Due to the recent times with the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest over police brutality, and racial inequality, travel is probably a distance thought for a lot of us. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, we will once again be able to go out and start exploring the world again. Hopefully, some of these tips will help you once we get to travel again!

Keep it light

Before I go on any trip, I select a group of lenses to go travel with that will capture the scene the best way in my mind. My personal go-to selection of lenses has been the following Fujifilm lenses: 16mm f/1.4, 35mm f2, 56mm f/1.2, and the 50-140mm f/2.8. For the airplane ride, I put all of those lenses and my Fuji XT-3 in a Peak Design Everyday Backpack, and I’ll also pack my Peak Design Everyday Sling in my carry-on. If I’m walking around all day, I’ll usually bring everything except the 50-140mm f/2.8 and bring the smaller Sling backpack. If I’m going to a specific location for sunrise or sunset, I’ll bring the Peak Design Everyday Backpack, my 50-140mm f/2.8, the rest of my lenses, and my tripod. Generally, I like to bring as little as possible when I’m walking around.

Finding and researching hot spots

When I’m going to a new country, I like to take note of all of the special locations that I’m trying to go to. I do a lot of research on popular destinations, the must-see locations, and the tourist traps. Instagram is really useful for researching these types of locations by simply searching for the location and then looking up top posts or even recent posts. I’ll then add to my checklist any location that looks amazing. I’ve also found YouTube to be very insightful, especially the videos that are in the format of “What to do in ___ for a day” or “Top places to see in ___”. Other sites I use to research are sites like TripAdvisor or travel blogs. Reading personal reviews of different locations helps gain that visibility into what I should really expect when visiting the location.

Once I have a list of all of the different places I want to go, I start mapping them out. Using Google’s My Maps - I map the different locations and then group them together by using the ‘New Layer’ feature for each day. For example, if the trip is 7 days, I’ll add 7 layers, each with its set of locations that are in close proximity to each other. Once the different locations are mapped, it’s then easy to figure out the other details like transportation, food, coffee, etc. Also, by using this method, it makes it easy to not overwhelm myself by trying to do too much in one day. 

Timing what time of day to go

Timing when to go to these locations is another important step in planning. Normally the time of the day matters when going out to shoot and I try to aim for golden hour times around sunrise and sunset. Outside locations often look the best during golden hour and apps like Photopills, Sun Surveyor are also really great tools in trying to predict when the sun will hit at the right angle. If I choose to go to a location during the day, there might be a lot of tourists, and trying to get a ‘clean’ shot might be difficult.

Going during sunrise ensures that there will be no one else around even though I’ll have to get up very early. On the other hand, if going during sunset, there might be a lot of people, but the light will still be great. Trying to time everything is very difficult while traveling and sometimes just going with the flow of the travel will work as well. I’ve had multiple times where I thought the weather would be great, but then it quickly changed to cloudy/rainy and vice versa. The most important thing here is to be flexible with the weather and the conditions; planning only goes so far! And sometimes the best shots are the unique ones that no one else has captured.

I’ve found that for interior locations, going there during will work ok. There might be very unique shadows, light sources, and compositions that could be had during the day simply because it’s indoor. For locations that are outside, going there for sunrise/sunset will ideally work the best. If I’m trying to capture the mood of a location, it’s always better with people walking around - so during the day or sunset will also work here. Even though this is a general rule, I’ve noticed that by sometimes going outside of these guidelines, the ability to be creative increases. It’s refreshing to get a different perspective of a shot that has been taken many times by multiple photographers!

Thought process around shooting once at the location

The way I approach each location is different. Sometimes, I’ll walk through the location and walk with the other tourists. I’ve also sometimes gone through the guided tours as well since the tour guides usually have quite a lot of knowledge about the location and its history. Other times, I’ll go backward from the direction that tourists are going and get a different feeling for the location. Sometimes while going through the location, I’ve realized that it might be better to come during sunset or sunrise. If that’s the case, I’ll scope out the location and see which specific spots would be great for the golden hour. I’ll also refer back to other peoples’ photos, on Instagram, to get an idea of what is possible in certain areas. The next day when I come for sunrise or sunset, I’ll also make sure to have the appropriate tools with me – such as my tripod, and ND filters.

When I’m shooting, I look for ways to capture the mood or vibe of the location. For photos that I create, I want to evoke that same emotion I felt when I was there. Whether it was the feeling of being awestruck, dumbfounded, nostalgic, overwhelmed, I want to bring forth that emotion with the picture. For example, I remember visiting New York City for the first time. I was overwhelmed but I felt the energy and the fast pace that everyone seemed to be involved in - the loud honking of traffic, interesting smells, the nonchalant glances from hurrying strangers, the different artificial light sources, and the large number of skyscrapers that seemed to dominate each city block defined New York City for me.

Or I remember when I was visiting Kyoto, and I felt at ease and tranquil. It was the opposite of New York City. Even though there were many tourists, there was a sense of order and preserved beauty. There were many historic temples and landmarks, but everyday life was intermixed with these locations. We even went to one historic temple where many locals were eating and drinking tea in the temple gardens.

I also try to incorporate life into my pictures. Pictures of famous landmarks are everywhere (try Googling a famous landmark), but adding an interesting subject to it will always make the picture uniquely yours. I try to capture a story with my picture, even though this is something that I’m trying to get better at doing. Usually, when I come to an awe-inspiring location, I find myself snapping away just like a tourist will do. But after I’ve calmed down a bit, I’ll start to think about the composition and how to capture the story behind the moment a bit better. It starts with composing a shot in my head and executing on it. For example, if there are some great foreground elements, I’ll see how I can add that and also showcase the location. If a person walks by within the frame that will also help. A lot of these kinds of shoots are spur of the moment and follow the same habits I follow for street photography; I find an interesting composition, and I wait until there is an interesting subject that walks through it.

We are going through a unique time globally with the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest. However, we will soon be able to travel again, and hopefully, the tips I’ve shared above will help once we are all able to travel again. Until then, I hope you and your family are staying safe!