Whoever said 'We build too many walls and not enough bridges', and when, sadly it seems very apposite to our times. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if right now we were building more bridges than walls? And yet, the world is full of walls, and we have to admit that they are often necessary.
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There is a temptation while travelling to take only those ‘souvenir’ photos, and it’s one I often fall into. It’s all too easy simply to point the camera at them and press the shutter while considering only the basics of composition. At the same time I do try to look for the more unusual photo opportunities, and I like to capture the details of everyday life in a city.
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Juxtaposition is often referred to as a literary device, placing two concepts close together to highlight their differences. But it is just as effective in visual arts, including photography. And these contrasting elements hopefully work together to elicit a response from the viewer.
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In a Northern Hemisphere winter, seeing flowers can always lift the spirits. Whether it’s a rare winter-blooming plant in a garden, a vase in the home or photos from past summer or journeys, the sight is always a welcome one.
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How often have you looked at a photo and immediately rejected it? Too bland, too flat, out of focus, poor composition… It may have looked good at the time you took it, but for one reason or another it didn't turn out as you'd hoped and planned.
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After any trip I like to explore how the photos I took might look in black and white. I never shoot in that medium, even on those occasions when I already feel it would be the best option, because it’s easy to transform from colour to monochrome but impossible to do the reverse in any realistic manner.
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There’s a tendency when we photograph something to want to fill the frame. Empty space around our subject can feel like a waste, while omitting anything may feel as if we’re not telling the whole story. But good composition is all about balance, and clutter in an image can make it hard to ‘read’.
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I love to seek out a local market when I travel; you discover so much about a place there. What people like to eat, how they dress, how they interact with each other (and you!) And markets are wonderful for photography. Whether like me you enjoy candid street photography or prefer to ask your subjects to pose, you will almost certainly get some great people images there. And the goods on sale also offer many photo opps.
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I often find myself drawn to photograph the little details I see around me, whether close to home or on my travels. So much so that I often come home to find I have lots of photos of the details of a building and none of the building as a whole to provide context.
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Looking back at favourite photos can have a positive effect. They remind you of good times in the past and offer the promise of more good times in the future. Even when the memories they hold are sometimes painful, they are often also precious. But any keen photographer will also have favourites based not on the subject but on the photo itself.
