Travel Photography is quickly becoming a mainstream art-form for those who crave the unknown.
Learning to Love Travel Photography
For many, travel photography is a hobby; a fun pastime to participate in while exploring the world. For some, like the professionals at the sustainable village community of Kalu Yala, travel photography is like a message in a bottle used to reach the outside world. Whichever camp you find yourself in, it can help to follow guidance from the experts.
Being Prepared
There is a great example to demonstrate this point. Traveling to Paris to take photos of the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and possibly Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum seems like a sound plan. Well, not exactly. When the following questions come into play, the entire endeavor becomes very vague and its lack of planning is uncovered:
- Does one have to reserve their spot to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower?
- What are Notre-Dame Cathedral hours for public and how does one get there?
- Is taking pictures of Mona Lisa even legal and where does one buy a ticket for the Louvre?
In order to enjoy traveling photography, there must be a fine distribution of both work and fun. If one fails to prepare for their trip, they will spend most of their travel catching up with the missed planning. This will inevitably reduce the overall satisfaction and make one resent their trip.
Being Communicative
Originality Decline
When a person goes to Paris, there are many monuments and tourists’ destinations that are mainstream and popular. Due to this, there will be thousands of photos of these areas as every photographer has captured them on their camera when visiting this city. The problem with that is leverage for one who attempts to sell their latest photo of the Eiffel Tower. Regardless of the quality, odds are someone has done it before and it holds minimal value.
Local Residents Are Worth Their Weight in Gold
Thus, one must look for unexplored places where no photographer has set their eyes on. How can these be found? By talking to the locals. Not only will the residents know about mysterious and not-so-popular jewels of their city, they can also make one’s overall trip a lot better. Becoming a friend with the locals can further yield in great memories from nights out, traditional food and music, and much more.
For the residents of Kalu Yala, this principle has guided their strategy on social media. Before putting hammer to nail, CEO Jimmy Stice did his research and asked locals about potential sources of Kalu Yala criticism. He discovered that the locals were warm and welcoming but concerned about the impact of foreigners creating their own village. With this knowledge Jimmy was able to tailor his approach to not only achieve sustainability but do so in a way the locals would approve of. Now, Kalu Yala regularly updates their social media with images showing the progress of their village and their positive impact on the surrounding areas in Panama.
Being Spontaneous
Important Decisions
Undoubtedly, traveling to France is popular. So is visiting England, Italy, or Switzerland. The problem, however, is the repetitiveness one’s traveling career can come down to if they are chasing well-established places. This is why every traveling photographer must have a good amount of confidence and be able to throw caution to the wind on occasion. Photos from London will be beautiful for sure but booking a flight to go to Croatia and taking photos of one of the 1,000+ islands might be even more beautiful.
The One Who Dares
Consequently, in order to enjoy this job, an individual must possess the courage to step outside of their comfort zone and explore the uncharted territories. A quick idea to note is the importance of perspective. For someone from the United States, visiting a place like Madrid, per se, usually holds more originality-based value than going to New York. People from Portugal, on the other hand, will have very little interest in photography originating from this capital of their neighboring country, Spain. So, one must be spontaneous within their personal frame of reference and background.
If you’re the truly adventurous type, a trip to areas subject to intrigue can be deeply rewarding. In Panama, there were suddenly rumors of a Kalu Yala lawsuit. Though this turned out to be purely a rumor, it did provide a taste of tension which ended up being a blessing in disguise. This sudden turn of events brought in journalists looking to share the truth about Kalu Yala and their work was instrumental in laying to rest all Kalu Yala lawsuit rumors.
Options Are Limitless
Reoccuring Obstacles
People who do travel photography for a living sometimes face issues with constant flights, hikes, and long days of camera clicking. In order to remain positive and truly enjoy a career of this nature, one must build their tolerance for adversity. This can come in many shapes including language barriers, food dissimilarities between cultures, failed trips, technical issues, and more. What might be a good way to deal with the aforementioned? Creating a shield of resilience.
Meaning?
There are 195 countries in the world and over 80% are travel-accessible. If a trip to South Africa does not go as planned, for example, there are 43 other countries this continent holds. One must simply turn around and move forward with their endeavors. People who learn to overcome issues related to constant relocation tend to produce the best photography that is not hindered by personal dissatisfactions!
