Travel photo tips

Today I’d like to talk a bit about Travel photo tips. Dreaming about some of the places that I have been fortunate enough to have visited.

I visited Paris in 2004 and really wanted to feature the Eiffel Tower in as many images as possible. One of my hopes was to frame the famed tower in a doorway. Although I searched tirelessly for days, I couldn’t seem to find the right doorway. But, I did stumble upon this little beauty.

Here is what I found near the Pont de Bir bridge which crosses the Seine river. It isn’t common knowledge that a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty can be found on the Seine. It’s really strange to be floating down the river and all of the sudden, Bam!, there she is.

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and started shooting photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Actually on the bridge is this very cool sculpture:

The statue in front of the picture is “France Renaissante” by Holger Wederkinch, which was donated to the city of Paris by the city’s danish community in 1930. During the time I was first there the light was a bit muddy, so I went to dinner and came back just after sunset to see the statue and the tower looking very monolithic and placing them against the sky, achieved a very dramatic image. My tip?

Photograph the same image at different times if possible & the first rule of travel photography is the always shoot first, don’t ever think about coming back.

You never know when you might not be able to come back. This image was unique in that I was able to come back at two different lighting times. Very rare.

My next two images concern Jane Austen.

She is interned at Winchester Cathedral in the southern part of England. I was fortunate enough to spend an afternoon in the Cathedral where I stumbled into a tour that was stopped at the large tombstone of the literary giant.

Tourists were very reverent and tried not to step on her actual tombstone. The light was beautiful and dramatic. Happy accidents seem to happen to those who prepare and look for them.

Tip 2.

Do your homework. Winchester Cathedral is famous enough by itself, but I had done my research and was looking for Jane Austen’s final resting place. That way I was able to combine interesting images from one place. The Cathedral and Jane Austen!

Back to Paris!

I wanted my wife to experience the seeing the Eiffel Tower from as dramatic a viewing position as possible. So, we took a taxi alongside the Seine and emerged near the Embarcadero. Here’s the view as you get close to the tower.

It’s a great place to view from as you can see by all the people lined up to look. Here’s Tip 3.

Take your scenic photo, then back up and take a photo of everyone taking a photo or looking. It’s a great scene-setter, plus I love people watching. Notice all the different characters in this photo. I think my favorite is the lady with the wings. See if you can spot this angel.

Finally, we visit Trafalgar Square and Lord Nelson’s monument, especially one of the massive lion’s at the base of the 170 foot tall tower. My last tip is about patience.

The best thing about my travel editor at the Orange County Register, Gary Warner, was his trust in the photographers that he traveled with. He always allowed us as much time as we needed to wait for the perfect moment to make the perfect photograph.

For this photo , he brought a book and sat down as I waited about 10 minutes to see what these kids would do that were climbing all over one of the lions. When we arrived, kids were climbing over another lion, but I wanted to place Big Ben in the background. So, I waited!

I think Yoda said, “There is no try, only do,” So, get out there and do it!