Making The Most Out of a Photo Trip

Finding the shot that makes each location worth visiting is always the goal when I look for a subject to photograph. The shot, usually the gem, has a few things: First of all, it’s beautiful and well composed. Second, it helps tell a story which evokes the mood, ambience, and provides a visual display of the time, place, and subject.

As you know, I am on the road and have had a few missed opportunities to shoot in the South because of a 7 day bout with a nasty bug (was too stubborn to go to a doctor). Today I am in Florida staying with a friend and the heat index is supposed to reach a fever pitch of 97 degrees, and the air conditioning in my car decided to stop working. Great luck so far, right?

Today I plan to brave the humid air that seems so thick you can cut it with a butter knife, to hopefully find people and places in Central Florida who are also dealing with this heat. I think it would provide an interesting context to my photo trip so far, which has been hot, sickly, and a comedy of errors thus far trying to deal with the heat of summer. It can only get better, right? Or worse (I hope not)?

My point I suppose is that photography isn’t always something comfortable, especially when you’re traveling and dealing with what is being thrown at you. Photography is equal parts work, luck, skill, and fortitude to be able to stick out a location until a kismet of conditions intersect and provide you with something special.

I certainly don’t pretend to be the best photographer in the world, but I certainly love the thrill of the photo trip just as much as the next photographer. Luckily, many other photographers are able to plan ahead much better than I can, so that their photo trips render the best possible scenarios and images.

I came across an awesome YouTube video yesterday called “Ultimate Travel Photography Tips by COOPH (The Cooperative of Photography) that had some great tips that I had never considered. Also, I have put 4 other helpful videos on tips for travel photography from greats likes of National Geographic master Steve McCurry and Mark Edward Harris. If you have some time, or just wanted to get excited about a photo trip you’re taking this summer, these ought to help you out.

Have a great day, and stay cool my friends!