Whenever I travel somewhere, research is so important! Obviously luck plays a certain part in it with things like the weather, etc., but planning and mapping the areas I want to photograph plays a massive role. I read through travel books and blogs and spend a lot of time on Google Maps planning where the best views are and interesting areas of culture and architecture.
I save all the places I want to see as likes on my Google map so that when I’m there, I can just bring up the map wherever I am in the location and I have all the likes dotted around me at my fingertips. It makes navigating to exactly where I need to be super easy and cuts down the need to look much up whilst I’m there.
I like to photograph in the early and late morning and early evening. The light is perfect at these times, softer, less harsh, and generally more beautiful. In the early mornings especially, you see a different side to the cities and towns as they wake up. There are less tourists and a more untouched authentic feel to the locations.
In the afternoons I generally visit restaurants and relax, or any historical landmarks and buildings where I have to be inside. I find the harsh light of the afternoon doesn’t matter for interior photography. The harsh directional light can even enhance interior photos of places like churches as it shines through windows, creating a brighter and more complex light inside.
Now, I always say gear isn’t the most important thing—some of the most famous photographs in the world were taken on film cameras that are years old now—but it definitely helps and makes things easier and quicker as a photographer. I mainly shoot on a Nikon mirrorless with a set of 3 lenses, a 17-35mm, a 24-70mm, and a 70-300mm.
That seems to cover the full range I need for all aspects of my photography. Occasionally, though, I’ll use a 90mm macro and 50mm prime for food and closer, more detailed shots. In fact, a 50mm, whether on my 24-70 or as a prime, is what I shoot 80% of my food photography with. I use the 17-35 for interiors and architecture mainly. The 24-70 is my walkaround lens that stays on my camera most of the time. It has a great range for landscapes to portraits and general street photography. The 70-300 I use for tighter landscape shots where I want to focus on a very specific area of a landscape, or for street photography from a distance and portraits.
I love to document where I go, I like to show off these locations at their most beautiful and interesting. And as much as I’d like people to appreciate my photography as art, I hope more than anything it inspires people to find a love of travel as well. I’d like anyone that sees my photos to be encouraged by them to go to these places, and more, see them for themselves, appreciate them, even photograph them as well.
The world’s a big place and life can fly by, so grab an opportunity to see as much of it as you can. Experience new cultures and different ways of living. It might unlock something in yourself you never knew was there.
