Anyone with a modern 35 mm. camera can take great vacation pictures. The art and science of photography has come a long way since the days of the point-and-shoot box Brownie, but we have actually come full circle. After four decades of using sophisticated cameras with complicated shutter speeds, aperture settings and focusing screens, we are back once more to the simplicity of point-and-shoot photography.
Current technology provides the amateur photographer with auto-focus, automatic exposure, computerized flash and digital readout. These features combined with zoom lenses and improved color film make it possible for the camera buff to point the camera at his subject and press the shutter in full confidence that the picture will be technically good. Even expensive professional cameras offer these automatic features, usually with the option of switching to manual.
But outstanding vacation pictures require much more than technical perfection. These modern cameras can help us take pictures more easily, but ultimately it is the eye of the photographer that must recognize a good subject, compose it in the viewfinder of the camera and pick the precise moment to press the shutter button and ”freeze” a moment from life.
This is the essence of photographic art. It requires an understanding of light, its direction and quality. Sunlight on a spring day can glisten in a girl`s hair. The setting sun often paints the evening sky with washes of pink, rose and orange, tinging clouds near the horizon. Even the blues and greens on a rainy day ne focal length, usually around 35 or 50 mm. These can take good pictures, but we recommend spending a little more if you`re in the market for a camera. Buy one which has interchangeable lenses or at least a zoom lens.
There is a tremendous advantage in being able to change the focal length of the lens on your camera from a wide angle to a moderate telephoto. For instance, a wide angle lens is ideal for interiors and scenics with a foreground interest, while a moderate telephoto works very well for portraits of people and some distant scenes.
A selection of lenses greatly increases your artistic potential. The single lens reflex (SLR) is most popular because its lenses can be switched. Some cameras, such as the Olympus Infinity Super Zoom 300 and the Ricoh Mirai, have a non-interchangeable zoom lens. The advantage to them is that you have just one piece of equipment to carry.
Many cameras have a built-in electronic flash. Others have a separate flash unit which can be attached directly to the camera or connected with a coil cord. Flash can often be necessary indoors and surprisingly helpful for some outdoor pictures in sunlight to fill-in the shadows. We recommend a detached flash with a coil cord for indoor pictures. Holding a flash off the camera, above and to the left, will eliminate distracting shadows cast on the wall behind your subject. It will also prevent ”pink eye,” which shows up in some direct flash pictures as pink dots in the retinas of the eyes of your subjects.
Beyond the technicalities of your equipment, taking travel or vacation pictures requires a special skill and sensitivity. When traveling in Switzerland, for instance, you should photograph in a way that clearly indicates your picture was taken in Switzerland. When photographing the Swiss Alps, include a chalet to show that this is Switzerland and not the Canadian Rockies.
Go get creative
We also suggest taking some of your pictures from creative angles. Don`t hesitate to get down on the ground to shoot up at your subject. Try taking pictures of a castle in England through a bed of bright red tulips, focusing on the castle and leaving the tulips out-of-focus.
Look for subjects that are simple, uncluttered and graphic. A white sand beach with a belt of deep blue water and a lighter belt of blue sky makes an excellent background. A young woman in a brightly colored bathing suit would be a appropriate subject for the foreground. Always keep your creative eye peeled for strong pictures with simple and clean compositions.
Some vacationers, especially in a foreign country, hesitate to take pictures of people. Don`t be shy about photographing people, even when you can`t speak the language. It is important to break the people barrier, to overcome your natural reluctance to approach a stranger. Simply smile and ask the person to pose for you and usually they will agree. If there is a language barrier, use sign language. Point to your camera and to your intended subject. If the person says no, simply nod a smiling goodbye and walk on to find another more willing subject. In some countries people are more agreeable about pictures than others.
The second approach to people photography is shooting candids, situations where people may not even be aware that they are the subject of your camera. This can be done in crowded market places by shooting quickly or using a telephoto lens from a distance.
Slide film is best
Many friends ask us which type of color film to use on vacation. Color slide film has several advantages over color negative or print film. The latter offers good quality, but normally each and every frame you shoot is printed, which can be rather expensive. Color slide film, on the other hand, comes back in the form of a positive slide which can be seen with a hand viewer or by holding it up to a light. Unlike the color negative, it is easy to judge the quality of a slide and choose which you would like to have prints made of.
Some people on vacation tend to put their cameras away after the sun goes down. We urge you to take along a small tripod to take time-exposure pictures at night, particularly of cities. Most large cities are illuminated by neon, tungsten and quartz lights after dark, but it is still possible to get impressive color pictures at night of places like Times Square in New York, Picadilly Circus in London, the Champs Elysees in Paris and the Ginza in Tokyo.
It may seem strange, but daylight type color film gives the best results. We find that aperture priority automatic exposure works very well by setting the lens aperture at about f/5.6 and letting the camera set the shutter speed. We use a cable release to avoid camera movement during the exposure, which usually takes several seconds, depending on the speed of the film. Actually we suggest using a slower color film for sharper images and more brilliant colors.
