Photography News issue 22

Technique 28

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

The choice is yours, but there’s so much information out there that it’s dangerous not to use it. It’s not just online and in books that you can find out valuable tips onwhen andwhere to go. All the TPotY photographers here agree that guides are very useful, with their knowledge of the location and customs helping your shoot run smoother. It should always be local guides that you turn to though, not tour guides. Philip continues, “I would always use the local guides. They can save you a lot of time and money, open doors and explain what you’re doing in a language people understand. As lovely as walking around off the beaten track is, for me, I’d always prefer the option of a local to make sure I don’t miss opportunities. That said, you must still follow your own instincts, but listen to local people first.” Simon Morris recalls, “without a guide, I could never in a million years have travelled all the way to Siberia, stayed with Evenki Herders and brought home something unseen like an image I took of a young Nenets boy playing on the Tundra in -40ºC weather. If I’d attempted to travel that far in Russiawith no guide it would be like stepping onto some foreign planet!” Travelling candids Many successful travel pictures are of a documentary style, which uses street scenes and candid portraits to show a culture up close, and with good reason; the local dress, the interaction and the way the community shops, eats and entertains itself is a rich human tapestry. This takes guts to shoot, much like any street photography, but there are ways to make this easier on yourself and the people you’re photographing.

Above If you have time, building a rapport with your subject can really pay off.

I would always use the local guides. They can save you a lot of time and money, open doors and explain what you’re doing in a language people understand

For starters don’t be shy – interacting with the population, and showing your own humanity, makes shooting a lot easier (and a more rewarding experience) than operating remotely, like some anthropological sniper. “Empathy and politeness” says Tim Taylor, “are much more important than confidence. I feel too much confidence can come across as arrogance and that makes people defensive. But if you can relate to people and understand them, that then puts them at ease and can lead to some truly special situations.” In particular, you can often have more luck by not shooting straight away, but instead asking for directions, or information about the local area, or the person’s job. “Luck, guile and technique all play their part in good candids, and personally I like to take things slow,” says Simon Morris. Peter Karry recalls an incident in Kolkata which shows how

interaction leads to great images: “we were walking through a poor area, when this chai vendor called us over to his stall, sat us down, and insisted on making us all a fresh cup, free of charge. This meant that a lot of the other locals then gathered round to see what was happening, and created lots of great opportunities for us.” If you can’t play the long game, success comes from a mixture of observation and good technique. Just like regular street photography, you have to be ready to shoot, so either set up your exposure beforehand or shoot in program mode; as a creative photographer you’re advised to shoot in manual or aperture-priority, which is fine if you have time, but candids require speed, so relying on the camera isn’t a bad thing. One set to love Because travel photography is so closely linked to documentary

shooting, it really helps to have a brief and create coherent sets of images. If you do this, in addition to most people’s catch-all ‘take pictures of Barcelona’ way of shooting, you’ll not only have a good record of your trip, but some excellent photo- essays, too. Win-win. Your project could be anything and while there’s nothing wrong with a preplanned idea, going back to those first impressions is a good way to make sure don’t lose sight of the atmosphere that’s so important. Projects don’t have to be subject based, of course, and a satisfying series of images can also be made by composing in a consistent way, using certain, distinctive angles, or focal lengths, or even processing shots in a themed way. Of course, a set needs to be pruned and edited down to what really works, and it’s important to eject anything that’s not gelling with the other images, even if it’s a good shot in its own right.