Photography News Issue 32

Photography News | Issue 32 | absolutephoto.com

Technique 30

©KingsleySingleton

Travel photography and holidays don’t always mix, especially if you’re on a family break. Your time will be split between shooting and other activities, and it’s often too much of a compromise. You wouldn’t expect to get your best landscape results while charging up a mountain with the kids, so why would travel shooting be any different? You need time to immerse yourself, but there are ways to get it. Firstly, be protective of your time; try to allot periods of the day when you’ll be out shooting, undisturbed, and stick to them. Fortunately, shooting at dawn and dusk fits in nicely with this, meaning that you can get a lot done before your brood has even had breakfast. If they love you, they’ll understand! The best way to immerse yourself is to take a dedicated photo holiday. This could be something that you book and organise yourself, or it could be a professional service, where you’ll be guided to the best spots at the best times, and with tutoring on hand if required. One such service is offered by Paul Reiffer (paulreiffer.com). As a commercial photographer Paul shot in amazing locations around the world, and decided to use his experience to help others via a range of workshops. “We offer something unique,” says Paul, “all-inclusive photo experiences with small groups (six, tops), luxury transfers, non-shared hotel accommodation, great food and even helicopter shoots where appropriate – all for a fixed cost. We can cater to photographers of all abilities, but each workshop location has a recommended level to ensure all can enjoy it.” Paul’s biggest workshop yet is about to take place in New Zealand in June; an eight-day, all-inclusive affair, starting off in Queenstown, Otago and then travelling through some of New Zealand’s finest scenery including Mount Cook, Lake Tekapo, the Moeraki Boulders, Nugget Point, Lake Wanaka and Glenorchy. Other trips cover Shanghai, California, New York and Dorset – an Iceland workshop is planned too. “What makes us different,” he says, “is we help participants plan themselves and make the best choice in where and when to shoot. We help people get the best from their kit as well as using filters and tailored tutorials on post-processing. All with no hidden costs.” The company offers private tuition for those wanting to shoot in specific spots and benefit from one-to-one time with Paul. You can find full details at paulreiffer.com/workshops. 8. Book a dedicated photo holiday

When you’re back home, there’s always the question of how best to show off your images. One really good option is a photo book, which makes a permanent and very pleasing record of your adventures and certainly beats showing off pics on a TV or tablet any day. Use the same book size and design for several trips and you can create a pleasing set. Sounds great, but there is some effort required for the reward. Like any publishing process, you should start with some strict editing of what’s to be included and in what order. The book could be a chronological account of your journey, but another option is to focus on a specific project you undertook. Either way, put too much in and it will seem vague, so be brutal with your selection and make sure you’re happy with any processing that’s been applied; examine every shot closely – once it’s in print there’s no going back, unless you stump up for a second edition. 9. Turn your travel shots into a book

Once you’ve arrived at your curated selection of pics, do nothing. That’s right, close the folder and leave them for at least a week. Don’t even look at the shots so when come back you have fresh eyes. You’ll be surprised at what you may want to leave out or re-edit. When it comes to picking a book, try a Loxley Colour (loxleycolour. com) Infinity Coffee Table book, which has very attractive lay-flat pages, printed on high-quality, heavyweight paper with a satin finish. The lay-flat look means you won’t lose detail near the spine and can more easily print across it, allowing more expansive views. The book’s hardback covers can be leatherette, linen or feature an image wrap, and titles can be laser etched on. In size, the Infinity range has 10x8in and 12x9in options as well as square-format ten-inch and 12in versions, with the smallest size and a minimum of ten spreads costs just over £70, up to £85 for 30.

©AlissonJonasCardosoGontijo /TPOTY.com

10. Be the best

in a forthcoming exhibition at Greenwich. Staged at the University of Greenwich, the exhibition will be free to see and runs from 22 July to 4 September.

so to make sure you get involved this year, aim your browser at tpoty.com, where you’ll find details on the categories you can enter and the prizes you can win. Entries can be submitted online, or in the post, and there’s a special section for young photographers to enter, too. If you fancy some inspiration and want to see how previous winners impressed the judges of the competition, you can see 2015’s winning entries

If you’re particularly pleased with your efforts, isn’t it time that other people saw them? It’s great to show them off in a book or an online gallery, but the ultimate has to be in the winner’s gallery of the UK’s biggest travel competition, Travel Photographer of the Year. The 2016 competition kicks off on 12 May,