Keep it simple, stupid.

The majority of holiday-makers, whether skiing or on a tropical island, would not grimace at the sight of an unblemished blu sky stretching far off into the horizon as they open their curtains to let the morning light stream into their hotel suite. Few would have wished for possibly a little more wind, maybe a few more clouds and hoping it to be slightly damper. I do just that. Photographers are wired up a bit differently, we are fussy, we asses 'light', how much do you not want someone to talk at you about the intricacies of light?

I woke up to my last day in Spain and hoped for the onslaught of dark, angry clouds being forced up onto the mountains from the Mediterranean coast. What greeted me was a perfectly blue sky without even a wisp of drama - just a fantastic sight to have...if you were not a photographer.

However, being the last morning I clambered out of bed and down the village street with my tripod and camera gear, waiting for the first light to hit this beautiful blossoming tree.

I know panoramas look rubbish in 650px but here goes:

Details: Alfaix, Andalucia, Spain

1/20 sec @ f13

Regardless of the cloudless sky that you will struggle to find in my landscape portfolio, I like this image. It works for me as it is a 'mini landscape'. A grand vista with a cloudless sky filling the top half of an image would not have worked as clouds are essential to give drama, colour and detail to the image. However as the tree dissects through the image and covers most of the sky, the cloudlessness-ness has not had a detrimental effect. The simple but bold colours also make the image work. The previous attempt the night before the swirling clouds passing behind the tree cluttered the strong, dominating shape of the tree.

 I am always learning in my photography and I am glad I took this image, as I would never have attempted it due to my strict 'no cloud' philosophy. 

Keep trying new techniques with your photography. Break the rules and break your rules...dude

John

10,000 pounds worth of damage saved and Gorge-ous Turre, Spain in the late afternoon sun.

Perched on a rock peaking over the edge of a gorge just outside the town of Turre, Andulucia - the usual regime of setting-up the camera seemed to be well rehearsed: Tripod level, composition set, switch focus to manual, position graduated filter, check focus and mirror lock-up. All set and ready for that instantaneous moment when the sun, clouds and landscape all come together to create the perfect scene.

All this preparation may have taken 5 minutes, I had already scouted the exact position I wanted to shoot from the previous day (that takes a lot longer) and was sitting on the edge of the gorge waiting for that 'decisive moment' to press the shutter. All of a sudden, I saw a blinding glint of sunshine reflecting off from the metallic paintwork of a silver VW Golf creeping towards me. I literally did a double take and realised that it was in fact MY silver VW golf. It glided towards me like Herbie from the Disney film "The Love bug". Silently rolling backwards, as if suicidal, it rapidly gathered speed as it neared my position. I ran, like Forrest himself, towards the car and pushed it from behind, hoping to counteract the physical and mental gravity of the situation. I soon realised that, despite the gym session I had done 3 weeks prior, my "sinewy" frame and knock-off loafers from Shenzhen were no match for over a tonne of German engineering and the Spanish gravel roads. As it clumsily rolled on to the side of the road, the terrain became a thick, tangled mess of various species of grass, here I managed to dig in my Gucci Loafers into the ground enough to stop the car to a slow halt and prevent it from a rather lengthy drop to a certain death. I just thought, what if I couldn't stop it, I would have been run-over wouldn't I? 

Once my hands stopped shaking and I had put the car in gear, as well as the proved useless hand-brake, I returned to my camera. I waited for just under an hour until finally a small gap in the clouds allowed a burst of sun to add that golden glow to the local sandstone.

Turre, Andalucia, Spain

Details: 5 seconds @ f22 with 0.9 hard Graduated Filter

How to Improve your Travel Portraits - John Alexander Travel Photography

How to Improve your Travel Portraits - John Alexander Travel Photography

I have recently returned from Hong Kong and Bali. On this 3 week trip I hoped to bask in the glory of the Asian sunshine in

 utmost smugness while my desk-bound friends in the UK commute to their workplace with a grim, scrunched up face, squinting, not from the sunshine, but to avoid the driving rain penetrating into their eyes... This didn't happen. 

While I was away, sunshine bathed the UK giving "the second warmest winter since records began". I was stuck in fog in Hong Kong and the relentless monsoon rains or "fat raaain", as Forest Gump described it, in Bali.

However, rain or not, I was in beautiful Asia - Landscapes may not be on the list on this trip, so I turned my attention to street portraiture. 

Due to the lack of sun, the constant grey sky provided great, subtle lighting for portraiture so I walked along the streets of Sanur on the south coast of Bali and these shots are some of my efforts.

Tips on How to Improve your Travel Portraits:

Look for interesting faces and situations. Before this trip I found photographing people terrifying, however due to the pressure of to get some successful shots of my trip, I willed myself to do just that.  However, if you ask permission and smile A LOT, I quickly learnt that usually the answer will be yes.

Don't just jump in and photograph them straight away, start a rapport with them - don't even have your camera ready at this stage. Then you begin photographing the surroundings, details and wide-angles shots to get them feeling comfortable with me.

I ask questions and help out if I can. Before I took this portrait I helped to drag his boat from the water and hold some tools for him as he fixed the engine on his boat. Once you have got a connection, then you and your subject will feel more comfortable. 

Details: 50mm @f1.8

A simple, high-contrast black and white Headshot of a Balinese fisherman

Details: 1/15sec - 70mm @f16

Slow down the world

Use slow shutter-speeds to give a different feel to your images. I took this photograph at 1/15sec to blur the rain and the background as the scooter drove past me. The added bonus of the passenger's eye peaking out from her poncho really makes the shot in my opinion.

Details: 24mm @f1.4

Get in close and zoom out: 

Getting as close as you can without getting in the way gives you a much more intimate portrait, giving the viewer the feeling of being there next to your subject. 

 

Details: 24mm @f1.4

I spotted this elderly gentleman in Cheung Chau, Hong Kong - A quick point at the camera and a smile, and he gave me permission to photograph him - I showed this photograph to him and he smiled and shook my hand.

Details: 50mm @f1.4

Invest: 

Buy products - I asked this calligrapher if he could make an inscription of my brother's chinese name and my own. As he did so I asked whether I could photograph him - He nodded and he dabbed his brush and started. 

Instead of rattling the shutter button - look for a composition and wait for your subject to do something interesting - Here, as mentioned in a previous post I knew from the last inscription that after every inscription he looks at his work and retracts his brush. If I had just passed him and took a snap shot, I would never had been ready. 

Details: 24mm @f1.4 + 0.6 Graduated Filter

Push yourself and your equipment: 

As I tell the guests of my workshops, "Usually the more difficult the photograph is to take, the better it turns out". As mentioned in a previous post - I had to wade into the water with my camera over my head to get out to the surf where this man was fishing - No-one is stupid enough to do this, which is why the shot will be exciting and different from everyone else's!

Don't take all of your photographs from head-height, lie on the ground, get above your subject - These angles will dramatically improve your photography, the more awkward to photograph, the better it will be, because no-one else is going to be bothered!

20mm - 2 secs @f8 + 0.9 Graduated Filter

A portrait doesn't always need a face in the photograph - It adds a certain mystery to the picture.

I hope you enjoy the photographs!

John