Why I gave up travel photography

jyotirmoy

Now it is almost 6 years that I have stopped taking photos while travelling. I have handed over my film SLR's & lenses to my daughters & they have added a digital one to the arsenal. The idea came to me after a hurried tour of Khajuraho. While reflecting on my trip on the flight back to Delhi I realized that all these days where ever I went instead of taking in the composite beauty & the vibrations I was runing here & there looking for an angle, composisng a shot, in short a very limited view of the whole thing just small enough to fill the view finder window. When I returned from such trips & friends asked me about the places I had been to I started feeling that the right & true answer should be "Let the prints come" Now I have so much to say in words about the places & countries that I visit.

SHIMLA

Jyoti,

I hope you haven't forgotten your promise of mailing me a few photos of Parwanoo, Barog and Solan on your next visit there !

Ah well, to be frank, it was only Solan, now I've added Parwanoo and Barog too !

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jyotirmoy

Ofcourse I will send you these. Parwanoo & Barog may be a bit difficult as I normally travel by the evening Shatabdi. We now have got a good digital camera in our lab to photograph prototypes though the develpment stages & I will carry this on my next trip to Solan.
Shimla the Kenwood hotel in Jabli has a very good restaurant, they take some time to prepare fresh food but the wait is well worth. After escaping the Delhi muck waiting there is not a problem rather a pleasure, breething the cool crisp air & not to mention the golden elixir called Solan No.1

sudheer poppa

Very valid point on giving up photography... I did the same many years ago, and caught the bug when I was in Beijing partly due to the lavish time that I had in hand and other part due to the amazing digital technoglogy !!!

These days while visiting places photography is not the on top of my mind, but some places stay in eyes and you suddenly feel like capturing it and I do for the cam.. Now the number of photographs I click have come down a lot, but I do get some better frames captured

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When my life changed over a week

iyou

I hear what you're saying. There's a corollary that I used to be a victim of, which was that I used to sneak tape recorders into every concert I went to in the 80s and early 90s. Even though they always turned out sounding bad, and I never really listened to them, I felt like I couldn't get my money's worth if I didn't tape the shows. How foolish. All I ended up doing was tending over a little machine, and not getting to relax and enjoy myself very much.

Now, with photography, I've found a reasonable balance. I carry a small digital camera in my pocket most places I go, in case I see something remarkable, but I don't let it run my life. I have a fancy digital SLR that I leave at home, and then occasionally take out specifically to go hunting for photos with. So the compromise is to not be thinking about photography all the time, nor to be totally ignoring it. Instead, I set aside time and plan for photography expeditions. One day it was a trip the ruins at the tip of Worli. Another day was spent haunting the lanes around Kalbadevi. It works. I get to take photos, but it doesn't run my life.

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shahronakm

Well, It's exactly opposite for me. Till now I used a normal film camera for Photography (Lower end ones - basis which normal tourist use). But I have planed buying a new Dgital Camera with high zoom & even startedsaving for the same. I missed such a camera when I went to Uttaranchal last year.
So travel photography in me is picking up now.

Ronak.

Aparajith

I love travel and love photography. Well this weekend I was bored and just drove my bike to Magadi towards Savana Durga (near Bangalore, Karnataka). I basically went there to finish my film reel. But I felt that the experience of being there is more worth than photography. So I just lugged my camera and stuff but didn't take pics just soaked myself in the rustic charm

ro-anD

Your so right Jyotirmoy! In fact my husband and I are always arguing about this. He gets annoyed when he sees giggly tourists clamour on steps, ledges and the like to get those perfect shots-totally oblivious of their surroundings. Many a times it seems to be a 'Been there done that'!
Like Aparajith said, its all about balance- one has to realise it to maintain it.

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The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing." ~Daniel J. Boorstin

davyd

Beautiful point. Though I still do some fotos I usually put camera away when I have the chance to interact with other travellers and locals, and I have no desire to interrupt such interactions by incongruous requests to pose for foto. I always remember what one beautiful Italian woman told me in Kerala when I was pitying that we passed place with farmers digging their patches - you will keep it in your mind. I keep.

Erbaspina

I'm in the opposite situation.
On my first travel to India (my first travel ever) i did not take any picture at all. I decided i did not want to show around pics or hunting for stunning images, i just wanted to live the moment ...
I was in a solo and i must say i could enjoy every single moment and place and now i have wonderful memories ... i'd like to have some picture, though. I'd like to have a portrait of the rickshaw driver who took me to his brother's stall as a reminder of him or the picture of Nainital lake when it was foggy but i could see the lights of the temple on the other side ... just something real to stitch a feeling. And a way to share things that happened with my close friends even if they were not with me.
Well, i guess it's just matter of balance. Anyway ... I just bought a very good digital camera and photography guide.

somnath

I love travel photography so photography is the integral part of my traveling. But there is another side of the story. Your pix are the valuable documents – those could be a great help for someone who will visit the same place. Your friends / relatives can get a fair idea from your pix. Let me give you an example, plz look at this pic:
The hidden part of Taj (thanks to Tim).

I am sure, if you are planning to visit Agra next time, you will definitely try to see Taj from this significant angle. So, my personal opinion is travel photography is equally important.

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openair

I recognize what you say Jyotirmoy,
There seem to be a constant contradiction between enjoying a moment and the need to capture it in a special way.

Sometimes I will go out with the aim to photograph. The way I observe the world on such days is with a different mindset. But even on such days I see many beautiful moments that I don’t want to interrupt by pointing my camera, so I just enjoy them…
When it comes to monuments, if light conditions permit, I guess it’s best to keep the photography for the end of the visit after having soaked in the atmosphere of the place.

Sunray

If you have been to lots of places, sometimes I've forgotten just how beautiful they were and the pictures are a real reminder of that. They never do justice to the reality, the heat, smells, atmosphere but provide a memory jog ao they can envelope me.

I see what you are saying but, its not just about me. I shall print off the best and let the people who want to, browse.

shahronakm

I am also looking out for a photography guide especially for digital cameras. Can you suggest one ? By thw way which digicam your purchased ?

Ronak.

BaHaMo

A friend of mine, who travels often, doesn't own a camera, but she travels with a sketch book, pencils, charcoal, pastels. Her sketches are primitive but infused with a sense of where she was. I wish I had more talent in this direction to be able to do the same.