Enjoy Travel Photography

One of the things that separates snapshots from the really good travel photos is the point of focus. I’m not talking about how sharp the photo is but, rather, how the photo is framed.

I’m sure you’ve seen the snapshots Aunt Gertie brought back from her vacation with her husband and their children. They’re all pretty much alike. There’s the famous building, mountain or statue in the background. Standing in front of it is the smiling family.

The purpose of the snapshot is to provide proof that they’ve been there and done that! The hope is that everyone is smiling and has their eyes open. Only one shot was taken because we can’t be wasting film, you know. Many of these people still follow that habit - with their digital cameras!

After making sure she got the famous landmark in the photo, Aunt Gertie concentrated on getting everyone together and smiling. That was all she needed for a proof photo. Click!

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Since the introduction of digital cameras a few years ago, the debate between digital and film cameras has been ongoing. When the digital cameras were still a new thing, film cameras still had the advantage.

But, with continued development of digital cameras, that advantage has shifted. One of the major points was the cost of the cameras. About five years ago, I paid about $600 for a used Olympus on eBay. Today, I can buy a much updated version - new! - for only $350.

Only a few years ago, film held the high ground when it came to the sharpness of the end product, the printed photos. Photos made from film were sharper and clearer. At the time, most of the digital cameras were offering only 1-2 million pixels per square inch (1-2 mega pixels). Any digital camera offering better resolution was very expensive.

Now, a digital camera offering 5-7 megapixel resolution is common-place and at a much lower price. It’s at the 7-9 megapixel range that the digital camera can produce photos equally as sharp or sharper than those produced from film. Little by little, film has lost its edge.

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One of the expenses involved in vacation travel is all those travel photos we like to take. Some of the photos will be of the “Wow!” variety. Some will be more like, “Ho hum.”

Different people bring home different kinds of photos. Some just take snapshots to prove that they had been there, and done that. I call these “record” photos.

Other people go out of their way to take photographs that capture the beauty and the wonder of the places they visit. I call these the “beauty” photos.

Those two categories are, actually, the extremes of travel photography. They reflect the talents, skills and desires of the people behind the cameras. They are neither right nor wrong and I won’t treat them that way.

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