Much has been made of late of destinations around the world that are suffering to due excess tourism as a result of overexposure on social platforms, in particular, Instagram.
There is a definite trend of ‘follow the leader’ going on, a dogged pursuit of ‘chasing the gram’. Expectations are second nature now for people to chase certain images that have made others successful. So let’s talk about how beautifully capture our travel experiences and avoid the great gram-chase.
In the past two posts of this series, we’ve dealt with contributing and promoting work of true value to us. What personal value do we take from self-portraits of ourselves wearing hats by on-trend brands in one of the world’s now infamous Instagram hotspots? Exactly what are we contributing of ourselves when we travel to these overexposed destinations and take the shot that’s been seen time and time again? Are we telling something of our own story?
Let’s right now shake this subconscious need for legitimacy through capturing these unofficial ‘social wonders’ of the world. Let’s forget about getting another stamp in our ‘instagram passports’. Let’s avoid stifling our own creativity, stifling our own story. How we do this is a two-pronged exercise; a.) where we go and; b) how we capture that location. (PS. If anyone can come up with a more eloquent term than “two-pronged”, please let me know!)
Where We GO (and why it matters!)
Whether it is a reader of your blog or a follower on Instagram, it’s your authenticity that is what keeps people reading and following. When thinking about travelling to a place to explore your creativity think about the following questions.
“Is this location in keeping with my visual narrative, my perspective of the world”
“Does this location mean something to me as a person?”
I’m not trying to get all deep and meaningful here, but sometimes we need to check our decisions to make sure we are not falling into that trap of imitation and comparison.
Part of growing your creativity is learning how to be flexible. Learning how to adapt to the changing weather conditions, the light, and even knowing when to abandon the planned shot and embrace what is on offer before you.
When you allow yourself to be flexible, you afford yourself the opportunity to explore a location. You observe take note and analyse a location. You might notice striking features in the immediate surrounds that you had previously considered or been aware of!
How We Capture a Location
I know it might sound like I’m saying you have to be original all the time, but what I mean is that its most rewarding to stay true to your art, your visual perspective.
It’s ok to appropriate technique and skill but it defeats the purpose when you appropriate the subject too.
BE INSPIRED by a destination shot’s angle, the time of day and the framing. These are things that help you learn how to engage and capture different environments going forward. For example, whether someone has used a long exposure or merged two different exposures. You get the picture, yeah? Pardon the pun!
How we choose to capture what we see is very much determined by the observations we make when we explore a destination upon arrival. Being open to what we see allows the flexibility to shoot what we see, not what was in our heads.
Take these shots below for an example. Where do you think they were taken?
I bet the island of Capri on the Amalfi Coast and Venice in Italy (respectively) were not your first thoughts! The point I’m trying to make is, is that this is not the typical shot of these iconic destinations.
By allowing myself the chance to explore the island (to be flexible) I was able to capture this little behind-the-scenes moment in time. That amongst all the glitz and glamour of this Italian playground for the rich and famous, there’s a real side. There are still children playing in the alleys with a ball and a racket.
It is not the best photo I’ve ever taken, but it still speaks to me of place. Seeing the real side, the real life that exists beyond the tourist facade. Just like the one of the little girl with the patched eye. I guess that’s the beauty of street photography, you learn to lead with your eye and not your brain when choosing a subject. You allow the subject to find you!
Our little patched-princess was a perfect example of how I was trying to get a shot of a canal standing a bridge, trying to frame up a passing gondola. I turned around and I saw this little girl staring at me with her one good eye, and I simply couldn’t resist.
I almost missed a true and honest shot whilst trying to contrive one I’d seen a million times before. I gave up ‘the shot’ and got one that reminds me of my experience of Venice.
If you’d like to add this to Pinterest, pin the image below! x
