Travel Photography

Tutorial by Andy King

" The world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page."

- St. Augustine

What is a Camera?

• A box that connects two components
   
  • 1.  
     
  • 2.  

What is a Camera?

• A box that connects two components
   
  • 1.  Sensor
     
  • 2.  Lens

Side View of a Camera

Image Quality

• Determined by the size of the sensor and optical quality of the lens
   
• The bigger the sensor, the better the image quality
  • More detail can be captured
  • More colours, better transition from bright to shadows (dynamic range)
  • For digital sensors, bigger sensors equals bigger photodiodes (pixels) that can be more sensitive to light (cleaner images)
     
• A sensor needs to be paired up with a great lens
  • Lens has to be able to resolve the sensor's film grain or photodiodes (pixels)
  • Lens has to let in a lot of light for the sensor to pick up and record the photons

The Sensor

In today's world, a digital sensor is made out of photodiodes that record a specific pixel of color:

- Green (50%)

- Blue (25%)

- Red (25%)

A Sensor with Big Pixels

A Bigger Sensor with Smaller Pixels = Higher Resolving Power

The Sensor

Different camera formats have different sizes
 

1.  Large Format Photography (film/sensor size 2x3, 4x5, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, etc, all in inches)
 

2.  Medium Format Photography (60mm x 45mm, 60mm x 60mm, 60mm x 70mm, 60mm x 90mm)
 

3.  Small Format Photography (24mm x 36mm - we call this "full frame", and any smaller formats).  APSC (26mm x 15.6mm), Micro 4/3 (17.3mm x 13mm)

4x5 Sensor size

645 (60mm x 45mm size)

35mm Full Frame

(36mm x 24mm size)

APSC (26mm x 15.6mm)

The Lens

A set of optics (lens elements) that project a circular image onto a capture medium

A lens projects an image onto a 35mm sensor

We call this circular image the IMAGE CIRCLE (measured in the diameter, in mm)

The Lens

Lenses are measured in two main aspects:

1.  The focal length (in millimeters or mm)

Focal length measures the perspective of the lens (how wide the lens can see, or how zoomed in the lens can see)

2.  The aperture (in f/stops, stops being 1.0, 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0, 11, 16, etc)

Aperture is how much light (density of light) the lens lets in, is controlled by the aperture blades

The Lens

Focal Length is the distance from where the light rays converge to the sensor/film (where the light forms a sharp image)

Wide Angle

Normal

Tele

The Lens

Different Perspectives From the Nikon Website

The Lens

Aperture is how much light (density of light) the lens lets in, is controlled by the aperture blades

Text

Aperture Sizes at different f/stops, courtesy of Nikon

The Lens

Depth of field - The range of distances in front of the lens that is in focus

DoF and Bokeh ( background blur)  at different f/stops, courtesy of Nikon

f/1.4

f/5.6

A Basic Camera

1. Lens
2. Shutter
3. Sensor/Film

A DSLR Camera

1. Lens
2. Shutter
3. Sensor/Film

A Mirrorless Camera

1. Lens
2. Shutter
3. Sensor/Film

A Mirrorless Camera w/Adapt.

1. Lens
2. Shutter
3. Sensor/Film

Creative Adapters

DSLR

Pros

• Durable, mostly weather sealed 
• Fast auto-focus and tracking moving subjects (sports) 
• Large selection of auto-focus lenses (super tele-photo lenses)
• Long battery life 
• Some can record on two memory cards for backup 

​ Cons

• Large and heavy 
• Intrusive and stands out (esp. street/travel) 
• Expensive
• Limited lens adaption

Mirrorless

Pros

• Small and light weight
• Affordable bodies and manual focus lenses
• Wide range of lenses with ability to use creative adapters, ensures planarity  
• Electronic viewfinder 
• Focus peaking and easy 100% magnification  
• Able to stabilize all lenses (Sony A7II) 

​ Cons

• Slower auto-focus with moving subjects (tracking)
• Shorter battery life
• Less durable bodies and mostly not weather sealed
• Limited selection of super tele-photo lenses

"Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing."

- Oscar Wilde

$1000 - $1600

Sony Alpha 7 or Sony Alpha 7 II (Body Only, $1199-1699)

• 35.8mm x 23.9mm CMOS sensor, 24 Megapixels, usable up to ISO6400
• 100%, 2.36 Megapixel electronic viewfinder
• 474g (A7), 599g (A7II) 

Specialty Compact Cameras

Ricoh GR

Sigma DP-M/Q Series

Nikon COOLPIX A

Fuji X100 Series

Mirrorless Cameras

Why?

Why Mirrorless is the Future

• You can bring it anywhere
• More affordable
• Same or better image quality as DSLRs
  • Same sensor size as DSLRs
  • Newest and most advanced sensors
• Larger and better lens selection
  • Smaller and compact mirrorless lenses
  • Can use all DSLR lenses with creative adapters
    • Tilt shift, Macro helicoid, Speedboosters
    • Ensures planarity
  • Rangefinder and miscellaneous lenses (M42, M39, Leica M, Zeiss ZM, Voigtlander M, ALPA, Topcon, Exakta, Nikon and Canon rangefinder lenses, etc)
• Focus peaking and 100% magnification ensures critical focus 

Creative Lenses

What to buy

Vintage Lenses

Versatility and unique images

DIY and lens modifications

What to Buy

35mm and 85mm equivalent 

Fuji 23mm f/1.4

Fuji 56mm f/1.2

Vintage Lenses

Versatility and Unique Images

A larger aperture lens is more versatile than a zoom lens

Larger apertures allow you to take photographs in more conditions

Planarity

Planarity Test

Multi-platform Photography

Large Format Photography (film/sensor size 2x3, 4x5, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, etc, all in inches)

Medium Format Photography (60mm x 45mm, 60mm x 60mm, 60mm x 70mm, 60mm x 90mm)

Small Format Photography (24mm x 36mm - we call this "full frame", and any smaller formats)

What are the different types of camera formats?

Lenses for a bigger format will always fit on smaller formats

The Future of Photography

-  To learn more about the world

-  Experience new and exciting things: cultures, traditions, food, language, arts, sports
 

-  Seeing landscapes or landmarks we've seen in media
 

-  Because it's fun!

Why we travel

Photo by Louise Andre, Machu Picchu, Peru, 2014

Where to Travel?!

• Is there a place that inspires you? 

• Where can you go financially?

  • Norway is much more expensive than Thailand, per dollar will get you more in Thailand

• Plan out an itinerary? 

• Plan out accomodations?

• Hotel/hostel/stay with locals? 

• Car/vehicle rental? 

Photo by Louise Andre, Blue Lagoon, Iceland 2014

Photo by Louise Andre, Las Vegas 2014

How to financially support your travels

• Parents/Family
   

• Part time/full time job
   

• How to save up money for traveling?
   

• Extra ways to save, airmiles, travel credit cards, etc.

What to do when traveling

• How to plan activities during the day and night
   

• Traveling from place to place, transit/local buses
   

• Photography? When? How?

Tips on travel

• What to bring in travel bag
   

• How to save space
   

• Storing money/passport/essentials

Interacting with the locals

• How to approach them
   

• Bring gifts
   

• Language barrier

Bringing the Right Lens with you for the trip

Breathtaking Landscapes

Grand Canyon, Iceland, Dolomites, Rocky Mountain, Zhangjiajie, Serengeti, Antarctica, Patagonia

Architecture and Cityscapes

Italy, Paris, European Cities, Burma, Cambodia, NYC, Vegas, Dubai, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing/FC, Santorini

People/Portraits

Everywhere around the world, however, some places are more "photo friendly" than others

Wildlife and Nature

Kenya, Serengeti, Galapogos, Antarctica, Amazon Jungle, Canadian Rockies, Canadian Arctic, Wyoming/Yellowstone

Landscapes

Lenses to be used

14mm to 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 100mm, 135mm,150mm

Architecture and City

Lenses to be used

17mm T/S, 24mm T/S, 28mm T/S, 50mm, 85mm-135mm

People

Lenses to be used
35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 100mm

Wildlife/Nature

Lenses to be used

50mm macro, 100/150mm macro, 70-200mm f/2.8, 100-400mm f/4.0 

Creating emotional images, use of lenses, use of angles/perspective, balance in imagery, composition, negative space, shallow depth of field, tilt shift, shift for perspective correction, panoramic shooting, HDR pre/post shooting, stitching brenizer method, etc.

Capturing light

Planning what time to shoot

Preparation

Accessories

Tripods

Filters (polarizers, ND, graduated ND, etc)

Close up lenses

• Downloading images on the fly

• Logistics of tiles

• Do you bring a laptop, tablet, wifi to your smartphone/tab?

• Lightest solutions, cheapest solutions, backing up your photographs

What to do with your images after? 

• Culling images

• Picking up images for post

• What to look for

• Thinking of post processing while taking photos

• Presentation of images and what your audience wants to see

• How to make your images worth something

Post processing basics