As travel became easier and tourism to these same places took off Travel Photography changed from being a glimpse of the exotic and strange to providing enticing and aspirational images for brochures and travel guides. However until relatively recently it was still the work of a few professional photographers who would head out to locations at the request of tour companies and travel guide publishers.

However in this age of digital photography and cheap access to the technology to take potentially stunning pictures I think Travel Photography needs to redefined again. When many locals in destinations that you or I might visit have access to photography and don’t have to travel anywhere to take great shots of their local area (which they also have a better knowledge of) the core market for Travel Photography becomes saturated with a surfeit of shots. As David duChemin mentioned on his blog a while back:

…the market is saturated, and anyone who wants an image of Taj Mahal can go to Flickr and find 100 photographers who’ve shot the same shot from the same angle on the same camera, and they’ll fight for the chance to give the image away in hopes of garnering a publishing credit.

So what is a Travel Photographer to do? Personally I think there are two options: quality specific shots and photo-essays.

Whilst sites like Flickr might abound with images of key landmarks and locations, a serious photographer is going to look for a different angle on a familiar subject to present it in a new and captivating light. And speaking of light, they are far more likely to work with it. Waiting for the right quality and direction of light. Overall this is hopefully going to result in a far more studied composition; a higher quality image. There will also probably be a fairly specific requirement from a client requesting images of the location in question.

The second option is photo-essays and this is where I now think the more modern definition of Travel Photography sits most comfortably.

By photo-essays I mean a collection of images that have a cohesiveness and tell a story, whether that is about the trip itself, or a culture or its history. A gallery that takes the reader along for the ride. Although you have to be careful that they are creative quality images and not just a collection of your holiday snaps. As a result this means having an idea of what you want the final output to be and conducting your research before going. (However its always advisable to remain flexible to adapt to conditions/experiences on your travels).

Personally, I don’t think the Travel Photography genre is going to disappear any time soon. But it’s clear that from its origins in the mid-1800s its definition has changed and adapted as both the available equipment and ability to travel have improved.

Well I’m back from a brief trip to Turkey and must say I’m very impressed with Istanbul. There’s so much to see and do within a nice compact area it makes it a great destination for a short break. Although if you’re a photographer there’s so much to shoot you’ll definitely want to return!

I don’t think I’ve ever taken as many dusk and night shots as I did on this trip but some of the main attractions, such as the Blue Mosque above, look so good lit up its difficult not to!

I’m still working through all the photos I shot during the past week and once complete I’ll be putting the gallery up over on Imported Light. I’ll be posting more then on the trip.

I’m back in Venice (Italy, not California!). Hopefully I’ll have some more photos for you next week once I’m back.

Ciao!

It’s produced by the same people who create jpg magazine and its aim is to give a voice to those who love to travel so that they can tell their stories and highlight their favourite places.

Like jpg magazine it exists both via an online community and a real world printed magazine, creating content via user submissions. After creating a profile you can submit your work, be it stories or photos, to regular recurring sections or features. These submission are then considered for publication in the next issue.

Everywhere Magazine

You might also notice that the format of my galleries has changed a little. I’m now using the excellent SlideShowPro for Lightroom which makes outputting Flash galleries a doddle. As well as viewing the gallery as normal, you can also switch to full screen mode to view larger versions of the photographs.

Well I’m back from my trip to Jordan and working on sorting the photos out. Clicking the photo of the Bedouin Tent at Wadi Rum above will take you to my Jordan set on Flickr, and I hope to have a gallery of shots up on here soon.

So whilst I’m away, I thought I’d spend next week posting some of my favourite photos from past trips around this time of year. I hope you enjoy them. And of course in the new year look out for a new gallery of shots from this trip.

Until then, season’s greetings and best wishes for 2008.

What people heralding the death of travel photography mean is that it’s a market that’s lost its goods. They’ve lost scarcity, the market is saturated, and anyone who wants an image of Taj Mahal can go to Flickr and find 100 photographers who’ve shot the same shot from the same angle on the same camera, and they’ll fight for the chance to give the image away in hopes of garnering a publishing credit.

The article then goes on to say that with all these generic shots available on Flickr or iStock Photo, a secondary market evolves for creative quality shots.

I’m not 100% sure I agree that the genre is dead as I don’t think of travel photography as single images of exotic and far away lands. Instead I see it as a collection of images that have a cohesiveness and tell a story. A gallery that takes the reader on along for the ride. Although again, here, you have to be careful that they are creative quality images and not just a collection of your holiday snaps.

Read the entire Pixelated Image article

When you look at a map of Venice it actually looks like a fish with a stylised wave underneath it. Quite appropriate for a city with such watery connections. During the four days spent there I think I walked almost the length and breadth of the place.

Arriving a lunchtime, we made our way to the hotel in the Cannaregio district and after checking in headed out for some of the more obviously locations – Rialto bridge and St Marks Square. The rest of the day was spent wandering and getting a feel for the place.

The second day we headed off to the San Polo area and walked slowly down through Santa Croce and finally to Dosoduro taking in the many little squares, magnificent churches and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on the way.

On day three we headed south, past St Marks to the little back streets  of Castello, before catching a water bus across to San Giorgio to climb the Campanile (church tower) to look back over
Venice. Then another water bus over to La Giudecca for a walk along the water-front looking back north at the city.

Finally, on day four we headed north to explore the Cannaregio district where our hotel was located discovering yet more beautiful churches and piazzas before heading back towards the Rialto bridge for dinner.

One of the things I love about Venice is the fact that although it is very busy with tourists, they seem to congregate in fixed areas. You only need to wander down an alley and turn a corner to find yourself in a sleepy little square with a great local cafe on one side.

View my Venice photo gallery