Online Travel Photo Tutorial

While browsing about, I came across a series of tutorials and tips at Fodor.com on how to take better travel pictures. There's a bias toward discussing film, which makes me think that this was written some time ago. But the fundamentals will apply, whether film or digital, so take a look before you take off on your next trip.

Technique: Adding Scale to Images

Photographs can offer an odd view of the world. When you look at a scene, you may focus on one part, but you really see it in a larger context. That isn't necessarily so in an image, leaving it seem unreal. A good example is the type of landscape you'll see many people take - a beautiful vista, but somehow off-putting. Often the problem is that everything is far away and there is no visual comparison in size. Great landscapes usually have some sense of scale, to make the viewer better understand the grandeur of the scene. For example, look at the Ansel Adams photo Bridalveil Fall. Seeing the tops of the trees adds a reference to give a sense of just how far the water is falling. You might include a person, a vehicle, a building, an object, or almost anything else to act as a type of measuring stick. What is interesting is that something can act as a scale reference when included in a picture, but can lose that quality when photographed by itself. To provide a scale reference, you need an item that offers a contrast in size, and which is also familiar enough so that the viewer will be familiar with its size from ordinary experience.

Make Screen Sized Photos a Habit

If you're interested in selling photos, then you need to make a habit of creating versions with proper size and resolution for a computer screen. In a digital world, editors want to see what you have now. Don't clog someone's inbox with an image that will appear large enough to cover the state of North Dakota. Instead, have versions intended to be viewed on a monitor and send them with the explanation that high resolution files are also available for the asking. That way, the recipient can quickly review what you have and call for the big versions for which the person is willing to pay. You'll need some photo editing software, but that can be a minor expense.

Photographer Wins Copyright Suit Under Digital Millennium Copyright Act

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle-based photographer Lloyd Shugart won a $1.32 million judgment against shoe manufacturer Propét USA. According to the story, this appears to be the first time that someone has won such a ruling under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, generally used by copyright holders to force web sites to remove content posted without their consent.

Cheap Photo Editing Software for the Mac

I don't use a Mac, so can't offer a first-hand view of this, but Wired has a review of a program called Pixelmator. Simpler than Photoshop, it has the usual tools you might expect at a cost of only $60. (A Mac version of Photoshop Elements - the inexpensive version - won't be out until next year.)

Thinking Small with Nikon

Nikon's photomicrography competition has been running for 30 years. The images are surprising, as they're all pictures of the world as seen through microscopes. Even the odd can be intriguing, as in this antique slide showing a thin section of diseased ivory. The next round of submissions end April 30, 2008, in case you want to dig out your microscope.

Photographer Faces Possible Return to Jail

The New York Times has a story about a photographer who had served 13 years for manslaughter when he was a teenager. Eventually out on parole, he became a news photographer for the New York Post. But because of some minor brushes with police in his photojournalistic work, Jason Nicholas might end up serving the six-year remainder of his parolled sentence.

Think Like a Film Shooter

When I was first learning photography, it was with ancient cameras and roll film that I developed at home. I was a kid without a large allowance, so I couldn't be extravagant in my use of film. Instead, I'd look for the shots I really wanted.

Digital photography opens some great doors: low cost per image, quick gratification, and ability to manipulate images, whether b&w or color. But one thing people today are missing is visual discipline. You can take hundreds of images without thinking about whether you have enough film. When you are limited, you have to be judicious; you learn to get by with only a handful of shots that must count.

It's a good discipline worth trying. Go out to take pictures and limit yourself to 24 or 36 shots - and add a twist by using only a normal lens and make your eyes get creative.