8/18/2019 Take Better Travel Photos 5

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30 | Take better travel photos

Travel technique

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tip “Taxi drivers are usuallythe first people you deal

with on arrival. You’re tired,bewildered, unused to the currency,language and customs, and they areout to take every advantage of yourvulnerability. Avoid the unofficialcabbies who besiege you as you exitcustoms. Agree a price before jumping in. Know where you want

to go and don’t assume the driverknows his way anywhere. I once hadto give directions to a New Yorkcabbie who didn’t know Broadway.Avoid disclosing your plans. Mosttaxi drivers in Asia will want to beyour guide, interpreter and travelagent for the rest of your life. Avoiddiscussions on the price of yourchosen accommodation. A sharp

intake of breath and a nodding ofthe head will follow the disclosure,followed by the information that hecan take you to a better, cheaperhotel, which just happens to be runby his brother. Having said all thatwe have known some lovely drivers– they’ve invited us into their homesand become friends. It’s easy tobecome too suspicious.”

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BE FIRM WITH TAXI DRIVERS

€Shoot detail“London has so many recognisablesites that it can be difficult to decidewhat to point your lens at, let aloneget a fresh take on such a familiarsubject. Westminster Bridge is one

of the most photographed bridges,situated in the shadows of theHouses of Parliament and Big Ben.The shot above captures all of thesefeatures but it doesn’t say anythingnew. Solution? Take two instantlyrecognisable icons of Britain, mixwell with a long lens perspective,add a splash of strong lighting,polarise and Bob’s your Uncle.”

›Mix old and new“Ancient sites weren’t built with modern life inmind, so you may be surprised to turn up at yourchosen destination to find it less than romanticallyplaced in the middle of a traffic junction, smog-ridden and over-run with tourists. Faced with thecolossus of the Coliseum, now buzzing not with theroar of the crowds but by modern Rome’sequivalent to the chariot, the ubiquitous Vespa,what do you do? Shoot a section as a night shotwith streaky traffic to emphasise the urban setting.A shift lens kept the verticals parallel.”

fiIsolate your subject“This is another of Europe’s classic views – bobbinggondolas at San Marco in Venice. You know you can’t resistit. Just stop and consider how many pictures have beentaken here. Most of them in colour though, and with thecity as a backdrop. On a misty grey morning I shot thismonochromatic image with lots of movement, letting thebackground melt off into a misty mystery so as toconcentrate attention on the gondolas themselves. Venice isone of those places a photographer never tires off. In thediffering lighting situations it just has so many moods. I likeit most in soft, diffuse light.”