A very subjective subject... but what are your opinions? How do you define "perfect travel photo"? What are the things that crop up again and again when you see those great shots.
So lets try and break it down;
Three questions to begin the discussion;
1: How do you define "perfect travel photo"? is there the possibility of any such thing?
2: What are the key things that you see repeated in shots you consider great?
3: What subcategories of "perfect travel photo" do you think there are?
Reply to this A question with no simple answer, but I'm up for a little deconstruction this morning.
#1 - I don't think there can be such a thing as a univerally accepted "perfect travel photo" mainly because what often makes a great photo a great
travel photo is the incredible story that goes with it, which is usually difficult to pair together unless its your own photo.
#3 - First, a division between my travel photos and other people's travel photos.
a) my travel photos
----i) memoir/personal photos
----ii) landscape photos
----iii) "experience/essence of place" photos
b) other peoples photos
-----i) landscape photos
-----ii) "essence of place" photos
Since I can't look at someone elses photo and know the memories it evokes it the experience it summons, it can't ever be a "perfect travel photo" to me. Similiarly, all those favorite photos I have of me or those I'm travelling with or something random that immediately conjures images of where we were and what I was doing, those are my "perfect travel photos" but to someone else they're just pictures of strangers doing various things. Then I kinda think of photos in broad categories of landscape vs. "essence of place"-- those pictures which capture something unique about that area/region/experience/culture. If you couldn't use words to describe the experience of travelling somewhere and had use a photo, that's "essence of place" in my mind.
#2 - Lastly, what separates the perfect from the good are the usual photograph criteria -- good lighting, good frame, color, creativity, perspective, shadow/light, contrast etc. Has to be in focus. I have so many photos that are thisclose to being personal perfect travel photos, if only they were a little sharper.
(side note: how do you format a Tab or indent?)
Reply to this I can agree with alot of what's been said. In order to even be considered a photo worth judging, a photo must meet high standards of basic photography. They must be in focus, have no smudges, good lighting, and have a unique perspective.
But, I will say that I disagree about the idea that other people's pictures can't be perfect. I often think the difference between a good photographer and a great one is their ability to tell a story. Your picture should speak for itself without even a title. Sure, the title is necessary to give some context, but to be a truly great photo it needs to be one that would catch your eye from across a room. If you were walking through a gallery the photo's you'd stop for would be the one's that caught your eye without having read the little sign next to them. The same has to be said of travel photos.
I think that travel photos can be broken down into landscape, wildlife, architectural, (I'll steal Stephanie and Andras's term here) "essence of place" and unique moment capture.
Here are a few examples:
That's just a few but there are many many more that meet the criteria. I think all of these speak for themselves...
Reply to this I suppose I ought to have clarified. I think it is possible for another persons photo to meet that "perfect travel photo" criteria, one that tells a story and captures the feeling of the moment even if I wasn't there to know what it was, but in a gallery of exceptional photos, it would be the rarity. I tend to see many "perfect
destinationphotos" from other wonderful photographers.
Similiarly, to look at those you posted above, the one I would deem the best "travel" photo isn't the same photo I'd say was the best one of the bunch, the one that most catches my eye or even the one I'd pick to hang on my wall. But it is the one that speaks the most about the mood at that moment, in that place.
Reply to this To me, the perfect travel photo is about the experience. It takes the photographer back to the moment, telling a story only those who were there in that moment know. For everyone else seeing the photo, it reminds them of their own experiences (whether in the same place or somewhere else), and/or makes them want to visit the place where the photo was taken to have their own experiences there.
The photos that I go back to time after time, whether my own or someone else's, are correctly exposed, clear photos with good composition. The colour in them isn't washed out or over-saturated, but it represents the light honestly.
If they are photos of
landmarks,
architecture, or
landscapes, they have something in them that is different from every other photo from the same place. For me,
people pictures need to show people doing something they do that is unique to the place, whether it is every day or a special occasion.
Food photos should make me hungry for something I can't get at home.
In addition to the ones mentioned above, I think another key subcategory of travel photos is
details. These are the 'zoomed in' photos, whether of a leaf, an architectural detail, a drop of water, a reflection, a beam of light... My favourite photos of my own often fall into this category.
Reply to this I dunno, but I wish it was my hand round that beer.
Reply to this Far be it for me to advise you to hit the bottle again, but it could just herald those moments of clarity required to tackle this and other deeply philosophical conundrums… It’s time you fell off the wagon again mate - you could always say you were pushed...
Reply to this it really matters to you. How many times have taken, what you seem is just a picture and someone states "WOW that is amazing, you should do this for a living or you surely have the eye" Feels great right? I know each photo I take is a moment in time. Digital allows us to take many more pictures and not think about how many pic on a roll of film or how much is it going to cost to develop. Software, is there to make the difference. I shoot on a average 600 to 1000 photos a day. Again average, then I edited them and usually keep 90 percent of them. Why, because it a documentary of my travels and it does matter to ME. Everyone can have 10 to 12 photos of the BEST, what I look for is the unusual. The picture that talks to me, a picture that says " I want to go there and smell, taste the place. Enough said
http://www.pbase.com/ckuhn55
Reply to this This one is subjective and tough to answer.
1. The perfect travel photo leaves me studying it to improve my own photography. I find myself wishing I had taken the photograph.
2. For me great shots "speak to me". OK, no way to explain that. Take the photo of the little girl above holding the llama. I would love to know what she is looking at and I would love to hug her and the llama. These greats shots emit emotion in me and it is more than a photograph....it touches me. She is adorable.
3. Subcategories-- I'd add people photos to the categories listed above. I love great photos of people. I think it is difficult to capture the essence of their spirit. One travel blogger who excels at this is Dancing Dave.
I agree with Chuck--
It makes me want to go there and smell, taste the place
Reply to this 1: How do you define "perfect travel photo"? is there the possibility of any such thing?
For my own photos, I like best the ones that bring back memories, especially if there are people I know or people I met in them. The quality of these photos, as in how well they are taken doesnt matter.
For other peoples photos, the ones I love most are the atmospheric ones. They make me want to be there to experience it myself. I dont know what exactly makes a photo atmospheric. Is it the phototographer, or the actual subject of the photo? One thing I do know, is that I can never manage to capture it in my own photos. Somehow, the place was almost always more of an experience than the photos show.
2: What are the key things that you see repeated in shots you consider great?
Ones that are of something I can imagine myself doing and loving. The one of the guy standing on the balcony with a beer and the fantastic view in msg 3 would be one of those. That pose is exacly the one I have been in, in so many places.
3: What subcategories of "perfect travel photo" do you think there are?
There are the lucky shots that were taken at exactly the right moment. They are of something an animal or a person is doing for a few seconds in time. Or something in nature, such as spectacular lightening ripping accross the sky.
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