Tag Archives: videography

World Tourism Day 2023: 8 Essential Tips For Photography, Videography While Travelling

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(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) When you travel, you have many chances to take amazing photos and videos. It doesn’t count if you’re a freshman or an expert. These tips will assist you in getting the most out of your travels and keeping fantastic visual memories

Charge up Those Batteries

Imagine you reach the top of a cliff after a full day of hiking and you are lucky enough to witness the beauty of an orange sun setting behind those cloud-covered mountains. You take out your phone to capture the scene and launch the camera app and it doesn’t open because the battery is below 5%. What a bummer! So, whether you are an amateur phone photographer or a pro with fancy gear, never forget to power up your devices. Plug them in any time you get a chance.

Look for Golden Hours

Golden hour is a period in a day when the sun is low on the horizon. The rays of the sun have to travel longer through the earth’s atmosphere. In simple terms, the natural light of the sun is warm, soft and diffused at this time, making it the favourite of photographers. Use this time, to add a magical and heavenly touch to your photos and videos. The duration of this hour depends on the season and weather of the place. But it is usually the period shortly after sunrise and before sunset.

Learn Basic Composition

In photography and videography, composition refers to a certain way of placing the object in the frame. Our brain finds a picture with good composition more visually effective and aesthetically appealing than others. While there is a long list of compositional techniques, beginners can start with – the rule of thirds, leading lines and symmetry.

Capturing Beyond Yourself

Though showing your face in videos and taking selfies is a trend, don’t let yourself take the largest space in the frame. After all, you are capturing a “story” of a new destination through your photos and videos. So don’t shy away from showing the local life and culture of a place. Take those candid shots of busy markets and people going on about their day. Talk to locals in your videos and if required ask them if they are comfortable being in the frame.

Shoot in Different Modes

If you are using a digital camera for photography, use the RAW mode instead of JPEG. RAW files contain more information on visual elements than JPEG, thus giving you the freedom to be artistic while editing. For videos, experiment with different modes like slow motion, time-lapse, hyper-lapse etc. These modes are also available these days in any decent smartphone camera app.

Try Different Angles

While an eye-level placing of the camera does just fine, shooting from different angles adds depth as well as a different perspective to the story you are capturing. So, get down low, shoot from high above or tilt the camera and see what works the best.

Investing on Gear

The trend is “travel vlogging”. So, for the ones who are planning to put their money into equipment, start with the very basics. If you only have a phone with a camera app, buy a decent selfie stick or a gorilla pod. These devices help in avoiding shakes in photos and videos. The stick of selfie sticks are extendable so they give a wider view of the scene while with gorilla pods you can place the phone anywhere you want. More enthusiastic photographers with digital and mirrorless cameras should buy a good storage device and a sturdy tripod or monopod as basics.

Research about The Places

It is better to make an itinerary of places you want to visit. Doing so has two benefits for photographers. First, it gives you an idea of the place you are going to visit. While travelling, you can think of ways to record or capture the scene. Second, it saves you from wasting the crucial time that you must use for exploring and capturing rather than planning.

Last but not least, in the enthusiasm of documenting your travels, don’t forget to enjoy and live the experiences. After all, the best camera is our own eye and the best stories emerge out of our memories.

ALSO READ:
World Tourism Day 2023: Solo traveler’s toolkit – A look at 10 safety and adventure hacks

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Film resurgence captures photographers seeking to ‘slow down’ and hone their art

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Treading water off a beach on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Calin Jones is waiting for the right moment.

A professional photographer, Jones would usually be snapping hundreds of photos a second as boardriders pass the lens of his digital camera.

Now, using an old film camera, he only has one chance.

“It’s so much more challenging,” he said.

“You’ve only got 36 shots on the roll, especially when you’re out in the water, so you’ve really got to make it last and watch for good moments, not just take a photo of everything that moves.”

A black and white image of a surfer on a wave
Calin Jones says film photos remind him of his childhood.(Supplied: calinshootsfilm/Calin Jones)

Jones has been taking photos for 13 years. But two years ago, he swapped his digital camera for an old film rig.

“Digital cameras are so advanced; you can literally just hold the trigger and take 100 photos in a couple of seconds,” he said.

“It didn’t feel authentic. It just felt like cheating.

“It felt like I wasn’t a photographer. I was just using a camera and it was doing all the work for me.”

A black and white griany photo of a skateboarder
Calin Jones develops his own black and white film at home.(Supplied: calinshootsfilm/Calin Jones)

The challenge of film

The first photo from the moon was taken with a film camera.

Entitled Earthrise it was developed in 1968 by Kodak, the world’s largest film producer at the time.

Since then, digital cameras have stormed the market, taking away the perceived pain of winding, printing and waiting.

But for Jones, it was his return to film that “re-sparked” his passion for the art.

A grainy black and white image of a swimmer underwater
Jones says “little mishaps” while developing his own film are part of the reason he enjoys it.(Supplied: calinshootsfilm/Calin Jones)

“I was getting quite bored [with the digital camera]. I just found it too easy,” he said.

“With film … you really learn about how to capture those moments and watch what people are doing because you can’t just sit there and hold the trigger.

“It feels raw. It feels real.”

Blake Tate co-owns Lazarus Lab on the Gold Coast, one of the few businesses in the country that specialises in digitising film photos.

He said the lab gets orders from all over the world.

“In the [last three years] I’ve definitely seen a pretty big upward trajectory on all levels,” Mr Tate said.

“Big brands are demanding the film aesthetic, so it’s come back in on the higher-up commercial level, too.” 

A film photo of a gloved hand printing brown negatives on film
The team at Lazarus Lab specialise in digitising film.(Supplied: Lazarus Lab)

Film is a ‘culture’

Digitised film photos have flooded the social media feeds of hobby photographers, wedding photographers and even businesses in recent years.

Jones said it was the feeling of nostalgia some of his clients were drawn to. For others, it was an aesthetic.

Packages of film lined up hanging from a coat rack
Blake Tate says demand is high for digitised prints.(Supplied: Lazarus Lab)

For many who have their film developed with Mr Tate, it is about the process.

“It is a whole culture,” Mr Tate said.

“Back in the day, it’s all that there was, so it wasn’t considered this special thing.

“Nowadays, with the whole resurgence, it’s a niche thing that is cool and there’s a whole culture around it.”

The Lazarus Lab team mix the chemicals, develop and scan the images into digital photos.

A black and white film photo of a bucket full of rolls of film
Blake Tate says film rolls can be expensive, but it did not disuade hobbyists.(Supplied: Lazarus Lab)

Mr Tate said it can take up to half an hour to develop a roll of black and white by hand.

“It’s weird, but people love that it takes so long and that it’s way more difficult than digital. They love what’s involved and that’s what’s keeps it interesting,” he said.

“It’s something that’s hard to replicate authentically with digital gear, which is why it’s still popular.”

Jones has been developing his own film at home after taking an online tutorial.

“It’s actually been so good for my mental health, sitting there focusing on something … being hands-on, touching the film, feeling it,” he said.

“Doing it myself now, I think, ‘I did that. I did all of that’.

“The rawness and being able to slow down, that was a huge one for me.”

In with the old …

Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012 after 130 years in business. It had not embraced modern digital technologies.

A blurred image of a female surfer on a wave
Jones says the “rawness and being able to slow down” are his favourite parts of film photography.(Supplied: calinshootsfilm/Calin Jones)

But for Jones, it was the simplicity he loved.

“The technology [now] is too good; auto-focus is just next level,” he said.

“It just takes away what photography means to me.

“I think capturing moments [with film means] waiting for moments and really involving yourself in the surroundings and whatever you’re shooting.

“[You’re] being present there — not just holding a camera and holding down the button.”

Jones believes film will only grow in popularity.

“I am waiting for big [camera] brands … to bring a new film camera out,” he said.

“It’s been 20 years since they brought out a film camera. I think that’s what’s to come.” 

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