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[Guest joewehry]

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In one of David DuChim's newest and nicely-written books (Within the Frame or VisionMongers, can't remember which) he mentions one of his routines for doing travel-type photography.

 

Paraphrased, a schedule would be early morning shooting (good lighting / emptier streets), midday for review, research, rest (avoiding harsher lighting of noon) and late day to evening for additional shooting.

 

Curious, I sorted my images by date/time stamp and discovered the majority of my favorite images were shot early morning or early evening, even though I clearly took pictures all day.

 

So the two questions are:

 

1) What alternative routine(s) do you find useful for your personal or pro travel photography?

 

2) Have you found a way to successfully use mid-day lighting?

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[Guest WPalank]

Joe,

 

I've always found the morning to be my sweet spot. There is something about watching "the scene develop" so to speak. As you mentioned, it's just plain easier to isolate your subject when the streets are less crowded.

 

I don't know who this DuChim person is, but I tend to retire around noon, first off because I have been up typically since 5 AM and secondly to down load my images to my laptops hard drive and back up drive (LaCie Rugged).

 

The one reason I will be out at high noon is if I am working tight alleyways that are perpendicular to the arc of the sun (the Chandni Chowk of Delhi comes to mind) to get some light on the subject that otherwise would be in deep shadow.

[Jeff S]

Morning and evening are good general guidelines. But...

 

Now retired, I have more time on my hands to explore the same areas (local travel) at different times of the day. It's amazing how conditions change...not just during the day, but from day to day (the weather, the light, the activity, etc). I rarely get bored revisiting the same areas at different times. Each time, new images emerge.

 

This is why long distance travel can pose more challenges. Just fewer opportunities to catch the scene. On the other hand, everything looks new and interesting when you're in a new location, regardless of time of day.

 

I learned long ago to walk everywhere and explore, up alleys and side streets and backyards, through forested areas, etc. The light is different depending on building heights, shadow casts, etc. Light isn't uniform.

 

Of course, strategies change depending on subject matter and camera format (large format/tripod work demands better planning and use of car).

 

Basically, I find that there are no hard and fast rules. Pictures are everywhere, all the time.

 

Jeff

[farnz]

If it's sunny, I use the middle of the day for infrared shooting with my M8; other than that I've always shot in the same way as DuChim.

 

Pete.

[underground]

I,m not sure if this is a routine but what I have done many times when I spend

the entire day shooting is start at a location 1 1/2 hours before the sun rises

and start with long exposures, and end with a well lit scene.

Then i'll move to another location when the sun is high and use a polarizer.

Then afternoon light I think is just as good as morning light if you shoot in the

right direction.

 

Then I will go home burnt out and crash hard.

 

regards,

Dave Mac

[Ed_K]

In the noon time when the shadows are harsh, i usually found myself shooting indoor and move back outdoor when late afternoon comes along .... working fine this way so far; and agree with Jeff, "opportunities" are everywhere.

[Guest joewehry]

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Thanks for sharing your comments. I hadn't thought about using the extra sunlight to the advantage of doing infrared, although I suspect the effects of lighting angles in terms of composition / contrast still play their roles.

 

I also like the idea of visiting those narrower alleys during the day to see what's visible. There's no law saying I can't go back later at night for comparison.

 

Well, maybe.

 

- Joe

 

PS to William: Great pics in LFI, BTW.

[Manolo Laguillo]

Since it's the light the topic we are talking about, I would like to remark how different the light is in the european northern countries compared to the southern ones. I imagine that's also the case when comparing Toronto with Tampa, or Buenos Aires with Recife. Not only the year's time (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), but also the latitude is of importance regarding the light's harshness at noon.

The air's humidity is also of importance: 30% and 70% give very different results!

In the winter the light is beautiful every time, when the weather is sunny. In the summer it's nearly impossible for me to work outside between 10am and 6pm.

But an overcast day is also beautiful!

The day's planning must take all these facts into account. Where are you? By the sea, or at 2000 m altitude? In Copenhagen, or in Rabat? Is it summer, or winter?

I'm speaking as someone who did mostly landscape, cityscape and architecture. The so-called humanscape (street, gathering of people, etc) is another thing, because the distances between the camera and the scene are different.

[iShutterbug]

I agree with all these great comments and can only add that from my experience a lot depends on who you are traveling with. When I am traveling with family, or wife, it's almost impossible to be able to miss breadfasts or suppers, so I lose those prime times of early morning and late evening, but try to make up for it by taking available light shots inside or walking to and from restaurants. I know, not glamorious but it keeps me going.

 

But what I wanted to add was that because mid-day generally has such harsh light directly overhead, I found that was a good time to schedule attending museums and cathedrals and the like, or travelling from one location to another on public transportation (like a train) where you're pretty confined and your gear is pretty much inaccessible.

 

Lately, I think one of the most important issues I have while travelling is dust. Before when shooting film I only worried about it in the darkroom. But digitally it has become a big concern, and for that reason (1) I minimize changing lenses by taking two bodies--one with wide angle, another longer or faster, and (2) After a busy day I am always the last to retire because I stay up late downloading the images to backup storage and small laptop with screen big enough see any dust spots that might have gotten on the camera's sensor--because that's the time to clean the sensor if so. But at that time while it's quiet it's enjoyable to see the day's shooting and recap the events and places.

 

In closing I have to add that if one can get themselves to travel with one camera body and one lens (I think I'm talking to myself here)--so there's no switching of lenses and less danger of dust--then I think the ideal travel kit would be simply an M with 35/2 and extra memory cards or small high capacity storage device. Also your security concerns would be greatly minimized, which always looms large while travelling.