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Peeking at Bridge of Sighs
with Marco Secchi |
Photography is essentially documenting a point in time by producing your artistic interpretation of it (emphasis on your). Good photography requires patience, dedication, creativity, good luck, and a lot of hard work. The advent of digital photography (as well as social media) has not changed that, all it has really done is open new doors with promises of instant gratification, numerous shortcuts and the ability to click away at no additional cost thereby increasing the likelihood of a good shot. But is that good photography; well yes and no, and really that depends the intent of your photograph. Digital photography has made photography more fun and available to the masses. Many of my personal favourites are from family and friends sharing a special moment from their day. They make me smile and wish I was there, which was their intended purpose.
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| Ha'Penney Bridge, Dublin Photo Tour |
Digital photography means almost everyone carries a camera (cell phone cameras are cameras) and that is definitely true for travellers. Therefore the growth and proliferation of Photography Tours was a natural progression of this reality. Photography tours can range for several hours to photo adventure vacations, tend to be comprised of relatively small groups and are for all levels of photographers. The concept can be appealing: travel around with a pro photographer who can show you all the great places to shoot.
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Barcelona Building Facade with Stefano Markovina
Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona |
Now, I am an enthusiastic amateur with good knowledge of my camera gear so doing a day (or half day) photo tour is not about enhancing my camera skills per say, rather it is about working with a professional photographer who can suggest alternate venues to visit and photograph other than the traditional tourist sites. This is not for everyone but remember local photographers are extremely knowledgeable about both photography and their locale. Ansel Adams stated "A good photograph is knowing where to stand” and local photographers know where to stand. The upside to doing a day or half day photo tour is that they are significantly less expensive than workshop or vacation photography tours, and these photographers definitely know all the off-the-beaten-path shooting locations. A big plus is you can schedule the rest of your trip around your time and other interests.
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The Eiffel Tower
with William Lounsbury |
When hiring a local photographer, make sure they know exactly what you want to photograph. I tend to send them links to my blog and Flickr site, as well as any for my travel companions who will be taking the tour with me. This gives them an idea of the skill levels and interests. Furthermore as the group size is limited (usually 4 or less at a fixed rate), this is a cost effective private tour focused on your interests. Be prepared to walk and use public transport. No chauffeured rides for these type of tours. The best ones will schedule tours for the best light conditions; early mornings, dusk or night. It really is all about the light. Ultimately working with a professional results in some great photographs and yes, the bonus is you will always learn a thing or two about photography! So here's to taking a good photography by knowing where to stand...and a little help does go a long way especially when one has time constraints.
Venice Photography Tour (with Marco Secchi)
A gentleman who knows and loves Venice (http://www.marcosecchi.com/). During his tour, Marco suggested several places to visit to us based on our interests and that definitely helped make this trip memorable. This was the first Photography Tour I took and he is the reason I try to book one in most cities because the experience was so great.
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| Sunrise over The Grand Canal |
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| Piazza San Marco - Up Before the Birds! |
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| Bridge of Sighs - A Little Different Perspective |
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| Sprucing up - Venetian Facades |
Paris Night Photography Tour (William Lounsbury)
I wanted to do some night photos in Paris but I was by myself. I figure it was safer to do a night tour with a photographer (https://www.wlounsbury.com/about/). Great decision. I got some great photos despite it being a fairly breezy night.
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| Louvre Pyramid |
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| Taxi! |
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The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile
Sometimes it's the right location but due to a variety of circumstances it's the wrong time for the perfect tourist photo. |
Barcelona Photography Tour (Stefan Politi Markovina)
The photography tour we did with Stefan (https://www.stefanopolitimarkovina.com/) focused on area surrounding Las Ramblas particularly the El Raval Neighbourhood.
This mural "Together We Can Stop AIDS" by Keith Haring was done in 1989 in Barcelona’s notoriously drug-infested Barrio del Chino. In the mid-90’s, the mural was disintegrating, so a tracing was made, and the mural was transferred to an outdoor wall at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona (2014).
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| Alone! |
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| Statue in Plaza Catalunya with Hotel Barcelona in the background |
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| La Boqueria Market |
Dublin Photography Tour (Darren McLoughlin)
This was a great tour which started out with street or urban art near our hotel that we would never have found. Darren's knowledge about both Dublin and photography made this tour worthwhile and totally enjoyable (www.darrenmcloughlin.com). Add in some great tourist attractions and it was a day well spent. The Street art was so fascinating on this tour that I did a blog specifically about it.
https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.ca/2015/11/the-medium-is-message.html .
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| Chapel Royal and Record Tower, Dublin Castle |
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin |
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| The Morrigan, a Celtic Deity by Friz at Tivoli Theatre Car Park. |
London Photography Tour (with Andrei Botnaru)
Our Photography Tour with Andrei (http://www.andreibotnari.com/) was booked through Aperture Tours and they will design a tour specifically for you as it is a private tour. They recognize that not everyone wants to shoot the tourist attractions. We went to Kentish and Camden Town areas and had a blast.
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| Meeting in Progress! Do Not Disturb. |
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Grand Union Walk Townhouses
Built in 1988 to a design by the renowned architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw. |
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| Bucks Head Roof Garden (Buck Street, Camden) |
