Photography News issue 17

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

MASTERCLASS: TRAVEL David Noton We’re tapping into Canon ambassador DavidNoton’s fount of expertise to help you and your club bag the top prize. Fresh back froma trip to Vietnam, we find out howDavid takes thosememorable travel photos

David’s top tips LIGHTENUP “The ability to put

the ISO on my Canon EOS-1D X up really high and produce pictures in really dark, dingy places, such as in huts or shacks, opens up all sorts of photographic opportunities that ten years ago we couldn’t have dreamt of.”

A travel photographer by trade, David doesn’t stay in one place for too long and there is always another adventure on the horizon. His most recent trip saw him explore Vietnam, travelling from Ho Chi Minh City up to the country’s iconic caves in the north. It’s his fourth time visiting the south-east Asian destination and from his pictures it’s easy to see why he keeps revisiting; with its rich landscape and culture there are endless photo opportunities to explore. Travelling is in David’s blood and although he is more than content photographing landscapes on his own doorstep, it’s the excitement of exploring that motivates him to travel. “There’s no getting away from the fact that travel can really give your photography a shot in the arm of adrenaline,” he enthuses. “The adventure and culture shock gives you real stimulation and I’m just addicted, I can’t imagine my life without travel.” Despite only just returning from Vietnam, David is already busy planning his next trip, inspiration for which normally comes from other photos. That for David is the absolute essence of great travel photography, creating pictures that make the viewer want to be there. Taking your photos from holiday snaps to serious travel photography shots is a true skill; it’s all about getting more intimately acquainted with a place to capture what it truly means to you. To that end, although David has a plan before he sets off, he always leaves scope for soaking up the culture of a place. “I always give myself the time to get out and about and really try and get beneath the skin of a place,” says David. “It’s difficult to

YOURAPPROACH “I think people skills are crucial. Travel photography has to inevitably involve walking up to complete

strangers, getting their consent and cooperation and

photographing them. Developing a way of doing that, one that you’re happy with and secondly one that gets the results you need is what it’s all about.” STUNNING PORTRAITS “One lens that I absolutely love for my travel photography is a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L lens. I love using that for portraiture because of its really minimal depth- of-field. I often use it shooting wide open at maximum aperture and it gives this lovely out of focus bokeh background, which is very appealing. That’s one of my favourite lenses.” BE UNIQUE “No matter how many times a place has been photographed, there’s still scope for doing something different and unique to your own vision. I really believe that, I have to believe that otherwise you’d never go anywhere because everything’s been photographed before. It isn’t easy to produce something that is unique to your own vision, but is so much more rewarding than coming back with just another shot of a well- known view from the standard perspective.”

potential everywhere. You have to force yourself to settle down and not blast away, that never works. Focus on producing one picture that says it all.” So you’ve booked your trip, but what to pack? Travelling light and paring your kit right down will give you more photographic freedom, just by being physically less restricted. “On this last trip to Vietnam, we were jumping on and off trains and if we’d had too much with us, that would restrict flexibility,” explains David. For the trip in question, David’s kitbag contained just two Canon lenses: an EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM standard zoom lens and an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM telephoto lens, along with his Canon EOS-1D X. “With just that set-up you’d be pretty well equipped for virtually every eventuality, sometimes less is more.”

produce anything photographically worthwhile if you’re moving on every day. Often, it’s better to travel less and see more.” The same goes for when deciding where to point your camera. David advises to avoid snapping away trying to capture it all. “I was at a fishing village in Vietnam at dawn when they were just landing the catch,” he begins. “There was so much activity all around it was difficult to know where to start because there was photographic

The adventure and culture shock gives you real stimulation and I’m just addicted, I can’t imaginemy lifewithout travel

π To find out more, go to www.davidnoton.com.

Watch and learn

Handily for us photographers, David Noton has put onto paper what makes a successful image in his new book The Vision . Get inside the mind of one of the country’s best- loved landscape

and travel photographers to learn how David creates those winning images. It’s all illustrated with examples from David’s impressive back catalogue of work and can be bought from his website for £25. www.davidnoton.com/product/539/The_Vision

Photography News | Issue 17