreds of pictures which are such an important record of the life of our kids. She was devastated. As would any of us be losing a hard drive of images.

Which begs the question, are you prepared for your computer crashing? Do you have a second copy of all of your pictures? Do you regularly back up your memories. If you lose all your pictures of Africa could you afford to go back and take them all again? Not if you make as much (little?) money as me!

So I am imploring you to not lose your precious photographs - both travel and otherwise. Have at least 3 copies of all your pictures. One on the hard drive of your computer, one on an external hard drive and one on a DVD. Send the DVDs to a trusted relative so that if your house burns down (these things do happen!) you will still have copies of all your pictures.

Computers can and do fail all the time. I lost 4 laptop hard drives in two years. If I hadn't had a backup I would have lost everything. Even though if I had to choose between photography and travel I would choose travel, the images I've already taken are my babies. Precious as images yes, but even more important as memories of the experiences I've had. Do everything you can to make sure you don't lose that.

If you're searching for a good way to categorise and keep track of your digital pictures I would highly recommend Peter Krogh's book DAM: Digital Asset Management for Photographers. It will change your life - literally. I have no affiliation with the guy, just loved the book.