Up Your Travel Photography Game: Famous Places

Finding something original in the over-photographed

Photo by Author: Ortakoy, a popular tourist spot in Istanbul. It was teeming with people, light, colors and energy that night.

There are certain obligatory places in every country/city that you must visit when you go there, the famous places like Central Park in New York, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Anything Gaudi in Barcelona, and the Big Buddha in Japan.

Most people gather their traveling companions, everyone smiles and a picture is taken. There, now documented proof exists that we were there, job done! Either that, or they just take the same tired picture of the place that 100,000 people before have taken and then on to the next famous site.

There is nothing wrong with those snapshots showing that you visited a place but they are of very little interest to anyone but you, and you will bore your friends and family with them.

With a little more care, attention and creativity, you can create photographs that people really want to look at, and you will bring a little of the magic of the trip home with you.

First, when you get to a famous place, take the time to look around

What, other than the obvious, is interesting? If you can, just sit or stand somewhere and take it all in for a few minutes. You might notice that the colors are interesting or that the energy of the place is something special. Knowing something about the place may give you some insight into what was important or interesting about that place and you could incorporate that into your photograph. In the photo below for example, a part of the Alhambra is reflected in one of the many water features that can be found throughout the palace. Water was particularly important to the Moors who built it and that is reflected in the image.

Photo by Author: This photo was taken of one of the buildings in the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. One of the many things that makes the Alhambra special is all of the water features. Water was very important to the Moors who inhabited this region and built the Alhambra and it was incorporated into the architecture. What would be a rather ordinary photograph is elevated because it is the building reflected in that all important water. Fish are swimming in the sky and in the tree.

Get a Little Farther Away from the Famous Place to Photograph it

Usually I would recommend getting closer to things, but sometimes taking a step or 50 back is better. By getting a little distance, you can include more of the surrounding area in your photograph. In the images below for example, you can see how busy and active the area around Tokyo Tower is. Most photographs of Tokyo Tower try to isolate the tower and show how big it is but by stepping back and including the street signs and lights, you can get a better idea of what it felt like to be there. Kiz Kulesi in Istanbul on the other hand is an Island in the Bosphorous. It is surrounded by water that is surrounded by city. Most pictures of it are taken from passing ferry boats and just show the castle with maybe a backdrop of city covered hills. By stepping back and including the Marina in the photograph, it gives you more of a feel for how it is surrounded by both water and city.

Photos by Author: Tokyo Tower, Japan and Kiz Kulesi, Istanbul, Turkey

Find a Different Angle or Perspective

Straight on is rarely anyone’s most interesting angle and that goes for buildings as well. When I was photographing the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain, I went all the way to the end of the building instead of going dead center. This gives you more of a perspective of the street. It also enabled me to get some of the fairy lights in the photograph. I waited for the lights to come on so I could get the contrasting blue and yellow that I like so much. In the other photo, I took the picture from inside the palace near the bathrooms, looking out a window. It was one of the less ornate areas of the palace but I loved the way the light was coming in the window.

Photos by Author: The Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain

Go Out and Shoot When the Weather is Bad

I always get super excited when it starts snowing and with climate change, this is happening less and less in Istanbul. When I woke up on the morning that I took the picture below, it was snowing and sleeting. It was super windy and freezing cold. I couldn’t get anyone to come with me, but I grabbed my camera, got on the ferry to the Asian side of the Bosporus, and froze my fingers off. It was a thoroughly unpleasant day, within minutes I was soaking wet and freezing cold, but the birds loved it. They were surfing the wind in huge flocks. I stood on the shore and took many pictures of birds in front of Kiz Kulesi (the same little palace from the previous picture).

When I could no longer set my camera properly because my fingers had lost all feeling I ducked into a cafe and sipped on a hot cup of sahlep, a thick drink made from orchid root and topped with cinnamon. The suffering was totally worth it because I love the images I got that day.

Photo by Author: Kiz Kulesi, Istanbul, Turkey. It was a freezing, wet, windy day and the birds loved it.

Make the Focus of your Photograph Something Other than The Famous Place

Tokyo is full of interesting architectural features like the Asahi Flame pictured below. To me it looks like a sweet potato, but since it is on top of a beer company building… I don’t know. It does get photographed a lot though because it is so different. In my photograph, while the “flame” is prominent, it is not the star of the photograph, the seagulls are. They bring life and personality to the photograph.

Photo by Author: Asahi Flame in Tokyo, Japan. The birds make this photograph much more fun to look at. In fact, they are in focus while the sweet potato looking thing is out of focus.

Get Closer to Capture the Details

This photograph of stuffed olives was taken at the famous Mercado San Miguel in Madrid, Spain. It is a beautiful building made of steel and glass that stands just outside of the Plaza Mayor and it is famous for its tapas. Chefs make incredibly tempting over-priced delicacies there and that is what it is all about. So, I got in there and took a close up of the food. Mmmm, just looking at it is making me want to get up and go to the refrigerator.

Photo by Author: Stuffed olives in the Mercado San Miguel, Madrid, Spain. Sometimes you just have to point your camera at what makes you happy!

Final Thoughts

I am not a professional photographer or traveler but I have dedicated myself to both practices since I took my first trip to Europe in 1988. I spend most of my travel time trying to avoid crowds but I do love seeing the places I visit and that means seeing the famous, crowded places too. The best advice I can give is to let the camera make your experience better by using it in such a way that it brings you deeper into the moment.

When I go to a new place, I don’t snap a million pictures, that takes me out of the place and is distracting. What I do is, I really look around and only take photographs of things that provoke something in me. I use the camera to look at things with more intention.

I wish you wonderful travels, whatever that looks like for you. How to you bring your own unique perspective to things that have been photographed a million times before?

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