Travel Photography

What is travel photography?

To some, it means signing for a generic tour and taking photos along the way during the trip. To others, it means signing up for a tour organized by a photo club or school and go along to wherever the group where. There may be local models arranged for stage shoots. (Think of photos of monks praying in candlelight in a Thai temple). One photo school even have a tagline that say something like good photos are guaranteed.

Some folks may like to go to such trips because they only have limited days of leave and could not afford to spend time researching the places they go to. Or maybe they only want to take photos and not want to learn more about the places they go to. Well all these are valid reasons.

To me, travel photography is to travel first and take photographs later. Before I go on a trip, I usually spend time reading about the place I will be going. This can be done by reading a guide book or reading up on the Internet. Next on locations, I will take my own time to roam around. If I need to wait for good light, I will stay on and wait. I?prefer nonposed setting even for human shots and I am more than willing to engage them in a good conversation.