Drowning, not wading: travel photography

[No gas. Photo: Paul Ash]

Good travel photography is a black art. It’s much harder to take great travel photographs than write a good travel story (unfortunately, many, many people – more than you might imagine – who’ve ever been on holiday or just mooned around somewhere exotic seems to think they’re suddenly travel writers, or photographers).

Spare a thought for the long suffering picture editors (like our hard pressed Aubrey) on the newspapers and magazines of the world who every day have to wade through the swamp and find pictures that are good and that we can use.

Since the age of the digital camera and the tanker-truck explosion of online photo sharing sites, wading has become swimming. Or, more accurately, drowning, not wading.

A great travel photo has to tell the whole story in a flash and create an emotion. For that it has to be properly composed, well lit, and have that je ne sais quoi that sets it apart from the humdrum.

This is easier written about than done but if you’re willing to learn, then read Outisde magazine’s great story on how to do it.

For some reviews of giant-killing cameras, click here.