That Time of Day

When taking travel pictures, it cannot be stressed enough that the time of day is so important. Well, there are always occasions when it doesn't matter much about the light -- getting the image is the key factor, although this is more to do with news and reportage photography. But to make tourist pictures become travel photography, the right light to shoot in is paramount.

Recently, I've traveled to Rome, Italy, courtesy of friends who asked me to look after their house. This was luxury; I was there long enough to pick the right time to shoot! So I did, and I got a set of pictures which should do well, since most major tourist attractions can be photographed any number of times because of changing fashions in clothes, cars and even street furniture -- not to mention light.

So here is a rundown of some of the main sights in Rome and when I considered the best times of the day to shoot them, in mid-summer with the sun in the right place for the classic view:

1 Spanish Steps - 2-3pm
2 Colosseum - 5-6pm; 7.30pm even better
3 Trevi Fountain - 2-3pm
4 Castel Sant'Angelo - 10am-2pm
5 Piazza Navonna - 11am-12pm
6 St Peters - 10-11am for views of the church
4-5pm Top of St. Peters Dome

You will get good results at other times, of course, but the kind of results the above times give are something like you will see on postcards everywhere in Rome.

I found that I had to use the 20mm lens a lot more than usual, and surprisingly even the 17mm lens in many places, but not just to get a 'wacky' image. At the Trevi Fountain, for instance, the only way to get the whole thing in frame was to use the 17mm and get right up to centre front, which meant that although there were many hundreds of people there, I didn't get a single one in the shot!

Now I have had the films processed, had a look through them with the usual mixture of happy surprises and gloomy disappointments, and got them off to my main photo library to be looked at for selection. Hopefully they will pick enough and get them online fairly smartly, and that's when it gets really exciting -- waiting for those checks to roll in!

Jeremy Hoare is a freelance travel photographer residing in London, England. Phone/Fax: +44 20 7722 2065. E-mail: jeremyhoare@hotmail.com. Web: www.travelwriters.com/jeremyhoare.

Travel photographers will find profitable information in the newsletter, TravelWriter Marketletter. For info: mimi@travelwriterml.com . Ask for a sample to be sent to you.

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Travel & Aviation

Last month I mentioned that as a travel photographer I specialize, but in very different areas: Travel, Aviation, Flowers & Wildlife and Railways. These areas inevitably overlap, so this month I will outline what Travel and Aviation mean in practical terms.

Travel
I believe the key to creating images that make money is to be active and alert to opportunity, backed up with research about where I am going. Today this means trawling the Internet as well as reading tour guides and background books. Once in a location, I shoot what I think will have a good sales chance first, the obvious, then move on to interpret the place in my own way. The former is where most commercially-minded photographers will overlap, even shoot near-identical pictures. The latter is where all photographers differ.

We all see things in a different way, and with travel the opportunities come at a fast pace when you are on the move. This is where that research pays dividends; you are looking to the next opportunity while shooting the current one.

AVIATION
Most of my travel is abroad, so when I get to the airport I start working.

I have been through London's Heathrow so many times it almost seems I've covered it so well I wouldn't need to bother, but inevitably I see opportunities, so I always take advantage of them. Airports around the world have differing standards of security, and some make it very difficult to get good images of aircraft. Adequate snaps can be taken through several layers of tinted glass, but high quality images are something else. Apart from the colour shift of the tinting, the main problem is reflections, not on the pane you put the camera up to, but the outer one. Try holding up a dark coloured coat or similar material to mask the reflection, and sometimes it is possible to lose them. The colour shift can be sorted out in subsequent scans, but the process does not make the images very amenable for stock libraries to accept. Thankfully some airports have viewing platforms, which can afford good opportunities, but the drawback is you can only get what everyone else has done. If the chance arises, get to such a place at sunrise or before sunset, both great times to shoot image pictures rather than textbook ones.

Taking pictures of military aircraft around restricted zones can have dire consequences for the downright stupid photographer. I would like to take such pictures, but never relish the idea of a night in a police cell, so this is one opportunity I pass up on. Look for warning signs and don't be tempted to shoot unless you are absolutely certain you have the right to do so! If you have an overwhelming desire to shoot military aircraft, go to an airshow where you can do so with impunity.

Jeremy Hoare is a freelance travel photographer residing in London, England. Phone/Fax: +44 20 7722 2065. E-mail: jeremyhoare@hotmail.com. Web: www.travelwriters.com/jeremyhoare.

Travel photographers will find profitable information in the newsletter, TravelWriter Marketletter, produced by Robert Scott Milne. For info: reiko@travelwriterml.com . Ask for a sample to be sent to you.