TRAVEL ADVICE
Before embarking on an epic photography adventure, here are some important things to bear in mind
DO YOUR RESEARCH
Failure to plan is planning to fail, so make sure you do your homework before you head off
It might not be the best part of travelling but planning ahead is essential to help you have the smoothest possible, stress-free journey and get the best photos you can.
Booking your flights and trains well in advance can often be a lot cheaper. Read up on travel guides to find the locations you want to visit and photograph, and put them in order of preference so you can stick to a travel schedule.
Check to find out if your destinations require a visa. You can usually apply online or by post to the relevant embassy.
Don’t overlook seasons in your planning; flights to countries outside tourist season can be a bargain but there may be less to see, or less facilities open. Also, consider the wet and dry seasons when visiting places like Asia and Australia.
TEMPLE RUN
Tourist traps get high footfall for a reason, because they’re often incredibly beautiful
Temples, ancient ruins and other iconic buildings deserve your time, but you’ll need to make sure your shots stand out .
Temples are tourist hotspots and have been photographed many times before. Look for unique angles and compositions, use a quirky focal length, get low for a new angle or find a high perspective to switch things up.
Temples look their best when sunlight brings them to life. Early morning and late afternoon are both good choices, as the low sun creates pleasing shadows that help details to pop out. Avoid direct sun overhead at midday and also overcast days where the contrast will be low.
If you have the space to use a tripod, it will help you take your time composing shots, eliminate camera shake and also to enable the use of long exposures with an ND filter to turn tourists into a blur and remove them from crowded locations.
LOCAL WILDLIFE
From macaque monkeys in Asia to rainbow lorikeets in Australia, animal portraits add great variation to your travel portfolio
If you head out into the countryside on your travels, you may come across the native wildlife. If you have a long zoom lens or are lucky to get close enough, you can take some wonderful animal portraits. Here’s how…
When space isn’t an issue, my go-to lens for wildlife is a 70-200mm f/2.8 but a
