When everything around you is so new and exciting, how do you focus on what will make good images ?
A photographer of note once said that most of his favourite images were taken within a few miles of home. Perhaps that is because everything was familiar and the only way for something to catch the eye, was for it to be noteworthy. All the smells, sounds and freshness of a new place can confuse the selection process and excite senses that will not record in camera. Perhaps the best advice is to pull up a chair and allow yourself to relax and watch, familarise yourself and begin to focus.
People are a mixed blessing
Not only do you have to worry these days about your right to intrude in the privacy of others, more complex in foreign cultures... but also, are the many hundreds of brightly dressed tourists going to detract from the image? Selecting the times and places that you visit might help to address some of these issues. With street scenes and local pagentry, try to predict the course of events and select a position that will place you ready for the unfolding action. Prefocus on a spot where you decide the best composition will be and wait for the scene to unfold. Think of the background and the position of the crowds, in many of these cases faster shutter speeds to capture the action, combined with wider apertures to reduce the distraction of detail in the background, are advised. Be ready but fluid enough to react to the scene.
Many mediterranean and hot climates produce mid-day contrast impossible to record
We have all seen the scenes with shadows so dark nothing exists in them and light areas burned out from over exposure. Digital cameras have limited dynamic ranges and without the resources of a major production, with house sized reflectors and complex lighting setups to illuminate the dark areas, you are best advised to stick to the early and late parts of the day. When choosing the time to visit these countries, spring and autumn tend to offer cooler temperatures smaller crowds and less harsh lighting. In Italy August is almost a " no go " time. Everyone is off for holidays, the light is far too harsh and the contrast ranges are beyond possible in all but a few hours of the day.
Not all of the light heading towards your lens is good image forming light
When you look at images from a scene with foliage, many of the leaves seem to be white or very light, this is not true because we all know they are quite dark green..... It is the reflections on their shiny surface that causes this. If we can remove that reflection then they would record as we expect them to, and resaturate the scene. A polarising filter will remove many of these reflections and also resaturate the blue sky. Think of it as a form of gate, which when rotated, will allow image forming light and disallow many of the desaturating reflections. Place one on your lens and rotate it watching for the changes in the scene, it will however cut your exposure by about two stops or a quarter.
Polarising brings back the colour and sometimes the addition of a little retouching can remove unwanted crowd control ! Think of your background and try to manouver into a position where the detail, tone and colour can be less obtrusive. Try to view the scene from a position other than your standing height, low angle shots can add interest and fresh perspective.
Memory is cheap, memories are priceless
Whatever you do make sure you take ample digital storage with you, and shoot lots of pictures. To protect against card failure or loss, many Galaxy tablets can accomodate additional memory cards in expansion slots. Add to this a simple card reader, and an OTG cable to link the card reader to the tablet, and you have a way of backing up your images whilst on your break. This also allows you a great way to view your images whilst away, not to mention check the weather forecast for the next few days.
